Christ Church Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity) sits in the heart of Dublin in the medieval section of the city. Dublin doesn’t have an old town like many other places in Europe that we have visited, but it does have some historical points of interest, of which this medieval church is one of its gems. Both the interior and exterior of the church are visually stunning, although perhaps not as ornate as some other churches from the period.
Of particular interest is the crypt that lies below the church. It contains the remains of many monuments and historical motifs that are quite fascinating to see. It is the largest crypt in all of Ireland or the UK and definitely worth taking the time to go below the church and checking it out. One of the oddities on display are a cat and rat that were mummified in the pipes of the organ in the 1800’s. Perhaps a little macabre, but still interesting.
Considering that the majority of Dublin is a modern city with only a few historical landmarks remaining, the Christ Church was well worth the visit. We ended up visiting the church on our first day in Dublin, partially just to get out of the rain, but we ended up passing by it a few times before our trip was over. Each time we passed by, we seemed to find another point of interest such as the memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide and a “Homeless Jesus” statue that was gifted to the people of Ireland.
Clearly it is more spectacular on a bright and sunny day, but whatever the weather, we found Christ Church to be very interesting. Obviously the medieval architecture is always interesting, but the artwork is fascinating as well. Since we cannot and wouldn’t use flash photography, there is only so much that we could share, but hopefully you find it as interesting as we did.
