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87-680: The station is situated next to Cologne Cathedral . There is another important station in Cologne, the Köln Messe/Deutz station across the river Rhine , just about 400 metres away from Köln Hauptbahnhof. The stations are linked by the Hohenzollern Bridge , a six-track railway bridge with pedestrian and bicycle lanes on each side. Frequent local services connect the two stations. By 1850 there were five stations at Cologne that had been built by different railway companies. On

174-488: A baptismal font due to the changed rite, only the baptismal piscina remained from the baptistery. Today, this piscina, which is accessible in the base of the cathedral, is considered the oldest evidence of Christian worship in Cologne. In Carolingian times, the Old Cathedral was built on Cologne Cathedral Hill and consecrated in 870. The cathedral is now known as Hildebold Cathedral after Bishop Hildebold , who

261-517: A burial place for the royal family; among others, the king's wife Wisigard was buried here around 537. However, the excavation finds under the cathedral choir do not allow a complete reconstruction of the buildings from the Merovingian period. Already in late antiquity, there was a baptistery to the east of the cathedral choir, where the early Christians, following the rite of the time, stepped into knee-deep water and were completely doused. It

348-542: A church, but in a residential building, which is thought to have been located on the cathedral hill below today's choir. After the collapse of Roman rule on the Rhine, the Merovingian petty kings residing in Cologne built an episcopal church on this site in the 6th century, which was eventually around 40 to 50 meters long and equipped with an ambon . This building, which was probably built by King Theudebert I , served as

435-466: A distance, the building is dominated by its huge spires, which are entirely Germanic in character, being openwork like those of Ulm , Vienna , Strasbourg and Regensburg Cathedrals . One of the treasures of the cathedral is the high altar, which was installed in 1322. It is constructed of black marble, with a solid slab 15 ft (4.6 m) long forming the top. The front and sides are overlaid with white marble niches into which are set figures, with

522-494: A few hours. Eurostar high-speed trains run from Cologne to Paris via Aachen , Liege and Brussels . An international Intercity Express service also operates every two hours during the day on the Brussels–Liege—Aachen–Cologne line, continuing to Frankfurt . With a combined 403 scheduled long-distance arrivals and departures each day at Cologne in the summer timetable of 1989, it was the most important node in

609-545: A few years. After the official completion of the cathedral in 1880, finishing work continued for around 20 years. Shortly before his death in 1902, master builder Richard Voigtel publicly stated that the cathedral had finally been completed. However, after the wings of an angel figure fell from the façade in 1906, the cathedral master builders resumed the renovation work. The cathedral is built from different types of rock, which weather to varying degrees due to their characteristics. The filigree buttresses and arches are exposed to

696-491: A figurative depiction of 20th-century Catholic martyrs for the window, did not attend the unveiling. Holder of the office since 2014 is Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki . On 5 January 2015, the cathedral remained dark as floodlights were switched off to protest a demonstration by PEGIDA . In 1996, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites. In 2004, it

783-604: A fire. The altar of the patron saints of Cologne with an altarpiece by the International Gothic painter Stefan Lochner is in the Marienkapelle ("St. Mary's Chapel"). After completion in 1265, the radiating chapels were immediately taken into service as a burial place. The relics of Saint Irmgardis found a final resting place in the St. Agnes' Chapel. Her trachyte sarcophagus is considered to be created by

870-508: A gesture of solidarity with Ukraine, as bystanders gathered to mourn those killed during Russia's invasion and pray for peace." The Kölner Dom was among them. South Bridge (Cologne) The South Bridge ( German : Südbrücke [ˈzyːtˌbʁʏkə] ; Kölsch : Söhdbrök [ˈzøt²ˌbʁøk²] ) is a bridge over the Rhine on the Cologne freight bypass railway in Cologne in

957-408: A hotel. The old station building (which had been only slightly damaged during the war and temporarily repaired) was demolished in 1955. On 23 September 1957, the new station hall with its shell-shaped roof was opened to the design of the architects Schmitt and Schneider. The main station building was built on the northern side of the station following the demolition of an originally built-up area between

