Cologne cathedral
| Cologne Cathedral | |
|---|---|
View of Cologne Cathedral across the Rhine
|
|
| Location | Cologne |
| Country | Germany |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Gothic |
| Years built | 1248-1473 1840s-1880 1950s-2005 (restoration) |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 144.5 metres (474 ft) |
| Width | 86.25 m (283.0 ft) |
| Number of spires | 2 |
| Spire height | 157 m (515 ft) |
| Bells | 11 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Cologne |
| Province | Cologne |
| Clergy | |
| Provost | Gerd Bachner |
| Vice-provost | Robert Kleine |
| Vicar(s) | Tobias Hopmann |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Eberhard Metternich |
| Organist(s) | Prof. Dr. Winfried Bönig |
| Building details | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in the world from 1880 to 1884 | |
| Preceded by | Rouen Cathedral |
| Surpassed by | Washington Monument, Ulm Minster |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 157.4 m (516 ft) |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv |
| Designated | 1995 (20th session) |
| Reference no. | 292 |
| Endangered | 2004–2006 |
Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus, Latin: Ecclesia Cathedralis Sanctorum Petri, English: High Cathedral of Saint Peter) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day and currently the tallest twin-spired church at 157 m (515 ft) tall.
Construction of Cologne Cathedral commenced in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires. The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir has the largest height to width ratio, 3.6:1, of any medieval church.
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 for 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".
...
Wikipedia