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Christ Church Cathedral (commonly known as Christ Church) is a cathedral located in the heart of Dublin city center. Built by the Vikings, the cathedral gradually evolved towards Anglo-Norman and Victorian influences.
Since then, it has become a national treasure, attracting thousands of visitors every year to admire its Gothic architecture!
Located in the heart of Dublin’s city center, Christ Church has become a must-see tourist attraction for lovers of ancient monuments!
Christ Church – Bods – cc
Christ Church Cathedral was built in 1038 by the Viking king “Sitric Silkenbeard” on the heights overlooking the Viking settlement of Wood Quay.
This cathedral was built on behalf of Bishop Donat or Donagh, considered the first bishop in the city’s history. At the time, Dublin was under Viking influence, and the construction of Christ Church marked a major step in the city’s Christianization.
Originally made up of secular clergy, Dublin’s second bishop over time staffed the cathedral with Benedictine monks, making it one of the leading cultural and religious centers of the day.
During this period, Christ Church was one of Dublin’s most important places of Christian worship. It attracts the city’s Christians at every opportunity, and the cathedral’s reputation radiates throughout Ireland.
So much so, that in 1171 Henry II wished to attend the Christmas service within the walls of Christ Church. To the great satisfaction of the Church of Ireland, this event made the cathedral one of the island’s most important religious sites.
During the period of the Norman Invasions (12th century), Christ Church was partially rebuilt with funding from the Anglo-Norman countries. Christ Church was thus endowed with a crypt, a choir, annex chapels and an enlarged transept.
In 1562, Christ Church suffered a major landslide. This was due to the fact that the foundations of the nave were built in a peat bog. Partial repairs were carried out, but much of the debris was simply razed to the ground and a new floor built over it in 1871.
The cathedral was renovated in Victorian times, at a cost of £230,000, to become the cathedral we know today.
Christ church – © puckillustrations
Christ Church is located in the medieval heart of old Dublin, next to Wood Quay, at the end of Dame Street.
If you wish to enter the cathedral, you can admire the beauty of its nave, stained glass windows and 12th-century crypt.
If you walk up the nave, you’ll see the tomb of General Strongbow, an Anglo-Norman famous for his military exploits on behalf of the English. (His arrival in Ireland marked the beginning of English involvement in Ireland).
Unfortunately, it’s not actually General Strongbow’s tomb, having been destroyed centuries before. A tomb was rebuilt in his memory, and to this day stands in the nave of the cathedral, although it no longer contains his body.
An arch links Christ Church to the Dublinia Museum, dedicated to Dublin’s Viking past and the Irish Middle Ages. The arch that connects the 2 buildings runs over a particularly busy road, making Dame Street’s urban landscape one of the most unusual in the world.
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