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1044-460: A railway because of its steel truss construction and partially preserved Romanesque Revival stonework. The Rheinische Verein für Denkmalpflege und Landschaftsschutz (Rhenish Association for heritage conservation and landscape protection) presented it as the monument of the month in May 2006, in order to draw attention to its condition. The renovation of sidewalks and the pylons located on both sides of

1131-520: A system of "open access" on European high-speed railway lines now permits different rail operators to apply to run high-speed passenger services. DB Fernverkehr have announced their intention to operate a direct ICE service from Cologne to London St Pancras via Brussels and the Channel Tunnel . The proposal, first put forward in 2007, was delayed by Eurotunnel safety regulations which required operators to use trainsets which could be divided in

1218-417: A two-storey waiting room building, with easy access to all platforms. The station included four terminating platforms facing east and four facing west on either side of the waiting rooms, with one through platform on the northeast side and one on the southwest side. During the restructuring of the rail tracks in the Cologne area in about 1905–1911 (most notable for the construction of the new South Bridge and

1305-473: A year. At 157 m (515 ft), the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster , and the third tallest church of any kind in the world. Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 but was halted in the years around 1560, unfinished. Attempts to complete the construction began around 1814 but the project was not properly funded until

1392-584: Is a cathedral in Cologne , North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church . 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 6 million people

1479-476: Is assumed that the baptismal font ( piscina ), which dates back to the 5th century, was originally located in the garden of the Roman house that served as a Christian meeting place. Later, the baptistry built above the pool was presumably combined with the cathedral church to form a single building complex, although there is no archaeological evidence of this today. When Hildebold Cathedral was built and equipped with

1566-729: Is integrated in the Cologne S-Bahn network. From Monday to Friday S-Bahn trains run at 20-minute intervals during the day and at other times usually every 30 minutes. Northwest of the Cologne Hauptbahnhof S-Bahn station is the Köln Hansaring S-Bahn station and to the east is the Köln Messe/Deutz S-Bahn station . All S-Bahn services serving the station, use these two stations. Below Cologne Hauptbahnhof there are two stations of

1653-717: Is the oldest large crucifix north of the Alps and the earliest-known large free-standing Northern sculpture of the medieval period. In the Sacrament Chapel is the Mailänder Madonna ("Milan Madonna"), a high Gothic carving, depicting the Blessed Virgin and the infant Jesus. It was made in the Cologne Cathedral workshop sometime around 1290 as a replacement for the original which was lost in

1740-462: Is to the southeast of the current Hauptbahnhof. It was suggested that carriages could be lowered by lift to the Trankgasse station, but it was quickly realized that the only effective way for connecting the left and right bank line was to create a central station. The city agreed to the proposal in 1857 and made available the ground of the former Botanical garden to the north of the cathedral and on

1827-591: The Cologne Stadtbahn . Stadtbahn stations Dom/Hauptbahnhof station and Breslauer Platz/Hauptbahnhof station are on the same tunnel that runs under the main station making a turn of 120 degrees. The former one is located below the southern end, next to the cathedral, the latter at the northern end where it connects to the bus station. Breslauer Platz/Hauptbahnhof station was relocated and completely redesigned up December 2011. Line 5 has been rerouted from Dom/Hauptbahnhof to Rathaus station to connect with

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1914-502: The Cologne-Minden Railway Company (German, old spelling: Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , CME ). In 1854 a controversial decision was taken to locate a new rail and road bridge next to the cathedral, following consideration of such proposals as connecting the bridge to an existing freight yard and temporary passenger station on the banks of the Rhine ( Rhine Station ) at the street of Trankgasse, which

2001-759: The Coronation of the Virgin at the centre. Joan Holladay has discussed the iconography of the high altar in the cathedral. The most celebrated work of art in the cathedral is the Shrine of the Three Kings , commissioned by Philip von Heinsberg, archbishop of Cologne from 1167 to 1191 and created by Nicholas of Verdun, begun in 1190. It is traditionally believed to hold the remains of the Three Wise Men , whose relics were acquired by Frederick Barbarossa at

