The Cathedral of St. Peter — the Dom — is the largest church in Osnabrück and one of the oldest buildings in the city, with a history stretching back to the tenth century. What stands today is mostly Romanesque, built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, with later Gothic additions including the high choir. The exterior is imposing without being showy: solid sandstone walls, two mismatched towers, and the kind of weight that comes from a building that has been central to a community for a very long time.
Inside, the scale is impressive and the atmosphere is genuinely peaceful. Most visitors head straight through the main doors and miss the cloisters, which are reached from the south side of the nave — a quiet courtyard largely overlooked by the tour groups. The cathedral treasury holds a good collection of medieval metalwork and reliquaries. The Dom stands in its own square a short walk north of the Marktplatz, and the surrounding streets are among the quieter parts of the old town.