Bremen - three churches

One of the best parts of touring Europe is going into the churches. It's rare that you find a church that disappoints. Most have something going for them and a few are really spectacular.

We went into three churches in Bremen. The first was the Liebfrauenkirche, the oldest in Bremen.

The first thing you notice in the church is the stain glass.

Colours from the stained glass on the floor.

The organ.

A side chapel.

Roof.

We went down into the crypt which seems to be really old.

Old fresco painted on the wall.

The massive columns supporting the church. That right hand column really looked ancient.

Another fresco in the crypt.

Curious window at the entrance.

The church spire.

The next church was the Cathedral. It was too big to fit in one photo so you get two showing bottom and top.

Detail from one of the arches above a front door. The cathedral was badly damaged in WWII and I suspect this is modern.

One of the first things we do when entering a church is to sit in a pew near the entrance and just take it all in for a while.

The use of colour was striking.

And then we noticed the stained glass windows down one side of the cathedral. They were all shades of grey and very striking.

The roof.

One of the five organs scattered about the cathedral.

A clock face lying on the floor. I don't know where it came from or whether it had an association with the cathedral.

Mostly grey with a little colour. Quite a change from the other church.

Detail of the columns.

The Last Supper at the alter.

Grave stone.

Names and crests from the early 1800's. There was an alcove filled with these names and I have no idea why they were there.

Detail of staircase leading to the pulpit.

Statue at the entrance.

Detail of the front door. Notice the brass ring and then read the following from the wiki article.

Two interesting traditions with a connection to the cathedral is that when a man reaches the age of 30 and is not married, he must sweep the cathedral steps until a young lady gives him a kiss and then he is released from his duty. Women who reach their thirtieth birthday unmarried go to polish the cathedral doorknobs in the company of friends and family until they are released by the kiss of a young man.

Statue at the entrance.

The third church was St Johns, now a Catholic Church. This church was much more austere than the other two churches, and oddity if you think about it. Catholic churches often a heavily decorated. While we were sitting, we could hear a woman's voice singing some slow song. It sounded enchanting.