2088-628: The Kölsch language or in common parlance known as " Dicker Pitter "), was cast in 1922 and was the largest free-swinging bell in the world, until a new bell was cast in Innsbruck for the People's Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania. This bell is only rung on eight major holidays such as Easter and Christmas. On Thursday, 3 March 2022, landmark cathedrals across Europe chimed in unison "in

2175-459: The Shrine of the Three Kings , Cologne Cathedral is a major attraction for tourists and pilgrims, and is one of the oldest and most important pilgrimage sites of Northern Europe. Visitors can climb 533 stone steps of the spiral staircase to a viewing platform about 100 m (330 ft) above the ground. The platform gives a scenic view over the Rhine . The cathedral is a medieval building that

2262-527: The 1840s. The edifice was completed to its original medieval plan in 1880. The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world. Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit for its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor . Despite having been left incomplete during

2349-514: The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia . On the west side of the Rhine, it forms the border between the districts of Neustadt-Süd and Köln-Bayenthal . On the east bank of the Rhine it forms the border between Köln-Deutz and Köln-Poll . The two track South Bridge is used by railway traffic, pedestrians and cyclists. Since its construction it has been used mainly by freight services. Some Intercity-Express services were also scheduled to run over

2436-672: The Hohenzollern Bridge is a key bottleneck for rail transport in the Cologne region. Long-distance traffic load is concentrated to and from the east of the station, while regional trains mainly run to and from the west. The connecting lines from Hürth-Kalscheuren and Steinstraße are operating at capacity. Adding extra tracks is hardly possible. Changing the track layout is not possible with the existing signalling. The network will become increasingly congested up to 2030 and beyond. Although its platforms are divided into three sections each, they are still remarkably crowded throughout

2523-588: The Milanese patricians should be regarded as the "inventors" of the relics is disputed in academic literature. In any case, between 1190 and 1225, the Shrine of the Three Kings was made for the highly respected saints in Cologne, which is considered one of the most sophisticated goldsmith's works of the Middle Ages; the shrine was placed in the center of the Old Cathedral. Cologne thus became an internationally renowned place of pilgrimage in Europe. To oversee

2610-546: The Prussian government argued for the second option, opinion in Cologne was split. On 9 January 1883, the Cologne City Council decided by one vote, finally, for the second option under a plan by the engineer E. Grüttefien of Berlin . Construction began in 1889. The tracks were raised by six metres (19 ft 8 in) with half the new space created under the track filled with earth and a new entrance building

2697-696: The RhE, which had in the same year acquired the BCE. The station was opened on 5 December 1859 together with the Cathedral Bridge (German: Dombrücke , later the site of the Hohenzollernbrücke ). The Central Station was a combined terminus and through station: it included four terminating tracks for the RhE running to the west, while the CME had two through tracks connected to its line on the eastern side of

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2784-546: The Rhine by the Cathedral Bridge. The station quickly reached capacity, but the RhE as operator had only limited interest in developing the station, as this would have mainly benefited competing companies. Serious planning for an enlarged station was therefore only taken after the nationalisation of the railways in Prussia in the 1880s. For the planning of the new central station two options were considered: While

2871-617: The Tunnel in the event of an emergency, allowing passengers to be transported out of the tunnel in two directions. This regulation has now been relaxed, and it was envisaged that DB could begin direct London-Cologne services before the end of 2014. These plans have since been delayed, and services are not expected to start until at least 2018. Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom , pronounced [ˌkœlnɐ ˈdoːm] , officially Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter )

2958-640: The additional tracks were built on the Hohenzollern bridge for the S-Bahn line. In 2000, a shopping centre was opened at the entry level—including the area under the S-Bahn tracks. The so-called colonnade includes 70 shops and restaurants with over 11,500 square metres (124,000 sq ft) of retail space and 700 employees. At a summit of Deutsche Bahn , the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on 31 March 2010 in Düsseldorf, it

