Liebfrauenkirche Arnstadt
About This Site
The Liebfrauenkirche stands where historians place Arnstadt's first church, on ground named in a donation charter of 704. Building began around 1200 and ran, in two long phases, into the fourteenth century, leaving one of central Germany's most important Romanesque-to-Gothic church buildings, alongside Naumburg Cathedral.[1]
Two centuries to build, 1200–1330
The first phase, finished around 1220, raised a three-aisled basilica with a Romanesque hall choir and twin west towers in a late-Romanesque, early-Gothic style. After 1275 the choir gave way to a transept and a high-Gothic hall choir, and the towers were finished in the Gothic manner — the building a visitor sees today is the sum of both campaigns.
The oldest ground in Arnstadt, since 704
Historians read the 704 donation charter, in which the Thuringian duke Hedan II gave land to the Anglo-Saxon bishop Willibrord, as naming this exact spot, and place Arnstadt's first church here. Around 1330 a Benedictine convent, St Walpurgis, was built onto the church; the building was reconsecrated on 7 November 1973, Willibrord's feast day, after reconstruction work.[1]
Questions visitors ask
- How old is the Liebfrauenkirche?
- Building began around 1200 and ran in two phases into the fourteenth century; it stands on ground historians identify with a donation charter of 704, the site of Arnstadt's first church.[1]
- Why is the church architecturally significant?
- It is one of central Germany's most important Romanesque-to-Gothic church buildings, alongside Naumburg Cathedral, combining a late-Romanesque, early-Gothic first phase with a high-Gothic transept and choir added after 1275.[1]
- What are the opening hours?
- May to October, daily 11:00–15:00; closed November to April.
Sources
- Liebfrauenkirche (Arnstadt) — Wikipedia, retrieved 30 August 2026
Visit Information
May–October, daily 11:00–15:00; closed November–April
50.8333, 10.9417
In Weimar's history
Around Weimar
Southwest
Alongside Naumburg Cathedral, one of central Germany's most important 13th-century church buildings, on the site of Arnstadt's first church.