Germany Guide
North Rhine-Westphalia
The Domschatzkammer
Address: Entrance on the north side of the Dom
Opening time: Daily 10am–6pm
Price: €4
The partly subterranean Domschatzkammer (cathedral treasury) has something of the air of a bank vault, which is hardly surprising given the priceless works of religious art it contains, or the fact that one of them – the jewelled, seventeenth-century Sumptuous Monstrance – was badly damaged by thieves in 1975. The treasury occupies a series of thirteenth-century vaults, and its artefacts are beautifully lit and presented: particularly eye-catching are the gilded silver bishop's crosier dating from 1322 and the so-called St Peter's Crosier, which is Roman and dates from the fourth century AD. Also on display is the original wooden structure of the Shrine of the Three Magi, while on the museum's lower level it's possible to see a fragment of the Roman city wall and the finds from two sixth-century Frankish tombs.