3045-531: The architectural rolemodel for numerous churches in the early Holy Roman Empire . It was built in the Carolingian tradition as a basilica with two choirs, with the east choir dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus and the more important choir in the west to the memory of Saint Peter . Through its patronage, but also in its architecture, Hildebold Cathedral made reference to Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and

3132-504: The bombings had damaged the foundations of the Dom, archaeological excavations began in 1946 under the leadership of Otto Doppelfeld and were concluded in 1997. One of the most meaningful excavations of churches, they revealed previously unknown details of earlier buildings on the site. Repair and maintenance work is constantly being carried out in the building, which is rarely free of scaffolding, as wind, rain, and pollution slowly eat away at

3219-464: The bridge before the rebuilding of Köln Messe/Deutz station . The South Bridge was built from 1906 (start of construction: 8 November 1906) to 1910 for 5.5 million marks by the Prussian state railways under the direction of the head of the board of works, Fritz Beermann. The design was in the hands of Frederick Dircksen, who also initially directed the construction. The designs of the stonework at

3306-494: The building. A large stone statue of St Christopher looks down towards the place where the earlier entrance to the cathedral was, before its completion in the late 19th century. The nave has many 19th century stained glass windows. A set of five on the south side, called the Bayernfenster , were a gift from Ludwig I of Bavaria , and strongly represent the painterly German style of the time. Externally, particularly from

3393-422: The cathedral (Marzellenstrasse/Trankgasse) was the site of intense combat between American tanks of the 3rd Armored Division and a Panther Ausf. A of Panzer brigade 106 Feldherrnhalle. A nearby Panther, a German medium tank, was sitting by a pile of rubble near a train station right by the twin spires of the Cologne Cathedral. The Panther successfully knocked out two Sherman tanks, killing three men, before it

3480-592: The cathedral during this time. Also as part of the events of World Youth Day, Cologne Cathedral hosted a televised gala performance of Beethoven 's Missa Solemnis , performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Choir conducted by Gilbert Levine . On 25 August 2007, the cathedral received a new stained glass window in the south transept . The 113 m (1,220 sq ft) glass work

3567-806: The cathedral masons' guild around 1280. Other works of art are in the Cathedral Treasury. Embedded in the interior wall are a pair of stone tablets on which are carved the provisions formulated by Archbishop Englebert II (1262–67) under which Jews were permitted to reside in Cologne. Cologne Cathedral has two pipe organs by Klais Orgelbau : the Transept Organ, built in 1948, and the Nave Organ, built in 1998. Cathedral organists have included Josef Zimmermann , Clemens Ganz (1985–2001) and Winfried Bönig (2001). The cathedral has eleven church bells, four of which are medieval. The first

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3654-440: The cathedral without scaffolding." Regular renovation work is required due to sporadic earthquake damage. For example, during the 1992 Roermond earthquake , the 400 kg finial on the eastern pinnacle of the southern transept gable broke off, smashed through the roof and damaged the roof truss. Four other finials were loosened. From May to November 2021, a remote-controlled drone took 200,000 high-resolution photos of all parts of

3741-561: The conquest of Milan in 1164. The shrine takes the form of a large reliquary in the shape of a basilican church, made of bronze and silver, gilded and ornamented with architectonic details, figurative sculpture, enamels and gemstones. The shrine was opened in 1864 and was found to contain bones and garments. Near the sacristy is the Gero Crucifix , a large crucifix carved in oak and with traces of paint and gilding. Believed to have been commissioned around 960 for Archbishop Gero, it

3828-417: The costs, did not want this bell either. Another attempt took place on 3 October 1874. The colossal bell was shipped to Cologne and on 13 May 1875, installed in the cathedral. This Kaiserglocke was eventually melted in 1918 to support the German war effort. The Kaiserglocke was the largest free-swinging bell in history. The 24-tonne St. Petersglocke ("Bell of St. Peter", " Decke Pitter " in

