1000 years old. Yeah right... - #704

Don't believe a word of it.

BITS of the cathedral are 1000 years old - this tower and the matching one on the other side, for instance - but given that it

• Burned down on the day of its inauguration in.....yes, 1009....., which meant that there was nowhere appropriate to bury Bishop Willigis when he fell off the perch 2 years later. (He ended up at the top of the Gaustrasse in St Stephan, but folk lost track of his bones over the centuries, so it's pretty much a guessing game as to where he is these days. Or was that St Martin? Whatever...)
  
• Burned down again in 1081
• Was struck by lightning and damaged in 1767
• Was attacked by the French in 1793, who used it as an army camp and burned the wooden interior for fuel
• Had incredibly ugly bits added and removed on various occasions
  
• Got thumped by the Allies in the 1942 air raids

you can only REALLY say that - on average - it's FAIRLY old.

But who wants to quibble over a century or two...?