Constructed from 1235 to 1283, this remarkable church is the first truly Gothic church to be built in Germany. The landmark structure is graced with two 80m (260-ft.) towers housing 700-year-old bells. The town's most beloved daughter, St. Elisabeth, is entombed here. A Hungarian princess, she was betrothed at age 4 to marry (at 12) Ludwig IV of Thuringia. He lost his life in the Crusades, and she gave up all her wealth to share with the poor, dying of exhaustion at the age of 24.

In the sacristy is the 13th-century reliquary containing the saint's bones and other artifacts. Her shrine is a masterpiece in gold completed by craftsmen from the Rhineland in 1250. Religious art, statues, and frescoes fill the cathedral, making it a virtual ecclesiastical museum.