Stiftskirche St. Servatius

The Stiftskirche St. Servatius stands on the Schlossberg in Quedlinburg, a high romanesque basilica built mainly between 1070 and 1129. It was the church of the Quedlinburg Damenstift and is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that also includes the town’s old town and the castle. The church is protected under the Hague Convention and listed in the Quedlinburg monument register. The church is worth visiting for its long history and royal connections. King Henry I was buried here before the Damenstift was founded in 936. The crypt still holds the remains of Queen Matilda, and the bones believed to be Henry I were moved there by Himmler in 1937. The church was severely damaged in the Second World War and restored after 1945. Its interior shows strong Lombard influences in the capitals and friezes. Inside, the nave alternates between columns and piers with richly carved capitals and impost blocks. The crypt contains the tombs of several Quedlinburg abbesses and a knight’s slab. A staircase leads up to the Fürstengruft, where mummified bodies are preserved. The high choir once displayed the great Quedlinburg tapestry, fragments of which are now in a dedicated hall.