3915-454: The day, and a major extension of the station is impossible because of its historic surroundings. Connections to the local Cologne network Stadtbahn are made by two subterranean stations, Dom/Hbf and Breslauer Platz/Hbf at the respective ends of the station. The station has 11 main line passenger track platforms, of which two are used for S-Bahn services; one of the two subterranean Stadtbahn has two tracks with side platforms ( Dom/Hbf )

4002-480: The decorative parts of the portals and pylons. Part of the square stone block was used for the reconstruction of the stone arches over the Rheinallee and on the bank at Porz. The total length of the bridge is now 536 m. Today, the bridge is owned by Deutsche Bahn . The city of Cologne is responsible for the maintenance and care of the sidewalks. The bridge is now heritage-listed for its historical importance as

4089-520: The east choir, but almost the entire cathedral; the Shrine of the Three Kings was saved from the fire. The western parts of Hildebold Cathedral were provisionally rebuilt and were only taken down after 1322, when the Gothic choir was completed and construction of the Gothic nave began. The foundation stone was laid on Saturday, 15 August 1248, by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden . The eastern arm

4176-462: The enormous costs, while the Prussian state supplied the remaining third. The state saw this as a way to improve its relations with the large number of Catholic subjects it had gained in 1815, but especially after 1871, it was regarded as a project to symbolize German nationhood. Work resumed in 1842 to the original design of the surviving medieval plans and drawings, but using more modern construction techniques, including iron roof girders . The nave

4263-466: The façade from a distance of five to seven meters and assembled them into a digital 3D model of the cathedral, which offers a very accurate representation with 25 billion polygons. This makes it possible to precisely document the current condition and the need for conservation and restoration, even in remote areas. The 3D model has a size of 50 gigabytes. The cost of creating the model was in the six-figure range. The ground plan design of Cologne Cathedral

4350-411: The first open part of the north-south Stadtbahn tunnel, which is currently under construction. One year later line 5 was lengthened one station from Rathaus to Heumarkt. Formerly, all trains stopped at Dom/Hbf and Breslauer Platz/Hbf , but, as the junction for the new line will be between these stations, line 5 trains only stop at Dom/Hbf , and line 16 trains will only stop at Breslauer Platz/Hbf when

4437-586: The foundation walls of the Carolingian basilica have been revealed by the cathedral excavations. On 23 July 1164, the Archbishop of Cologne and Imperial Archchancellor Rainald of Dassel brought the bones of the Three Wise Men from Milan to Cologne, which was perceived as a "propaganda success". The relics had been left to the archbishop by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa from his spoils of war. They had been considered worthy of veneration at least since their transfer. Whether Rainald von Dassel himself or

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4524-529: The four-track Hohenzollern Bridge), the waiting room building was removed and all the platforms were rebuilt as through platforms. Advantage was taken of the previously unused space beneath the tracks. Only the first and second class waiting rooms in Trankgasse and Johannisstraße (streets) survived World War II and subsequent modifications and are now used as a restaurant and the Alter Wartesaal events centre. For several years after World War II, there

4611-588: The line is opened. Currently Dom/Hbf station is served by the following lines (during the day at ten-minute intervals, line 18 at five-minute intervals), but Breslauer Platz/Hbf station is served only by lines 16 and 18: Services are offered by the Cologne Stadtbahn and the Bonn Stadtbahn , often referred to as Stadtbahn Rhein-Sieg after the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS - Rhein-Sieg Transit Authority). Since January 2010,

4698-458: 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". In Cologne, only the telecommunications tower is higher than the cathedral. Maternus of Cologne was the first bishop of Cologne in around 313. However, Cologne's Christian community, still small at this time, did not gather in

4785-582: The middle truss arch), in which eight workers were killed. The steel main structure has three spans (101.5 m + 165 m + 101.5 m) with a total length of 368 m and a width of 10.34 m. The pylons are built in a Romanesque Revival style and furnished with rich sculptural decorations, which were made by the Berlin sculptor Gotthold Riegelmann (1864–1935). In the Second World War, the South Bridge

