For Children and Youth Groups
In the KinderDomBauhütte (children’s construction workshop), children and young persons can undertake a fascinating search for traces of the past all year around. Slipping into the role of a medieval cathedral master builder themselves, they discover the UNESCO World Heritage Site and allow their creativity to flow through sculpture, glasswork or architectural design. The incredible achievements of the cathedral master builders are linked imaginatively to subjects such as history, RE, art, biology, maths and special topics. The wide range of projects available can be adapted to the frameworks of the syllabus and can be tailored to groups of all ages.
Please note the following in regard to all projects:
The projects are in German only. The activity prices and additional guided tour prices for the selected offers apply to groups of a minimum of 15 and maximum of 25 school children. One teacher and one accompanying adult receive a free ticket per group (excluding material costs).
We ask for timely We would advise booking well in advance indicating your class level.
FROM CLASS 5 (AGE TEN)
Botany in stone
The West Choir Screen in Naumburg Cathedral is covered in the most beautiful ornamental foliage from the middle ages. Almost as if they were alive, oaks, vines and hops all thrive on the columns. The Naumburg Master’s inspiration – the plants of the Saale-Unstrut region – can still be found in the Cathedral Garden. In the garden, children can closely compare the sculptural works with their living templates and discover the interplay between nature and art. We also have a go at the intricate work of the sculptors. Following the traditions of construction workshops, we work in medieval dress with chisels, rasps and files to create a foliate relief out of aerated concrete based on our own sketches.
Duration: 150 min
Project fee: €8 per person
Heavenly light
The stained-glass windows of Naumburg Cathedral demonstrate the high level of craftmanship of the medieval glassmakers who fashioned items of such resplendence from this most sensitive material. It is from their work that we understand how important light was in Gothic cathedrals. Pupils look at the interplay between light, colour and geometry and go on to create their own piece of heavenly light as a memento. As glass artists they quickly learn the sensitivity required to work on such small pieces of glasswork. In the glass workshop they cut, break and grind the luminous glass to create their own pendants. Placing their pendants together also creates a collective piece of artwork for the whole group.
Duration: 150 min
Project fee: €8 per person
Marked by time
While discovering the Naumburg Cathedral Chapter Library, school groups will be amazed by the more than 30,000 valuable medieval scripts, bound in ornate leather covers. This gives them rare insights into the extensive range of artefacts and learn everything there is to know about the craft of leatherwork. At the end, each child will have the opportunity to create their own personal bookmark from genuine sleek leather. We have a number of stitching irons in different shapes and sizes which can be used in a multitude of variations to make each piece.
Duration: 150 min
Project fee: € 7 per person
Let there be light. Creative candlemaking
Candlelight creates a warm and cosy atmosphere. But what significance did light hold in the middle ages? Why are candles still lit in church today? The children investigate these questions while exploring the cathedral. Afterwards, they make their own individual candles using a range of construction techniques.
Duration: 120 min
Project fee: € 7 per person
FROM CLASS 6 (AGE ELEVEN)
Coloured light
Handling glass and creating windows became a truly masterful art in Gothic construction. In this day-long course we give school children the time to get to grips properly with glass art. While exploring the cathedral, attention should be drawn to the windows, the techniques used to make them, their shape, paintwork and intense play of colours. Children are encouraged to focus on the coats of arms visible in the windows in particular, as these then form the templates for their own glass pictures. The children are then given a brief introduction into the practice of creating medieval windows and how to use the relevant tools. Using this knowledge, they then produce their own entirely personal glass window featuring a coat of arms.
Duration: 7 hours
Project fees: for 15 or more 11.00 € per person, for 20 or more 8.00 € per person
Material costs: 7.00 € per person
Figures and dimensions
The foundation stone of the first Naumburg Cathedral was laid in 1028. But what methods and techniques were used to erect such an imposing building in just twelve years? The children step into the shoes of medieval mathematicians and planners and, using original engravings in the west choir, discover which measuring instruments were used and review how constructions were built accurately in the late middle ages. Equipped with just pair of compasses and a sight board, they then draft the floorplan of Naumburg Cathedral. With a bit of maths, they can gain an understanding of what the medieval builders managed to achieve in a fun yet challenging manner.
Duration: 240 min
Project fee: 18 € per person
FOR RE CLASSES
Gestures, facial expressions and comic strips
Sculptures cannot talk and yet they can still tell a story. For instance, the story of the passion on the West Choir Screen can be understood thanks to the animated form of each individual relief. The gestures and facial expressions of the figures often reveal more than a thousand words. The modern glass windows by Neo Rauch in the Chapel of St Elizabeth create a link to the comic-strips of today. The children can then play around with different expressions on figures and pictures in their own comic strips. In the cathedral they sketch statues which they can then colour in the workshop and arrange into a picture story.
It is helpful if the children already have a reasonable understanding of the bible and in particular the story of the passion.
Duration: 150 min
Project fee: €6 per person
