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Bern Minster: Distant context view of the minster and terrace
Viewed from Kirchenfeldbrücke. The Cathedral Terrace (in German: Münsterplattform) was built during 1334 and the mid 15th Century as a large churchyard, now a paved plaza.
The minster, dedicated to St Vincent (originally the parish church, later made collegiate), was planned by Matthäus Ensinger from 1421 to replace a 12th century predecessor. It was largely completed by about 1540 by successive architects, including Vincenz Ensinger and Erhard Küng. The upper part of the tower was finished only in 1889-1893. It is an aisled, Late Gothic basilica with a richly sculpted portal of the Last Judgment by Küng, interior statuary (1517), important stained glass (1441-1460) and choir-stalls (1522), and is the outstanding Late Gothic building in Switzerland.