Cathedrals

There are two things in Germany (and probably all of Europe) that are more plentiful than beer and chocolate.....castles and cathedrals. We visited 2 cathedrals and toured 2 castles. Today we'll focus on the Cathedrals.
The first that we visited was St. Martin's church in Landshut. (More on Landshut later.) Construction on St. Martin's began in 1389 and took around 110 years to finish. St. Martin's boasts the tallest all brick tower in the world. The tower alone took 55 years to build.

The tower didn't sound like any big deal until I was standing at the base looking straight up it. That was rather dizzying.The crucifix is one of the largest and oldest in the world as well. It's completely carved from wood. It was put up in 1495, five years before the church was dedicated. The body is carved from the trunk of a lime tree.Along the outside are essentially grave stones. For a price, people can be buried in the cathedral. I didn't think to ask if there is a tomb below if there is some other place they put the bodies.

The other cathedral we visited was the Freising Cathedral. I'm sure that Leslie told me a different name for it, but I can't remember it now. The outside was not nearly as elabroate as St. Martin's, but the inside was breath taking.
I don't think any photograph could do justice to the frescoes on the ceiling. The colors and detail are amazing.
The walls are decorated just as elaborately.
Being American, I don't often think about how old the structures are in the rest of the world. To think of the age of these buildings is mind boggling. Regardless of your faith, you can't help but marvel at the art and architecture. It had to have been an amazing feat do build like this without any of the modern tools we have today.