Excavations under the Cathedral Information Office

The giant cathedral construction project, which saw a vast church complex created in just under 70 years, commenced soon after. Its beginnings, when the Christians would still gather in a small local church, its former scale, and its subsequent destructions, can today still be seen in the excavations under the Cathedral Information Office. It’s a unique journey back to the days when the Christians went from being a persecuted minority to a state-funded religious community, when wars, fires and conquests repeatedly rocked the city, and when the cathedral clergy wielded their power outwardly, including through architecture. This one-hour tour combines very well with a similarly one-hour tour through the present-day cathedral.

All photos: Rita Heyen