The Krodo Altar in Goslar

Goslar

Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...

, Germany, is an altar made entirely of bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

 and is the only surviving metal church altar from the Romanesque

Romanesque art

Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...

 period. It was probably made in the late 11th century and is named after the Germanic "pseudo-god", Krodo

Krodo

According to Konrad Botho's Chronicle of the Saxons or Saxon Chronicle from 1492 Krodo was a Germanic god of the Saxons who is supposed to have been similar to the Roman god Saturn and in 780 was overthrown at Harzburg by Charlemagne during the defeat of the East Saxons.The Saxon Chronicle ...

. It was originally in the Collegiate Church

Collegiate church

In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...

 of St. Simon and St. Jude

Goslar Cathedral

The church known as Goslar Cathedral was the Collegiate Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in the town of Goslar in central Germany. It was built between 1040 and 1050 and stood in the district of the Imperial Palace of Goslar. It was demolished in 1819–1822. Today only the porch of the north portal...

 (Goslar Cathedral; built 1047), which was part of the Imperial Palace of Goslar

Imperial Palace of Goslar

The Imperial Palace of Goslar is a historical building complex at the foot of the Rammelsberg hill in the south of the town of Goslar north of the Harz mountains, central Germany. It covers an area of about 340 by 180 metres and stands. The palace grounds originally included the Kaiserhaus, the...

. The altar had been removed by the time the church was demolished (1819–1822) and is now on exhibition in Goslar's Town Museum (Stadtmuseum).

Sources

• Reinhard Roseneck: Der Rammelsberg. Verlag Goslarsche Zeitung, Goslar 2001, ISBN 3-9804749-3-3
• Ursula Müller, Hans-Günther Griep, Volker Schadach: Kaiserstadt Goslar. Verlag Volker Schadach, Goslar 2000, ISBN 3-928728-48-2
• Christopf Gutmann, Volker Schadach: Kaiserpfalz Goslar. Verlag Volker Schadach, Goslar 2002, ISBN 3-928728-52-0