Cathedral+of+Cologne

=History= On the site that the Cologne cathedral was built there had been 2 Christian buildings: the oldest cathedral built on the 6th century, and a baptistery which was demolished to have space to build. The old cathedral.the was finished in 818 but burnt down in 1248. The relics of theTthree Magi Kings are inside it. They were brought in by the HRE Frederick Barbarossa. The relics were very important to get people to join christianity. The contruction started in 1248.They finished the eastern arm and one spire, leaving the cunstuction paused since 1473. In 1800 they found the original facade plans and raised over 1.5 billion dollars to finish it. It was finished august the 14th in 1880, 632 years after the construction started.

=Characteristics= It is the world’s second tallest Gothic structure and the greatest Gothic Cathedral in Germany. It also has the largest façade among all the churches in the world. It has a latin cross plan similar to the one of Amiens counting on the comparison of the the height and width acording to the cental naive. The insides decoration is in a french style. The clerestory is very high and long, It has stained glass with pictures of the bible. The choir conserves almost all its original details. The building is characterized by its enormous spires.

=Related People= Rainald of Dassel was the achibishop of Cologne. Maternus was the first christian bishop of Cologne. The foundations of the church were settled by Konrad von Hochstaden. The celebration of the complete finishing of the church was attended by emperor Wilhelm. =Renovations and changes= The cathedral suffered 70 hits by bombs during World War 2. It didn't colapse but it had a vey damaged section. A group of workers made an emergency repair with bad quality brick from a war ruin that was close. Recently a clear glass window was replaced by a stained glass. The outside of the church has been cleaned because air polution and the smoke from world war 2 had darkened the stone. =Links= [] [] [] =Floor Plan= =Illustrations= Alessandro Vela G Carlos Calderon Juan Sebastian Ramos