The Coesfeld Cross is a forked crucifix and is located in the Church of Saint Lambert in Coesfeld. It is the largest of its type in Germany and is especially noted for its graphically clear portrayal of Christ's suffering. The cross is 3.24 metres high and 1.94 metres wide; the figure of Christ is 2.09 metres tall and has an arm span of 2.09 metres. The torso, which was made in the 14th century, was carved by an unknown artist from walnut wood; from a single trunk of at least 48 centimetres in diameter. The sculptor used oak wood for the arms, and the two beams of the cross. The present smooth surface was originally embellished with wounds and veins made of filler and had a more sculpted appearance as well as being painted. The head appears rather small in proportion today, because it no longer has any of the original hair, which was made of tow and glue. Holes have been bored in the left breast and head in order to attach various relics, including a true cross relic. Hence, from quite early on, the Coesfeld Cross was believed to possess miraculous properties and was the destination of many pilgrimages. A cross is still at the heart of the tradition today. For the various festivals known as Kreuztrachten, streets and houses along the route of the procession are decorated with flags and pennants, not dissimilar to the custom in other Roman Catholic regions. Historic development of the Coesfeld Cross rituals An early testimony to the veneration of the cross in Coesfeld is a letter of indulgence dated 1 July 1312, in which participants in the cross festival were to be granted a special indulgence. As a result, the pilgrimage experienced a significant increase in popularity, and donations and offerings for the holy cross grew. In 1359, a fund paying an annual sum of two shillings was established in order to finance the votive candles burnt in honour of the Coesfeld Cross, and, from 1425, a Confraternity of the Holy Cross is recorded. Even in the religious turmoil of the 16th century reform-minded pastors were unable to prevent ordinary folk from continuing to venerate the cross. The initial decline in its ritual worship began with the attacks of Spanish and Dutch mercenaries on the western Münsterland during the time of the Eighty Years' War and consequent plundering and impoverishment of