St. Vitus Minster (Basilica Minor), Mönchengladbach

Every seven years, the Sankt VITUS abbey church in Mönchengladbach is a very special destination for pilgrims: part of the Holy Communion cloth is then shown to the public for a week.

The first abbey church was built shortly after the founding of the monastery by Archbishop Gero in 974. This church was quickly too small and was rebuilt several times in the 12th century to 13th century. The substructure of the mighty western building was built in 1180-83, followed by the three-nave nave in 1228-39. On April 28, 1275, Albertus Magnus consecrated the gothic choir hall with sacristy above the crypt by the Cologne cathedral master builder Gerhard von Rile. The octagonal tower with the northern stair tower completed the hitherto unfinished Westwerk around 1343.
The picture clearly shows that the spire has undergone frequent changes in the course of time as a result of war, fire and new architectural styles. The cathedral was destroyed in the Second World War to the outer walls and rebuilt from 1947 to 1957. Today, the Minster Church dedicated to St. Vitus, patron saint of Mönchengladbach, is the parish church of St. Vitus.

The Mönchengladbach Minster St. Vitus is a Catholic church in Mönchengladbach. From 974 to 1802 the minster was the abbey church of the Benedictine Abbey of Gladbach. In 1974 the church was opened by Pope Paul VI. on the occasion of the 84th German Catholic Day in Mönchengladbach and the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the abbey, elevated to the status of a papal minor basilica.