Basilika St. Ulrich und Afra

In Augsburg, Germany, the Basilica of St. Ulrich and Afra, a Catholic church dedicated to two saints, rises into the sky. Because the basilica is built on the tomb of Saint Afra, martyred in 304, its origins reach back to the Roman era. Churches have stood on that site since the 8th century. The present building was largely erected between 1474 and 1500 in the late Gothic style.

The choir begun in 1500 was only completed after more than a hundred years, delayed by conflicts of the Reformation era. A Benedictine abbey was attached to the church, and in 1577 the abbey was elevated to an imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire. Mozart gave an organ concert here on October 18, 1777, and five years later Pope Pius VI celebrated Mass. During the early 19th century secularization the abbey was dissolved in 1802. The church then passed to the State of Bavaria, and became a parish church in 1810. In 1937 Pope Pius XI declared it a minor basilica, and in 1987 Pope John Paul II also visited this basilica.

When you step in and look around, the characteristics of Gothic style, pointed high arches and large windows, unfold. You can also see three large Renaissance altars, each regarded as a masterpiece of German sculpture of the time. Inside are five chapels: the chapels of Bartholomew, Benedict, Simpert, Andrew, and George. The building is about 93.5 meters long, 27.5 meters wide, and 30 meters high. Concerts and organ performances are held here all year round, and young musicians appear in the concert series named 'Thirty Minutes of Music.' A Protestant church of St. Ulrich bearing the same name stands right next door, and this neighborhood has long been a religious center shared by different Christian communities. The tall bell tower is another striking point: the onion-shaped dome at its top was later established as a model for many Baroque church towers in Bavaria. When you meet a similar dome on a church tower across the region, its origin is this very place.