Regensburg Cathedral (also: Cathedral of St. Peter[1]) is the most important church in the city of Regensburg and the cathedral of the Diocese of Regensburg. Along with Cologne Cathedral, it is one of the most important Gothic cathedrals in Germany. Brief description of the building: __________________________________ Regensburg Cathedral, in the foreground part of the old town and a paddle steamer from the Danube Shipping Museum Regensburg. Regensburg Cathedral was built according to the type of "classical" Gothic cathedrals influenced by France. Characteristic features include the basilica complex with a three-story nave, the transept, and an impressive west façade with two towers. In addition, the crossing was to be crowned by a tower that was never built. However, some changes compared to the French models are noticeable: The continuously vaulted building has a relatively short nave with only five bays. The transept does not project, and above all the usual ambulatory with a ring of chapels is missing. In Regensburg, however, there is a traditional solution with three staggered choirs. The old cathedral already had this choir shape. In the new building, elements from the old cathedral were deliberately quoted and liturgical "locations" were adopted. Unusually, the entire cathedral stands on a massive base that rises more than three meters above the floor level of the old cathedral. This makes it stand out clearly from its surroundings. The artistic achievement of the cathedral master builder, who from around 1295 carried out the plan change for the cathedral construction that had already begun, deserves special mention. He knew how to transform the initially planned, low and squat structure, which was already largely defined in the eastern parts by the finished foundations and some towering walls, into a Gothic cathedral in the French style. He sensitively and almost imperceptibly transferred the older forms into the new style. He therefore opted for a formal language that was highly unusual at the end of the 13th century: instead of the filigree, fragile skeleton system of the French Gothic of that time, he chose a very physical and powerful architecture that uses penetration, mass and spatial-plastic modeling as essential design elements. In this way, he succeeded in harmoniously linking the older building phase to the formal language of the High Gothic. The architecture described seems to be an anticipation of design styles that became widespread after the middle of the 14th century. This cathedral master builder was also able to convince later generations, and his plans were not changed until the interior was completed.[8] The most important dimensions: total length of the cathedral inside 85.40 meters, width inside 34.80 meters, height of the nave 31.85 meters, height of the towers 105 meters. A special feature of Regensburg Cathedral is the spatial separation from the older double cloister, which was created by moving the new Gothic building to the southwest. [9] Bells The Great Princess hangs in the massive wooden bell cage of the north tower. The Lady Bell can only be rung by rope and was cast in the same year as the Great Princess. The cathedral's chimes consist of a total of six bells and are among the deepest in Bavaria. The old Lady Bell hangs in the south tower bell chamber and can only be rung from there by rope. There is a small bell in the roof turret that is only rung at Pentecost. The full ringing of the six large bells is reserved for major feasts; the Great Princess is absent on Sundays. The Angelus bell rings for the Angelus (including at 12 noon). The suspensions of the individual bells are different: the three large bells ring on straight steel yokes with an upper weight and counterweight clapper, bell 5 on a cranked steel yoke and bells 4 and 6 on a straight steel yoke, the latter also having a counterweight clapper. All bell frames are made of wood. No. Name Year of casting Foundry, place of casting Ø (mm) Mass (kg) Strike tone Rib type Tower 1 Great Princess 1696 Joh. Gord. Schelchshorn, Regensburg 2030 4800 g0 Great Septim North 2 St. Michael's Bell 1961 Bell Foundry Rudolf Perner, Passau 1890 4500 a0 Minor Octave South 3 Little Princess 1616 George (II) Schelchshorn, Regensburg 1800 3250 h0 None North 4 Angelus Bell 1961 Bell Foundry Rudolf Perner, Passau 1410 1550 d1 Major Octave North 5 Agnus Dei Bell 1965 1260 1151 e1 Minor Octave South 6 Poor Souls Bell 1961 1050 626 g1 Major Octave I Patrona Bavariæ 2000 720 238 d2 Minor Octave Roof Turret II Lady's Bell 1696 Joh. Gord. Schelchshorn, Regensburg 1152 ~900 e1 Kleine Septim Süd recording on Saturday, January 6th, 2018. The preliminary ringing with bell 1, Große Fürstin at 09:45. The full ringing for the ringing together at 09:54 for the pontifical mass on Epiphany.