The Cologne Cathedral

St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is certainly an awe-inspiring sight. The great Spanish cathedrals of Burgos, Salamanca and Grenada are truly breathtaking. The Duomo in Florence is proud and regal. But when it comes to sheer majesty, the colossal Cathedral of Cologne is the most impressive structure of them all.

The Cologne Cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral in existence. Its awesome western faÃ?§ade and twin towers comprise an area of over 7000 square meters and it stands a towering 157 meters tall. For a short period in the 1880s it was even the tallest building on earth. And perhaps the most peculiar aspect about the history of this building is that it is not one building at all. It’s a very long, historic succession of buildings.

Christians began gathering at this location during Roman times and over the many years since then, several churches, each one larger than its predecessor, were built upon this very spot. The first “official” church was the Carolingian (Charlemagne) Cathedral of 870. It stood here until the 13th century with very few changes to its basic structure being made.

Soon after this period, the relics of the Magi were brought here in 1164. Yes, this cathedral is said to be the final resting place of the astrologers of the East who brought their gifts to the infant Jesus. And this helped make the cathedral one of the most important churches of pilgrimage throughout Europe.

The old cathedral was torn down to make room for the construction of the “new”, Gothic cathedral in 1248. Several other important steps along the way to its present form proceed as follows:

The consecration of the Gothic choir was finished in 1322. At was at this time that those Gothic vaults and flying buttresses so familiar to us were constructed. The burial of Saints and archbishops within the choir chapels also began during this period.

Around 1530, the two giant aisles of the nave and the first floors of the southern tower where constructed. More lavish adornments and furnishings were also provided at this time, but soon after this, everything came to a bit of a standstill for many years to come, primarily due to a lack of finances.

In 1794, French troupes marched into occupy Cologne. The Archbishop fled. And for several years after this, the cathedral served many a profane purpose. It was used as a warehouse, for instance. It was then consecrated as a church again in 1801.

Partially as a reaction to this period in which the cathedral had been profaned, massive popular support arose for the further construction of the building, which began again in 1842. The modern builders of this age followed the medieval plans available to them very strictly, but also used modern construction techniques in the building process.

The Cologne Cathedral as we now know it reached its final state in 1880. And even though it was hit by several large bombs during World War II, it has stood here proudly since this time. An “eternal construction site”, as many of the residents of Cologne like to call it, this very long building process, in and of itself, reflects the importance it holds to many of its admirers today.

It is indeed a wonder – as is making it all the way up the 550 steps to its majestic pinnacle. But once you do (and you will), you certainly won’t regret your effort.