A 1,000-year-old church built by Otto the Great, the first Holy Roman Emperor, has been discovered under a cornfield in Germany.
Archaeologists uncovered the foundation walls of the 100-foot-long structure at the rediscovered Royal Palace of Helfta near Eisleben, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The church, which was used for more than 500 years, was constructed in 968 AD and is believed to have been dedicated to Saint Radegund, a 6th century queen in France who led who husband to start a monastery for women.
A cemetery with 70 graves and several stone tombs were also found during excavations, which researchers say was used as a burial site for the region’s aristocratic families.
A 1,000-year-old church built by Otto the Great, the first Holy Roman Emperor, has been discovered under a cornfield in Germany
Otto the Great was a German king whose reign is considered to be the true beginning of the Holy Roman Empire, which was a German empire that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe – and Otto was crowned the first emperor.
The Holy Roman Empire was named after the Roman Empire and was considered its extension that aimed to restore Catholicism as the only religion in the empire and suppress Protestantism.
Otto built many lavish churches throughout Central Europe, including the one recently discovered in Germany.
The 66-foot-wide structure was designed as a mini cathedral, project manager Felix Biermann told Zenger.
Otto the Great was a German king whose reign is considered to be the true beginning of the Holy Roman Empire
Although the church was active for five centuries, it was eventually demolished during the Protestant Reformation, the split of the Western Church into Protestantism and what is now the Roman Catholic Church.
The Reformation is said to have been organized in 1571, when Martin Luther, a German monk and university professor, posted his 95 theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg.
Luther argued that the church had to be reformed and believed that individuals could be saved only by personal faith in Jesus Christ and the grace of God.
He thought the Catholic Church’s practices focusing on works were immoral.
These works include pilgrimages, the sale of indulgences to obtain forgiveness, and prayers addressed to saints.
The French Enlightenment writer Voltaire remarked sardonically: ‘This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire,’ according to the Holy Roman Empire Association.
Archaeologists uncovered the foundation walls of the 100-foot-long structure at the rediscovered Royal Palace of Helfta near Eisleben, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
A cemetery with 70 graves and several stone tombs were also found during excavations, which researchers say was used as a burial site for the region’s aristocratic families
Numerous disc brooches from the Ottoman times, made of bronze, enameled and with glass inlays in a rectangular and circular shape were also found at the site
Otto’s church in Germany, however, provides a glimpse into the Ottoman Empire.
Archaeologists found a number of coins and a tiled stove from the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as a fragment of a bell.
‘In addition, belt fittings, belt buckles made of bronze, coins, knives and various utensils came to light,’ said Biermann.
‘Numerous disc brooches from the Ottoman times, made of bronze, enameled and with glass inlays in a rectangular and circular shape, were excavated.’