4872-675: The network of Deutsche Bundesbahn . With 383 scheduled long-distance arrivals and departures, in Deutsche Bahn's timetable of summer 1996, it was the second most important node (after Hannover Hauptbahnhof ). Cologne Hauptbahnhof is also a hub for numerous Regional-Express and Regionalbahn services, mostly serving the station in Cologne every half-hour or hour, but sometime only every two hours: some trains (Kall–Gerolstein) hourly (Gummersbach–Lüdenscheid) 30 min (Bedburg–Horrem on weekdays) 30 (peak)/60 min (Cologne–Bonn) Hourly (Bonn–Bonn-Mehlem) Köln Hauptbahnhof

4959-526: The number of bells. This was facilitated by Kaiser Wilhelm I who gave French bronze cannon, captured in 1870–71, for this purpose. The 22 pieces of artillery were displayed outside the cathedral on 11 May 1872. Andreas Hamm in Frankenthal used them to cast a bell of over 27,000 kilos on 19 August 1873. The tone was not harmonious and another attempt was made on 13 November 1873. The Central Cathedral Association, which had agreed to take over

5046-439: The original sandstone. The cathedral works (Dombauhütte) has already tested numerous means of preserving the stones. A convincing method has not yet been found. In addition, the iron anchors and dowels that hold the many parts of the architectural decoration are also beginning to rust. They are threatening to crack the stones and need to be replaced with steel parts. "It is therefore foreseeable that no one alive today will ever see

5133-458: The other ( Breslauer Platz/Hbf ) has two out of three tracks in service and one side platform and an island platform (both in use). Its IATA code is QKL . Cologne Hauptbahnhof is the hub of many Intercity Express and Intercity lines, mostly serving Cologne every hour or every two hours: Various high-speed services connect most cities in Germany as well as several neighbouring countries in

5220-532: The outward thrust of the vault is taken by flying buttresses in the French manner. The eastern end has a single ambulatory , the second aisle resolving into a chevet of seven radiating chapels. Internally, the medieval choir is more varied and less mechanical in its details than the 19th-century building. It presents a French style arrangement of very tall arcade , a delicate narrow triforium gallery lit by windows and with detailed tracery merging with that of

5307-443: The pilgrim crowds, an office of custos regum ("guardian of the kings") was established after 1162. However, the only narrow side portal of the cathedral was not very suitable for the crowds of pilgrims, as it had to be used as an entrance and an exit at the same time. With the construction of the Gothic cathedral in 1248, the Old Cathedral was to be demolished step by step. However, careless demolition work and fire destroyed not only

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5394-414: The portals, the ramps and the piers was carried out by the Berlin architect Franz Schwechten , who designed the corresponding work for the Hohenzollern Bridge . It was officially put into service on 5 April 1910. The construction of sidewalks on both sides of the bridge was funded by the city of Cologne. An opening ceremony was dispensed with as a result of a severe accident in 1908 (during the building of

5481-418: The site of part of the old University of Cologne , suppressed by the French in 1798. The railway track was laid at ground level from the bridge over the Rhine and crossing the street of Eigelstein west of the station at ground level and running through the medieval city wall. The original Central Station (German: Centralbahnhof ) was built beginning in 1857 to the plans of Hermann Otto Pflaume on behalf of

5568-691: The station from the Ruhr region, southern Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium. Köln Messe/Deutz (tief) station is used by two ICE services on the right bank route. In the past, therefore, a direct connection, such as a moving walkway over the Rhine was considered, but this controversial idea was rejected as too expensive for the time being. The Cologne rail node is at the centre of eleven routes radiating in all directions. More than 280,000 arriving and departing passengers are estimated to use 1,200 trains daily. Cologne Hauptbahnhof, together with

5655-470: The stones. The Dombauhütte , established to build the cathedral and keep it in repair, employs skilled stonemasons for the purpose. Half the costs of repair and maintenance are still borne by the Dombauverein . On 18 August 2005, Pope Benedict XVI visited the cathedral during his apostolic visit to Germany, as part of World Youth Day 2005 festivities. An estimated one million pilgrims visited

