A 70-step flight of steps leads from the cathedral square to the cathedral hill with its two former collegiate churches. The cathedral with its high Gothic choir, Romanesque tower area and late Gothic west hall is the successor to the sacred building commissioned by Rome in 724. It was the main church of the diocese of Erfurt, founded by Bishop Boniface in 742. Inside, the Gothic choir windows, the extensive choir stalls (14th century) and the Romanesque sculptures of an enthroned Madonna and a monumental candle bearer are particularly worth seeing. In the central tower is the world's largest medieval free-swinging bell, the "Gloriosa".