The famous Cologne Church
Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and was stopped in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. It is 474 ft long, 284 ft wide and its towers are approximately 515 ft tall. The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires. Its two huge spires give it 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.
So we decide to climb to the top of the spire. It is 300 steps up a winding stone staircase that really is only wide enough for one person.
Here's Jan where she decided to wait for me. Its the lower arrow in he
photo on the left just above the belfry. The upper arrow is where the
observation deck is
Here's one of the bells, it is at least 10 ft in diameter. Note the interior structure is riveted steel beams. The cathedral has eleven church bells, four of which are medieval. The first was the 3.8-ton "Bell of the Three Kings", cast in 1418, installed in 1437, and recast in 1880. Two of the other bells, the Pretiosa (10.5 tons; at that time the largest bell in the Western world) and the Speciosa (5.6 tons) were installed in 1448 and remain in place today.
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Here's the observation deck
View of the city from the top
From the steps, a view of an angel holding a pair of tongs, probably used by
a blacksmith to form rivets during construction
Flying buttresses seen from the stairs
The inside was truly stunning
Here's the corner of the city hall
It houses part of the city government, including the city council and
offices of the Lord Mayor. It is Germany's oldest city hall with a
documented history spanning some 900 years. The history of its council
during the 11th century is a prominent example for self-gained municipal
autonomy of Medieval cities. The stone figures are of the Nine Worthies, the
Emperor and the Privileges.
The Einstein Tavern
In 1709 Farina established what is today the world's oldest fragrance company.
John Maria Farina (1685-1766) names his fragrance Eau de Cologne in honour of the city of Cologne. In doing so he makes Cologne famous for its perfume in the 18th Century. The citizens of cologne honored the perfumer by placing a statue of him on the tower of the town hall. Today the 8th generation of the Farina family still produces the original Eau de Cologne.
The Hohenzollern Bridge
It was one of the most important bridges in Germany during World War II; even under consistent daily airstrikes the bridge was not badly damaged. On 6 March 1945, German military engineers blew up the bridge when Allied troops began their assault on Cologne.
After the war, reconstruction was quickly organized; by 8 May 1948, the Hohenzollern Bridge was accessible by pedestrians again. Over the next eleven years the bridge was improved until by 1959 it was usable without any impairment. During the 1980s, the bridge was renovated with two new tracks. The Hohenzollern Bridge now regularly has over 1200 trains pass through daily. The bridge is regarded as an important part of Cologne as it connects Cologne's central station with major European cities on the other side of the Rhine.