5742-467: The streets of Maximinenstraße, Domstraße, Hofergasse and Hermannstraße and the shifting of Goldgasse with the building of Breslauer Platz as a second entrance plaza. In the course of building the S-Bahn up until 1991, the entire railway line, railway station and the Hohenzollern bridge were supplemented by two independent S-Bahn tracks. First, in 1975 two additional platforms were built (10 and 11) and then

5829-658: The structure of the nave between the west front and the eastern arm, but during the 16th century this also stopped. With the 19th-century Romantic enthusiasm for the Middle Ages , and spurred by the discovery of the original plan for the façade, the Protestant Prussian Court working with the church, committed to complete the cathedral. It was achieved by civic effort; the Central-Dombauverein , founded in 1842, raised two-thirds of

5916-434: The upper parts of the nave and transept, shows the most intensive weathering . It is therefore constantly being renewed and until the 1980s was preferably replaced with Londorf basalt lava, which is considered to be very weather-resistant, but is not sandy beige, but grey in color. Since the 1990s, however, the cathedral master builders have endeavored to carry out the restoration with stones that come as close as possible to

6003-416: The weather from all sides and are attacked by water, the sulphur content of the air and bird droppings. Especially from the 1960s onwards, acid rain severely affected the stones and turned them increasingly black. It was only from the 1990s onwards that air pollution control measures reduced the level of pollution. The Schlaitdorf sandstone , which was used from 1842 onwards for the transept façades and

6090-807: The west bank of the Rhine there were the Bonn-Cologne Railway Company (German, old spelling: Bonn-Cölner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , BCE ), the Cologne-Krefeld Railway Company (German, old spelling: Cöln-Crefelder Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , CCE ) and the Rhenish Railway Company (German: Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , RhE ). On the east bank there were the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (German: Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , BME ) and

6177-417: The western approach tracks, as will be necessary. Cologne Hauptbahnhof is one of the hubs of European long-distance traffic. Long-distance lines run on both sides of the Rhine via Cologne. Therefore, the station situated on the left (western) bank of the Rhine is connected to Köln Messe/Deutz station situated on the right (eastern) bank of the Rhine via the Hohenzollern Bridge. Long-distance trains connect in

6264-423: The windows above. The clerestory windows are tall and retain some old figurative glass in the lower sections. The whole is united by the tall shafts that sweep unbroken from the floor to their capitals at the spring of the vault. The vault is of plain quadripartite arrangement. The choir retains a great many of its original fittings, including the carved stalls, despite French Revolutionary troops having desecrated

6351-482: The world for four years until the completion of the Washington Monument . The twin spires of the cathedral were an easily recognizable navigational landmark for Allied aircraft bombing during World War II . The cathedral suffered fourteen hits by aerial bombs during the war. Badly damaged, it nevertheless remained standing in an otherwise completely flattened city. On 6 March 1945, an area west of

6438-405: Was a close advisor to Charlemagne and died in 818. However, it is unclear how much the bishop contributed to the building. He probably started the new construction, which Charlemagne also generously supported. The bishop's residence was originally located next to the cathedral. With a length of around 95 meters, Hildebold Cathedral was one of the largest Carolingian churches ever built and became

6525-520: Was based closely on that of Amiens Cathedral , as is the style and the width to height proportion of the central nave. The plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross , as is usual with Gothic cathedrals. It has two aisles on either side, which help support one of the very highest Gothic vaults in the world, being nearly as tall as that of the Beauvais Cathedral , much of which collapsed. Externally

6612-431: Was built to the design of Georg Frentzen , an architect from Aachen . The foundation stone was laid on 7 May 1892. In 1894, the large tripartite platform hall was completed. The central hall had a roof span of 64 metres (210 ft 0 in) covering today's platforms 2 to 7, and outside it were two 13-metre (42 ft 8 in)-wide aisles for platforms 1 and 8. The 255-metre (836 ft 7 in)-long hall included

