The crypt and Romanesque nave of Quedlinburg's collegiate church, standing on the Schlossberg above the old town, preserve the burial site of the first Ottonian king and the treasury of the abbey that governed the town until 1802.
Founded around 936 on the site of King Henry I's earlier royal residence, the collegiate church was run by a Frauenstift, a community of secular canonesses typically drawn from noble families, headed by an abbess with princely authority over Quedlinburg and its surrounding lands. This arrangement persisted for nearly nine centuries until the abbey's secularization in 1802. The crypt beneath the choir, dating largely to the 10th and 11th centuries, holds the graves of Henry I and Mathilde, while the treasury preserves reliquaries and manuscripts that survived both the Reformation, which reached Quedlinburg without the abbey converting outright to Lutheranism until later, and a Cold War-era theft in which a US Army officer took part of the collection home in 1945, only fully recovered and restored by the mid-1990s.
| Admission | €6.50 (~$7) adult; €5 (~$5) concession |
|---|---|
| Hours | Apr-Oct: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun/holidays 12:00-18:00; Nov-Mar: Tue-Sat 10:00-16:00, Sun/holidays 12:00-16:00 |
| Address | Schlossberg 1, 06484 Quedlinburg, Germany |
Why it matters
Burial site of King Henry I, founder of the Ottonian dynasty, and his wife Queen Mathilde; seat of a self-governing abbey that ruled Quedlinburg for nearly nine centuries.
Site facts
- Built
- Founded 936; current nave consecrated 1129
- Style
- Romanesque
- UNESCO listing
- Part of the UNESCO World Heritage 'Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town of Quedlinburg' (1994)
Weather through the year in Germany
Best time Shoulder Worth avoiding
Average daytime temperature in °C. Figures are for Germany.
Location
Schlossberg 1, 06484 Quedlinburg, Germany
51.7889, 11.1358 View on map
Highlights
- Crypt burial site of King Henry I and Queen Mathilde
- Nearly nine centuries as a self-governing abbess's territory
- Cathedral treasury of medieval reliquaries and manuscripts
Tips for visiting
- The crypt is reached by a separate stone staircase from the main nave - do not miss it on a quick visit
- The treasury's recovery story after a 1945 theft is worth reading about before or after the visit for context
When to visit
Weekday mornings for the quietest visit to the crypt and treasury.
Accessibility
The nave is mostly level; the crypt is reached by stone stairs not accessible to wheelchairs.
Visit, book or contact
Frequently asked questions
What happened to the church treasury during WWII?
Part of the treasury was stolen by a US Army officer who took items home as souvenirs in 1945; the collection was only fully recovered and returned by the mid-1990s after decades of investigation.