Cologne Cathedral Germany - The Second Tallest Church in Europe and Third Tallest Church in the World.

 

Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, located in the city of Cologne, Germany. The cathedral is the tallest twin-spired that stand 515 feet (157 metres) tall church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster and the third tallest church of any kind in the world. It is also one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic and Neo-Gothic architecture in the world. The cathedral covers almost 8,000 square metres of floor space and can hold more than 20,000 people. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. The Gothic cathedral dominates the skyline of Cologne and is one of Germany’s most famous landmarks. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.

 

 

Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 but was halted in the years around 1560, unfinished. Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit for its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Attempts to complete the construction began around 1814 but the project was not properly funded until the 1840s. The edifice was completed to its original Medieval plan in 1880. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe". Only the telecommunications tower is higher than the cathedral.

 

 

The Cathedral is made of different types of stone, such as trachyte and sandstone. Many sculptures and canopies are made of limestone. The black patina has been a characteristic feature of Cologne Cathedral for centuries and is due to weathering, soot and biofouling. The Cathedral’s colourful glass windows are especially impressive. They bring a vibrant intensity of colour into the interior. Light-flooded cathedrals should make the omnipotence and closeness to God tangible, which explains the plethora of windows. They not only include coloured surfaces, but also picture windows that tell biblical stories. One of the Cathedral’s oldest stained-glass windows is the famous Bible Window, which is located in the central chapel of the ambulatory. The Cologne Cathedral windows, their significance, their history and their partial rescue from the bombs of World War II comprise an extensive chapter of the Cathedral’s history and play an important role in the impressive interior.

 

 

The cathedral window designed by the German artist Gerhard Richter caused quite a stir. Inaugurated in 2007, it sparked enthusiasm as well as criticism. A total of 11,263 colour squares in 72 colours were randomly arranged for the south transept window, which was destroyed during World War II, creating an abstract tapestry of colour that changes continuously depending on the incidence of light. The 72 colours are colours that were also used in the neo-medieval windows of the 19th century and thus are an essential element of the cathedral windows. If you’re in Cologne and near the Cathedral when the sun is shining, you should step inside and see the play of colours for yourself. Another successful interplay of tradition and modernity is hidden under the roof of the Cathedral. Contrary to what you may assume, the rafters of the Cathedral’s roof are not made of wood, but of iron, which saved the Cathedral from serious damage in World War II. This iron truss was the largest steel structure in the world in 1860 — 30 years before the completion of the Eiffel Tower. To this day it carries the heavy lead roof.

 

 

The Cologne Cathedral World Heritage site is, as a rule, open to tourists on working days Monday to Saturday. In the summer months between May and October it is open from 06:00 AM until 21:00 PM while in the winter months from November to April it is open just until 19:30. Visitors can also climb to the tower of the cathedral, and the admission fee costs 3 euros. Climbing to the tower is possible every day starting from 09:00 AM and closes between 16:00 and 18:00 depending on the period of the year. The Cathedral Treasury is open to visitors between 10 am and 6 pm. Many Catholics whose native language is not German visit Cologne Cathedral and celebrate Massesp ecially on Sundays. It is generally possible to pray or light a candle in the tower narthex during a liturgy.