Bishop Bernward, who held office from 996 to 1022, commissioned a Benedictine monastery here. The church was consecrated in 1022, weeks before his death. The infobox gives groundbreaking in the late 10th century, while the text says work began in 1010. Bishop Godehard finished it in 1031, though the text later says 1033. The article names no architect.
It is a double-choir basilica with a transept at each end and a square tower over each crossing. The crossing square is the module for the whole plan. The church is 245 feet (74.75 m) long, with walls 5.3 feet (1.63 m) thick. Pevsner called it the earliest surviving example of a truly Romanesque exterior.
The wooden ceiling painting of the Tree of Jesse, about 91 by 29 feet (27.6 by 8.7 m), dates to around 1130. A raid on March 22, 1945 heavily damaged the church, and rebuilding ran from 1950 to 1957. UNESCO listed it in 1985.
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