Quedlinburg UNESCO-Cultural World Heritage

Quedlinburg, lain in the north of the „Harz“ mountains in Saxony-Anhalt close to the „Bode“ River, has municipal status since the year 994. In 1994 Quedlinburg’s architectural heritage became part of the UNESCO-list of the Cultural World Heritage. That makes the city the monument with the largest surface in Germany.

There are 1200 half-timbered houses of six centuries in the historic section of the town with its cobbled streets, contorted alleys and little squares. The Renaissance Town Hall with its “Roland” statue is in the market place. South of it you will find the castle hill with the Romanesque collegiate church next to it and its treasures from the religious gentlewomen. Likewise the “Münzenberg” with its Romanesque abbey called “St. Marien”. In the valley is the Romanesque “St. Wiperti” Church as well as the neighbouring abbey garden and the “Brühl” Park. All of these sights are part of the Cultural World Heritage.

The collegiate church “St. Servatius” (often called the cathedral of Quedlinburg) is sanctified to the Holy Dionysios and the Holy Servatius and presents a remarkable monument in the High Romanesque style. The low topped basilica containing three naves was the church of the gentlewomen's foundation in Quedlinburg. Shown as Romanesque and Gothic sculptural works there are tombs of the abbesses from Quedlinburg in the crypt.

Already in 1943 the treasures of the cathedral got fully restored into a cave underneath the “Altenburg”. On the 19th of April in 1945, Quedlinburg was occupied by the American Troops. The US Lieutenant, Joe Meador, acceded the custody of the cave. This soldier knowing a lot about art history recognized the worth of the treasures in the area under his command. He succeeded in sending a selection of 12 items via field postal to Texas in the United States.
In 1980 Meador died and his heirs tried to sell the looted art on the international art market. After a long legal conflict in 1992, 10 of these items were allowed to get transferred back to Germany, where they got inspected and exhibited in Munich and Berlin. After that these items went back in the collegiate church “St. Servatius”. There the treasures of the cathedral can be shown nearly completely, but two of these looted art items are still missing.