Kölsch Encounters: The Inevitable Kölner Dom Edition

It is kind of like that 800 pound gorilla in the room. Unavoidable. Its image is everywhere. You can see it here. And here. And here: 24 hours a day on the webcam to the right! Spend any amount of time here and you can't help but notice the Cologne Cathedral (aka Kölner Dom, or just Dom). So it is about time we get this one out of the way.

Here's some background information via the Wikipedia entry:

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria) is a church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne (currently Cardinal Joachim Meisner), and is under the administration of the archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of German Catholicism in particular, of Gothic architecture and of the continuing faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an "exceptional work of human creative genius".^[1]

Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete – a period of over 600 years. It is 144.5 metres long, 86.5 m wide and its two towers are 157 m tall.^[2] The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880-84, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single spire of Ulm Cathedral, completed 10 years later in 1890. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir of the cathedral, measured between the piers, also holds the distinction of having the largest height to width ratio of any Medieval church, 3.6:1, exceeding even Beauvais Cathedral which has a slightly higher vault.^[3]

Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit its role as a place of worship of the Holy Roman Emperor. 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",^[1].

For those of you scoring back home in the States, the measurements are 474 feet long, 283.8 feet wide, and the two towers are 515 feet tall. The city does not allow taller buildings anywhere near the Dom, ensuring its visibility throughout the region. As I've said before, as long as you can see the Dom or the Rhine River, it is fairly easy to get around the area.

I've never been a religious person but I have always been fascinated by relics. And the Dom's whole existence is based on the Shrine of the Three Kings. Whether these items are legitimate or not is (to me) irrelevant. The fact is they've inspired people to spend over 600 years building and maintaining such a structure. And millions of others have traveled from all over the world to view the building and its relics.

With all that in mind, here are some more photos taken one day after class a few weeks ago. The weather wasn't all that good in the morning so I had planned on visiting the Museum Ludwig. When I arrived at the Dom, however, it was beautiful outside. Sunshine like that had been rather rare so I decided to take advantage of it and make another long walk.

Grab your map here and let's go!

Dom edition auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen

This was taken toward the back of the Dom, near the Museum Ludwig. As always, you can click on the photo for a larger image.

The Dom reflected in the windows of the museum.

Museum Ludwig. If it was still raining, I might be writing about the museum instead of this walk.

DB train leaving the main station. Someone is definitely NOT going to like seeing this one.

The Dom as viewed through a sculpture on Heinrich Boll Platz.

Just as I'm about to cross the bridge I turned around to take a photo of the Museum Ludwig. Lo and behold, storm clouds. Maybe I should have visited the Museum instead.

Eastward across the Hohenzollernbrücke. (German word of the day: brücke = bridge.)

One last check of the weather.

You'll find padlocks all along the fence on the bridge. Each padlock has the name of a couple etched on it. I guess the railroad hates this but it is almost impossible to stop.

A couple more photos of the bridge and Dom before heading into the Rhine Park.

This might have been better filed under another entry. I found this while desperately seeking a public restroom in and around the Rhine Park. (Eventually successful although it took a long time!) This Coupe de Ville was parked outside a theater next to the park. It still has California plates on there as well as EU plates in the window. These seem big in the States. Here they are gargantuan.

The only photo I actually took in the middle of the park. I think I was still desperatley searching for a bathroom at this point.

This is the Kölner Seilbahn. It will take you across the Rhine River from the Zoo (westside!) to the Rhine Park on the eastside.

I think I see old naked people. Yep, the Seilbahn lifts you right up over the Claudius Therme. While approaching the Seilbahn enterance, I saw a sight that might be burned in the back of my memory for a long, long time.