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Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248.
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Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
COLOGNE
CATHEDRAL
Cologne Cathedral (German:
Kölner Dom) is one of the most
well-known architectural monuments in
Germany and has been
Cologne's most famous
landmark for centuries. Construction of the
gothic church began
in the
13th century and
took, with interruptions, more than 600 years. The two towers are
157m
tall, the cathedral is 144m long and 86m wide. It was built on the site of a
4th century Roman
temple, a square edifice known as the 'oldest cathedral' and
commissioned by Maternus, the first Christian bishop of Cologne. The present cathedral was built to house the relics of the
Magi, brought to Cologne from Italy by Archbishop Rainald von Dassel
in
1164. The foundation
stone was laid on
August 15,
1248, by Archbishop
Konrad von Hochstaden. The choir was consecrated in 1322. After this
initial rapid progress, construction work gradually came to a
standstill, and by the year 1560, only a torso had been built. It
was only with
19th century romantic
enthusiasm for the
Middle Ages and the
commitment of the Prussian Court that construction work resumed in
1842
with the addition of the towers and other substantial parts of the
cathedral. The completion of Germany's largest cathedral was
celebrated as a national event in
1880, 632 years after
construction had began. The celebration was attended by Emperor
Wilhelm I. In the end, the outer appearance remained faithful to the
original medieval plans; however, the roof was a modern
steel construction.
At its completion, the Cologne cathedral was the tallest building in
the world, having taken over from the cathedral of
Rouen. In
1889, it lost the
title to Mole Antonelliana, the cathedral of
Turin. For a small fee it is possible to climb a spiral staircase to a
viewing platform about 98 metres above the ground. The cathedral suffered 14 hits by
World War II bombs; reconstruction was completed in
1956.
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Cologne Cathedral, begun in 1248.
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 Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
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 Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
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Cologne Cathedral, begun in
1248. Interior. |
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 Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
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 Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
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 Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
 Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
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 Cologne
Cathedral, begun in 1248. |
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Sankt Lozenz Kirche Cathedral
Nurnberg, Bavaria, Germany
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 Sankt Lozenz Kirche Cathedral |
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 Sankt Lozenz Kirche Cathedral |
 Sankt Lozenz Kirche Cathedral |
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 Sankt Lozenz Kirche Cathedral |
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Church of Our Dear Lady
Nurnberg, Bavaria, Germany
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Church of Our Dear Lady |
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Church of Our Dear Lady |
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