The Cathedral of St Mary was built in the mid-11th century on the site of an earlier Romanesque basilica. According to legend, Louis of Germany, son of Emperor Charlemagne, hunted in this area in 815 and hung a relic of the Virgin Mary on a rose bush, but couldn't remove them after the hunt... Louis took this sign as a sign from above and ordered a church to be built here. And the 1,000-year-old rose bush rosebush still grows in the apse of the cathedral and survived even the bombings of the 20th century.
The cathedral is decorated with original works of local foundry art. A foundry was opened here in the time of Bishop Bernward. Here you can Bernward's marvellous bronze column, dating from 1022, depicting scenes from the life of Christ. depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The bronze doors of the cathedral depict paintings of the creation of the world and scenes from the New Testament. Also unique is a bronze candelabrum from the 11th century. century bronze candelabrum three metres in diameter and a 13th-century font standing on the "four rivers of the Garden of Eden".
