York Minster

York Minster is the largest medieval Gothic church in northern Europe. It dominates the city and is the chief church in the northern province of the Church of England. It is the fifth cathedral to be built oin the site since Edwin, the Anglian king of Nothumbria, was baptized there in 627. The current Minster is largely unchanged sinceit was completed in 1472, although it has suffered three fires in the last two centuries.

The Minster is built over and surrounded by history. Part of the foundations of the military headquarters if the Roman garrison and those of the first Norman Minster can still be seen in the crypt. Close the the Minster stands St William's College and the Treasure's House.

When Emperor Constantius Chlorus dies in York in 306, the troops proclaimed his son Constantine Emperor, but Constantine had to return to Rome to fight for the title. Six years later, Constantine, now Emperor, was baptized and by the end of the 4th century Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire.

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