The Cologne Cathedral is the third tallest church in Europe and, at 157 meters (515 feet), the tallest twin-spired church in the world. With a normal camera, it is impossible to get a properly proportioned photo of the church from the plaza in front of it. This photo is a vertical panoramic image in which I stitched together seven photos to capture the entire front facade in one frame.
Stepping down the street a block away allows for a photo that captures the church with proper proportions.
Construction of gothic structure began in 1248, but stopped around 1560. In 1814 an effort was made to complete the construction but sufficient funding did not become available until the 1840s. The building was completed according to its original medieval plan in 1880.
Today, work on restoring and preserving the cathedral continues.
The meticulous effort to clean the facade is evident in these photo.
The sculpture below is the Archangel Michael, whose shield bears the phrase “Quis ut Deus,” or “Who [is] like God?” Michael’s answer, no one is comparable to God, is his defiant response to Lucifer’s arrogance.
The cathedral is Germany’s most visited landmark, attracting an average of 6 million people a year. The morning we toured Cologne, the cathedral was closed for tours while the church held a service attended by thousands for the city’s professional soccer team. We were, however, able to tour the cathedral in the afternoon.
The window in the south transept is unlike the others. Like the others it once pictured secular and Christian rulers. But, it destroyed when the cathedral was bombed in World War II. (The cathedral suffered fourteen hits by aerial bombs during the war, but nevertheless remained standing in a city that was completely flattened by allied bombing.) The window in the south transept was replaced 11,263 glass squares in 72 colors, 9.6 cm by 9.6 cm. The squares were placed randomly in the window. The window was sharply criticized for its lack of imagery. Cologne cardinal Joachim Meisner was quoted as saying “The window would be better suited to a mosque or another house of prayer. If we’re going to have a new window, it should be one that reflects our faith. Not just any.”
The window casts a gorgeous reflection on the adjacent wall. This is one of my favorite photographs from our trip.
Among the relics in the cathedral is a reliquary said to contain the remains of the three kings who visited the Christ child in Bethlehem.
Our tour was only an hour long, not nearly long enough to take in everything there is to see at the cathedral. Here are a few more photos from our visit.
