Archbishop Willigis

Archbishop Willigis of Mainz (r. 975-1011) was one of the most powerful ecclesiastical princes of the empire. Not only was he the Pope's deputy north of the Alps. But as Archchaplain, he was the head of the court clergy, and as Archchancellor he supervised the royal chancery. He advised the Ottonian empresses Theophanu and Adelheid and educated the young king Otto III.

Willigis was the first archbishop in the empire to mint coins with his portrait. It was also he who crowned Henry II in 1002. Not at the traditional coronation site in Aachen, but in his metropolis Mainz. A panel with a wickerwork motif and remnants of old colour painting testify to the magnificent decoration of the coronation church of the "Old" Cathedral, now St. John's Church. Willigis built a new, imposing cathedral directly to its east. Reconstruction began immediately after it burned down in 1009 on the day of its consecration.