European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 06, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Germany Fulda s Cathedra dominates the Confer of town a family poses in front of a statue near the City Center. Fuld by Mark Kinkade staff writer there was a time when Fulda Germany was considered Little More than ground Zero in a War Between the East and the West. Now the barbed wire is Down and the tanks have pulled out of the Region leaving Fulda to slowly remake its image to that of a town dedicated to Beauty history and religion. Noon in Fulda is announced with the tolling of Bells in the Many churches throughout the Small town. From the twin Spires of the baroque Cathedral to the huge Frauenberg monastery on the Hills above the town the churches announce the lunch hour in a Melody that echoes throughout the Hills of Central Germany. Fulda s Long history is represented in its two most notable attractions the Dom Cathedral and St. Michael s Church. Both dominate the Center of town. The Cathedral is an enormous baroque Structure full of domes statues and spiritual opulence a tribute to religious glory. On the other hand St. Michael s is medieval and hard with narrow Spires tight stairways and Dank crypts a reminder of religious piety. The Cathedral was built in the Early 1700s. A major restoration project is nearly Complete and has reclaimed much of the Copper and Alabaster statues and architecture from the soot and grime of two centuries of Progress. The outside of the Cathedral is impressive but the inside is overwhelming. A dozen altars line the Walls and countless statues peer from every Nook and cranny at strategic town trying to step out of Gold wars Shadow visitors. This is the kind of Church that brings on a reverential silence from even the most a religious people. / most of the statues Are full size and depict either martyred saints or biblical episodes. The great inner Hall is at least 200 Yards Long and almost As wide crowned with a Beautiful and imposing Onyx and Alabaster altar and crypt of St. Boniface who is largely responsible for settling Fulda for years Fulda was a pilgrimage site for people coming to see the crypt. According to most guidebooks Popes Kings and lords frequently visited the town to pay homage to the Saint. From the lop of the Cathedral hundreds of feet above visitors Heads Angels peer Down while a Dove soars in the Sun. All the while St. Boniface Peers from Many scenes. A 3-Mark about $1.80 tour of the Cathedral museum is Worth the Price if seeing old Church Robes interests you. Most of the clothes Are from various Bishops who have lived in Fulda and most Are hundreds of years old. If the Cathedral is elegance St. Michael s is a kind of Creepy plainness that lends itself to guilt and moral anguish much easier than the gloried Cathedral. St. Michael s is Plain and Small. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the crypt below the Church. Narrow passageways and a Musky dead smell leave visitors with a feeling for what it must have been like to be a Monk in the Early ninth Century when the Church was built. The stad Schloss sprawls next to an enormous Park continued on Page 76 january 6, f 994 stripes Magazine 75