Hereford Cathedral

The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a medieval map of the world dating to approximately 1300, housed in Hereford Cathedral in Herefordshire, England. It is the largest surviving medieval world map, measuring about 5 feet tall and 4.5 feet wide, and depicts the world as understood by medieval Europeans with Jerusalem at its center.

Construction of the current Hereford Cathedral began in 1079, though the site has been a place of Christian worship since at least the 8th century. The building incorporates architectural elements from the Norman, Early English, and Decorated Gothic periods.

Yes, the Hereford Mappa Mundi is on public display at Hereford Cathedral in a specially designed exhibition space. The cathedral also houses the Hereford Chained Library, one of the largest surviving chained libraries in the world, where books were secured to shelves with chains to prevent theft.

Hereford Cathedral contains the shrine of St. Thomas de Cantilupe, a 13th-century Bishop of Hereford who was canonized in 1320. The cathedral has been a place of pilgrimage since his canonization, and his shrine remains an important historical and religious feature of the building.