Domschatzkammer

The Essen Cathedral Treasury houses one of the most significant collections of ecclesiastical art in Germany, located right next to the Essen Minster. The treasury dates back to the Essen Abbey for noblewomen, founded in the 9th century, which existed until secularization in 1803. After an eventful history that included relocation of the collection during the Ruhr Uprising and World War II, it became the property of the newly founded Diocese of Essen in 1957. It has been open to the public since 1958, and many of the liturgical objects are still used in services today.

Here you can admire an exceptional concentration of Ottonian works of art whose craftsmanship is unrivaled anywhere in the world. Highlights include four processional crosses, among them the Otto-Mathilde Cross and the Theophanu Cross, as well as a golden crown that may have belonged to Emperor Otto III and is considered the oldest surviving lily crown. The Theophanu Gospel Book with its embossed gold cover and the ceremonial swords of the abbesses are also impressive testimonies to this era.

Besides the Ottonian treasures, the collection includes valuable objects from later centuries, among them around thirty Gothic works of art that reflect a second golden age of the abbey between the 13th and 15th centuries. These include the Marsus Bust and Burgundian clasps. The display is rounded out by several important manuscripts as well as the insignia of the bishops of the Diocese of Essen, such as crosiers, miters, and rings.