Basilika St. Ulrich und Afra

The Basilika St. Ulrich und Afra stands in Augsburg, a Catholic church built over the tomb of Saint Afra, martyred in 304. Christians have gathered on that ground since the eighth century, and it remains a place of pilgrimage. The present building went up between 1474 and 1500 in the late Gothic style, with pointed arches and tall windows. It measures 93.5 metres long, 27.5 metres wide and 30 metres high. From outside, the high bell tower carries a bulbous onion dome, a shape that set the pattern for baroque towers across Bavaria.

For centuries the church belonged to a Benedictine monastery, elevated to an imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire in 1577. Its choir, begun in 1500, took a full century to finish, interrupted by conflict during the Reformation. When secularization dissolved the monastery in 1802, the church passed to Bavaria, and in 1810 it became the local parish church. It belongs to a parish community that also includes St. Anton. Pope Pius XI declared it a minor basilica in 1937. Popes have come as well, from Pius VI at Mass in 1782 to John Paul II in 1987.

Inside you find three large Renaissance altars, each one a masterpiece of German sculpture from the period. Music has a long history here: Mozart gave an organ concert on 18 October 1777. A series called 30 Minuten Musik hands the stage to young musicians, and organ recitals follow one another through the year. The Protestant church of St. Ulrich stands directly beside it, so the two traditions worship a few steps apart.