Altar island in the St Paul’s Cathedral in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (2019) - Catholic Stock Photo

St Paul's Cathedral in Münster is a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to St Paul^[1]. It is counted among the most significant church buildings in Münster and, along with the City Hall, is one of the symbols of the city^[1]. The cathedral stands in the heart of the city, on a small hill called Horsteberg^[1].

The foundation stone for the third and current St Paulus Dom was laid in 1225 by Bishop Dietrich III. von Isenberg^[1]. After nearly forty years of construction, St Paulus Dom was completed and on 30 September 1264 it was consecrated by Bishop Gerhard von der Mark^[1].

The cathedral is a three-nave building with a transept and two four-sided towers in the facade^[2], and features rich late-Roman sculptural decoration of the vestibule and nave which has survived^[2]. It also contains valuable sacred artworks from the Domschatz of Münster Cathedral, which has been stored since 1981 in a specially built Treasury Chamber north of the cloisters^[1].

The astronomical clock is a marvel of the late Middle Ages, with its calendar reaching into 2071^[3], while Pope John Paul II prayed at a sepulchral chapel commemorated by a memorial stone in 1987^[3]. The great weekly market takes place every Wednesday and Saturday forenoon near St. Paul's Cathedral^[3], making it an important part of Münster's culture.