Visiting South Bavaria and Passau a couple years ago, I saw the largest cathedral organ in the world. Built in 1928, it has 208 registers with 17974 pipes. Since then, this instrument has been known all over the world, and till today brings visitors from everywhere to the three-river city
The sound concept with five different partial organs, each with its own sound character, is unique. The two baroque pillar organs, which were originally set up on the pillars under the crossing dome in their own music galleries, were transferred to the west gallery of the aisles in the middle of the 19th century.
They now flank the main organ: the Gospel organ in the north as a French solo and swell organ, the Epistle organ in the south as an Italian-Baroque organ. The choir organ in the chancel on the left has its own mechanical play cabinet and is in the North German-Baroque sound style.
The distant organ is installed in its own organ chamber above the nave in the roof structure, the sound of which can penetrate the nave through the “Heilig-Geist-Loch”. This organ is arranged in the late romantic style.
From 1978 to 1981 the organ was technically and sonically redesigned by the Eisenbarth company from Passau. The main organ, with its own four-manual console, connects the sub-works sonically to form a whole.
On the west gallery there is a five-manual general console at which the 233 sounding registers of all sub-organs, with their 17,774 pipes and four carillons, can be played individually or all together.
