Dom St. Viktor Xanten

Description

In the wide and flat landscape of the Lower Rhine, the Romanesque-Gothic Xanten Cathedral, with its impressive double-turreted facade, is a monument of genuinely European importance and remains a widely visible landmark that also marks a sacred site revered since early Christian times. Legend attributes the founding of the church to St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, who is said to have erected a first building over the tomb of St. Victor. For about a thousand years, a significant canonry existed here. Today, the former collegiate church serves as a vibrant spiritual center for the Catholic provost parish of St. Victor, as well as the final resting place for martyrs of the Nazi era. It is a major pilgrimage destination on the Lower Rhine branch of the Camino de Santiago, a prestigious venue for church music concerts, a tourist magnet, and a popular postcard motif. For over 1,600 years, it has attracted worshippers, pilgrims, and visitors to this holy site, elevated to a papal Basilica minor in 1936.