Cologne Cathedral, Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany
Cologne Cathedral is a Gothic Catholic cathedral with two openwork spires of dark brown-black stone above a west facade of light beige stone, pierced by tall pointed windows and flanked by flying buttresses. Its two towers give it the largest church facade in the world, and at 157 metres it is the tallest twin-spired church. Construction ran from 1248 to 1880.
Construction began in 1248 under Archbishop Konrad I, following a design by Master Gerhard, as a reliquary church for the bones of the Three Kings. Work halted around 1560 and resumed in the 1840s; Ernst Friedrich Zwirner completed the building to its medieval plan in 1880.
The Shrine of the Three Kings, made between 1190 and 1225, is a goldsmith's work kept at the centre of the cathedral; Cologne became a pilgrimage site after Rainald of Dassel brought the relics from Milan on 23 July 1164. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Peter and is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne.
The cathedral stands next to Cologne Central Station, so the main entrance is reached from the station forecourt. The south tower can be climbed; the ascent is long and narrow, and the interior is best visited in daylight.
The cathedral's two towers are the same height to within a few centimetres, and when it was finished in 1880 after 632 years of construction it was the tallest building in the world. Only Cologne's telecommunications tower now rises higher in the city.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,241 contributors worldwide.
