A cathedral is traditionally the tallest building in a city because "no one is higher than God." Cologne dates back to 34 BC, the largest Roman outpost outside of Paris and Constantinople. This cathedral was built over another ancient church back in the third century and took over 500 years to complete.
Here is our first view as we entered the city.
We got there shortly after 12 and I was stressing out a little bit. I wanted to make sure I had time to see and photograph all of the major spots of interest and we only had a short window of time between noon prayer and confession (they close the Cathedral to non-members during that time and cathedral cops called Schweitzer, dressed in red robes, push you out and lock gates behind you.) We parked, situated the children, and headed out to the streets. With all the tall buildings and narrow streets, which seem to be common characteristics of German cities, you don't see what your are looking for until you are on top of it. When we walked around the corner the cathedral loomed over us with quite a commanding presence.
There were gates up all around that side and I thought it was closed, but turns out we just had to walk around to the front (we were on the side.)
As impressive as the Cathedral is from the side, it is even more so from the front. I am just blown away with this place. It is so big that I could not get the whole thing in one picture even though I had walked through the square, to the other side of the street, and got down to ground level.
As we walked Maddox found ducks.
And a fountain.
There were people dressed up and standing in the square. Ben said they wanted money.
This guy was a dog.
And chalk drawings.
Here are more views of the front:
I did so much research on this place before leaving and it would take me all night to write about all the history. I'll just point out the major points of interest. There were a large number of tourists there and we aren't even in peak tourism season. My research said over 20,000 people tour it daily.
In front there is a replica of a spire. The originals are 515 feet above us at the top of the towers.
There is also a roman arch from 50 AD which marks the start of 2,000 year old main shopping street.
The nave is built to make you feel small. The ceilings are 140 feet high.
The city was hit hard in WWII, 95% of the city was destroyed and it's population dropped from 800,000 to an estimated 30,000. The cathedral was hit by bombs 15 times, but the skeletal structure flexed and stayed in tact fairly well. Thankfully, they anticipated the bombings and removed the stained glass and art treasures and took them to shelters to save them. Therefore, most of the glass windows are originals with some from medieval times or early renisaissance. I couldn't stop taking pictures of them, they were so beautiful. Some had family crests of donors, but most depicted scenes from the bible.
Next we went to the oldest part of the cathedral, with a mosaic floor from the 19th century.
It shows a saint holding the Carolingian Cathedral which stood in this spot for centuries before this cathedral was built. This marks the entrance of the Chapel of the Cross that has the oldest surviving crucifix from the north Alps, carved in the 970's with techniques 300 years ahead of it's time. I looked all over for this thing and finally realized it was covered up for some reason (I probably walked past it 5 times.) I squeezed a picture from the side. It was much larger than anticipated. It shows Jesus, not suffering nor triumphant, but with eyes closed, simply dead.
Next was the Shrine of the Magi. These are three large elaborate coffins made of gold, silver, and jewels. Inside are the skulls and crowns of the Three Kings (from the Christmas Carol). They were the first to recognize Jesus as the savior and the first pilgrims to visit him. Relics were a big deal in the middle ages and this put Koln on the pilgrimage map and gave them enough money to finish the Cathedral. This also led to the Cathedral's theme: Life is a pilgrimage...a search for God.
Inside the Chapel of the Virgin is the Madonna of Milan from 1290. People used to make a pilgrimage here to stand beneath her for a miracle. We walked right past here, then finally realized it and went back, but the cathedral cops had closed the gates, so we didn't get a chance to stand under her. I was bummed.
This is a mural of the Patron Saints of Cologne, also in the Chapel of the Virgin, but the panels were closed.
Here's a picture of Ben and Maddox under the side with the low ceilings to give you an idea of how big this place is.
The high alter, the Shrine of the Magi is way far in the background.
The organ, one of Germany's biggest, was installed recently, but couldn't be attached to the wall because it would alter the integrity of the architecture. It hangs from the ceiling instead.
After our visit to the Cathedral we stopped at a local brewery for lunch.
They had unusual food that I guess is traditional for the area such as ox tail soup (with a real ox tail in it) and boiled pig belly. I ordered a fish fillet and suprise!! It was served raw with scales and everything! So raw you couldn't even get your fork into it. At least it didn't have a head. I just covered it up and at the green beans and potatos that came on a sepereate plate. I think I'll stick to the schnitzel next time, at least I know that's cooked!
We could not leave Koln without trying the local beer, called Kolsch. It is only made in Koln and can only be sold in a 20 mile radius.
It was a great trip and I am looking forward to returning at night sometime to see the Cathedral lit up.
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