6699-438: Was built very solidly from a structural point of view. At the same time, however, the stone structure requires continuous maintenance and renovation. The cathedral's master builder Barbara Schock-Werner said: "Cologne Cathedral without scaffolding is not a pipe dream, but a nightmare. It would mean that we would no longer be able to afford the cathedral." In fact, the completed cathedral was only visible without scaffolding for

6786-408: Was completed and the towers were added. The bells were installed in the 1870s. The largest bell is St. Petersglocke . The completion of Germany's largest cathedral was celebrated as a national event on 15 October 1880, 632 years after construction had begun. The celebration was attended by Emperor Wilhelm I . With a height of 157.38 m (516.3 ft), it was the tallest building in

6873-454: Was completed under the direction of Master Gerhard , was consecrated in 1322 and sealed off by a temporary wall so it could be used as the work continued. Eighty-four misericords in the choir date from this building phase. . This work ceased in 1473, leaving the south tower complete to the belfry level and crowned with a huge crane that remained in place as a landmark of the Cologne skyline for 400 years. Some work proceeded intermittently on

6960-504: Was created by the German artist Gerhard Richter with the €400,000 cost paid by donations. It is composed of 11,500 identically sized pieces of coloured glass resembling pixels , randomly arranged by computer, which create a colourful "carpet". Since the loss of the original window in World War II, the space had been temporarily filled with plain glass. The then archbishop of the cathedral, Cardinal Joachim Meisner , who had preferred

7047-498: Was debate as to whether the main station should be rebuilt on the site of the Gereon freight yard—now the site of MediaPark . Therefore, the reconstruction of the main railway station was a slow process and for a decade Cologne station included temporary structures. The first building occurred in 1953 with the demolition of the long building on the western side, which was replaced by a modern building with baggage handling facilities and

7134-425: Was decided that the station should be extended by 2019 with an S-Bahn platform with two S-Bahn tracks at Breslauer Platz. The estimated cost would amount to €60 million. It is planned to extend the platform for track 1 to provide a secure area for checking passenger and baggage to enable ICE trains to run to London-St Pancras in 2016. It will be operationally difficult for trains departing towards London to cross all

7221-414: Was destroyed by a T26E3 Pershing , nicknamed Eagle 7, minutes later. Film footage of that battle survives. Repairs of the war damage were completed in 1956. A repair to part of the northwest tower , carried out in 1944 using poor-quality brick taken from a nearby ruined building, remained visible as a reminder of the war until 2005, when it was restored to its original appearance. To investigate whether

7308-422: Was largely destroyed in an air raid on 6 January 1945. The central span lying in the stream had to be demolished and therefore was no longer available for the reconstruction. In May 1946, the bridge was first opened provisionally with a single track and later rebuilt for DM 10 million, resuming operations on 1 October 1950. As with its northern counterpart, the Hohenzollern Bridge, the reconstruction did not include

7395-462: Was placed on the "World Heritage in Danger" list, as the only Western site in danger, due to plans to construct several high-rise buildings nearby, which would have visually impacted the site. The cathedral was removed from the "in danger" list in 2006, following the authorities' decision to limit the heights of buildings constructed near and around the cathedral. As a World Heritage Site and host to

7482-525: Was regarded as the St. Peter's Basilica of the North. This was intended to underline Cologne's claim to be a holy city and faithful daughter of the Roman Church. The so-called reliquary-staff of Saint Peter and the chains of Saint Peter were among the church's most important relics. The Hillinus Codex from the 11th century shows Hildebold Cathedral in an unusually realistic depiction for the time. Today,

7569-573: Was the 3.8-tonne Dreikönigsglocke ("Bell of the Three Kings"), cast in 1418, installed in 1437, and recast in 1880. Two of the other bells, the Pretiosa (10.5 tonnes; at that time the largest bell in the Western world) and the Speciosa (5.6 tonnes) were installed in 1448 and remain in place today. During the 19th century, as the building neared completion, there was a desire to increase

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