Bernward Column [SEP] material used
Bernward Column
The Bernward Column () also known as the Christ Column () is a Romanesque bronze column, made for St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany, and regarded as a masterpiece of Ottonian art. It was commissioned by Bernward, thirteenth bishop of Hildesheim. It depicts images from the life of Jesus, arranged in a helix similar to Trajan's Column: it was originally topped with a cross or crucifix. During the 19th century, it was moved to a courtyard and later to Hildesheim Cathedral. During
. In addition, a copper-coated marble column stood in front of the altar, whose stone came from the eastern Mediterranean and, according to later sources, was a gift from Emperor Otto III to Bernward.
The altar was equated with the offering table in the forehall of the Temple of Solomon, which also stood between two columns (Boaz and Jachin). A large wheel chandelier, which was meant to have been a gift from Otto III to Bernward, hung above the Bernward Column until 1662, with a