The Cologne Cathedral

The Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church in Cologne, Germany. Construction of the Cathedral started in 1248 and wasn’t completely finished until 1880, with a few interruptions of course. The Cathedral is known as one of the world’s largest churches, and it is in fact the largest church in Northern Europe. Over a span of four years from 1880 to 1884 it was the largest tallest structure in the world.


The Cathedral was built extremely well. During WWI it was hit by seventy aerial bombs. The Cathedral, however, did not collapse. It has been said that the two twin spires of the church were used as an easily recognizable landmark for Allied aircraft, so the church was left standing in a flattened city. In 1956 repairs to the church were completed. There is, of course some sort of repair or maintenance being done constantly in some part of the Cathedral. A new stained glass window was put in on August 25, 2007 in the south transept window.

The Cathedral design was quite closely based on the design of Amiens Cathedral. The ground plan, style, and width to height proportion of the central nave were all similar to that of the Amiens Cathedral. As is common in Gothic cathedrals, the plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross. Inside of the church are two aisles on either side. These contribute to the support of an extremely high Gothic vault.

There are eleven church bells in the Cathedral, with four of them being medieval. The first was cast in 1418, and installed in 1437, then was later recast in 1880. Two of the other bells were installed in 1448 and are still there today. Nearing the completion of the Cathedral there was a growing desire to increase the number of bells.

All together the Cologne Cathedral is a remarkable place. The size and design of the building alone are amazing. I hope to someday get the chance to visit it.