Wender·Vista
Frankfurt Cathedral
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGermany
on the Domhügel above the Römer, in old Frankfurt

Frankfurt Cathedral

— — the church the emperors were crowned in.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The Imperial Cathedral on the small rise above the Römer, in the old city of Frankfurt am Main. From 1562 to 1792 the kings of the Romans were crowned here as Holy Roman Emperors. The current Gothic building rose in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries on the foundations of a Carolingian palace chapel. The red sandstone tower carries to 95 metres above the river bank, and is open for the climb most of the year.

from the studio
Frankfurt Cathedral
— bring it home

Frankfurt Cathedral, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Frankfurt Cathedral

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Frankfurter Dom, formally the Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus, is a Gothic collegiate church on the Domhügel in the old city of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. The present building was constructed between the late thirteenth century and 1550, on the foundations of an earlier Carolingian palace chapel. From 1356, under the Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV, the German kings were elected in the cathedral; from 1562 to 1792 they were also crowned here as Holy Roman Emperors. The west tower rises to 95 metres above the north bank of the Main.

— the stone

The cathedral is built of the local red Main sandstone from quarries around Miltenberg and Mainz, the same warm stone that gives the Römer square its colour. The west tower was raised to its present height between 1415 and 1514 under the master builders Madern Gerthener and Hans von Königstein. After a city fire in 1867, and again after the Allied bombing of March 1944, the cathedral was rebuilt to the medieval drawings; the present interior dates largely from a reopening in 1953.

— the visit

The cathedral stands on the Domhügel, a short walk from the Römer and the Eiserner Steg footbridge over the Main. Entrance to the nave is free; the tower climb of 328 steps to the platform at 66 metres carries a small fee, with hours that vary by season. The Dommuseum, in the cloister, holds the cathedral's medieval treasury, including the Bartholomew skull reliquary. The U-Bahn stop Dom/Römer sits directly beneath the square.

— where
Germany · Frankfurt am Main, Hesse
— position
50.1106° N · 8.6856° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Römer
town hall square
at the lake
Eiserner Steg
footbridge
1 km NW
Goethe-Haus
writer's house
N
Frankfurt Cathedral
Römer
Eiserner Steg
Goethe-Haus
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Frankfurt Cathedral — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The title Kaiserdom marks the church's role as the coronation site of the Holy Roman Emperors from 1562 to 1792. It is not a cathedral in the canonical sense, as Frankfurt is not a bishop's seat.

The present Gothic building was raised between the late thirteenth century and 1550, on the foundations of a Carolingian palace chapel. The west tower reached its full height of 95 metres in 1514.

From 1562 to 1792 the Holy Roman Emperors were crowned in the cathedral. The kings of the Romans had also been elected here since 1356 under the Golden Bull of Charles IV.

Yes. The tower platform sits at 66 metres above the square, reached by a climb of 328 steps. A small admission fee is charged and hours vary by season.

The cathedral was badly damaged by Allied bombing on the night of March 22, 1944, and the interior burned out. It was rebuilt to the medieval drawings and reopened in 1953.

The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. A skull reliquary said to be the saint's was brought to Frankfurt in 1239 by Emperor Frederick II and remains in the Dommuseum treasury.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for our customers with family in Hesse who wanted the old city on the wall. A Small or Medium near the entrance frames the red sandstone tower without dominating the room.

The warm red sandstone and slate-grey roof palette sits with Continental-classic interiors, Old-World Library rooms, and a Jewel-tone Maximalist wall where the warm reds can lead.

Yes. Gothic ecclesiastical imagery is a defining note of the current Old-World Library and Dark Academia revival, where heritage architecture sits alongside leather, walnut, and brass.

A single Large reads above a sofa. For a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural carries the tower at full presence; a 9-tile Mural is the showpiece scale.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical wet installations like a backsplash or shower wall. The colour holds up indefinitely in steam and splash.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created in-house by Reid Wender as the curating eye, hand-finished in the Knoxville studio. Nothing is licensed from a third party.

— if this one stayed with you

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