Köln, Cathedral

(3 photos)
Construction of the Gothic masterpiece, Der Kölner Dom, Cathedral of St. Peter & Mary, started in 1248. In 1322 a temporary wall was constructed to enclose the chancel, and it was consecrated and used as a church. In 1437 all work stopped, with a large gap remaining between the towers and the chancel. We have a book with a drawing of the Köln skyline hundreds of years ago, showing the crane on the north tower of the cathedral, waiting for work to resume. Four hundred years later (in 1842), construction was finally re-started, and another forty years were required for its completion.

Isn’t that incredible, the two separate parts of the building standing there for 400 years. To put that in prospective, it took 634 years to build the cathedral; Columbus discovered America 500 years ago; and the United States is 250 years old.

In comparison with other ecclesiastical architecture, these towers appear almost too large for the rest of the building. Usually cathedral towers blend in with the building’s façade, but these, with much sculptural embellishment, appear to protrude beyond the walls of the cathedral, and the bulky (but lacy) steeples extend well above the roof-line before the spires taper to a point.

Of all the hundreds of cathedrals and large churches we have toured, none even comes close to the feeling of “magnitude” projected by the Köln Cathedral. The floor space of 91,000 square feet (over two acres) makes it the third-largest Gothic cathedral in the world, after two others we have visited, Milan, Italy, and Seville, Spain.
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This photo of the front of the Cathedral, was taken just as far from the Cathedral as possible. I am right up against a building. Just to the left of the front of the Cathedral, there clean restrooms, along with the food in the McDonald's restaurant. I don't believe those facilities were available for the 634 years it took the builders to complete this beautiful building.

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I have taken hundreds of photos and video of stained glass windows in Cathedrals, and this is about the best one. Since the inside of the building is usually very dark, and there is sun shining through the window, I am not a good enough photographer, and don't have the equipment needed to compensate for that difference in light and dark.