The choir of the medieval churches was usually reserved for the clergy and separated from the churchgoers with a more or less closed screen. Rarely were there two screens – one at both ends of the church, but the Naumburg Cathedral is one of them. It is even rarer that the screens have survived reformation and all manner of modernisation efforts.
The central part of the Naumburg Cathedral (above left, with the west screen) was left for the congregation, but at both the west and east choirs were separated by screens (above right the east choir screen), beyond which only the clergy were allowed. To emphasise that the choirs were special, the west choir has statues of wealthy donators (’founders’) preserved for eternity (below left Margrave Ekkehard and his wife Uta) to remind the clergy who they should thank for the magnificent cathedral. The portal of the west choir is richly decorated by an unknown Gothic master (below right, upper picture). The east choir has the main altar dedicated to Mary (below right, lower picture).
The construction of the well-preserved Cathedral started in early 13th century on the site of an earlier one (of which only part of the crypt survives, below left). Of the four towers, two are from 15th century (below right, upper picture) and two from 1894 (below right).
Rails, wines, worlds 