20 Interesting Cologne Cathedral Facts

20 interesting cologne cathedral facts 1 Cologne Cathedral Facts

Cologne Cathedral Facts

  1. The cathedral has eleven church bells, four of which are medieval.
  2. In 1996, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites.
  3. In 2004 it was placed on the “World Heritage in Danger” list, as the only Western site in danger, due to plans to construct a high-rise building nearby, which would have visually impacted the site, However, In 2006 it was removed from the list of in Danger Sites, due to the limit the heights of building constructed near and around the cathedral.
  4. The Construction of the Cathedral began in 1248 and was not completed until 1880, with the assistance of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, a mere 632 years later.
  5. The cathedral covers almost 8,000 square meters of floor space and can hold more than 20,000 people.
  6. Originally the cathedral was built to house the Three Wise Men’s shrine.
  7. The height of the northern tower of the Cologne Cathedral is 157,38 meters, while the height of the southern tower is 6 cm below that.
  8. The external length of the cathedral is 144,58 meters and the width is 86.25 meters.
  9. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. was modeled after the cathedral.
  10. The Cologne Cathedral was the tallest building in the world between 1880 and 1884.
  11. The Cologne Cathedral is the third biggest church, built in Gothic Architecture, only being beaten by The Silvelle Cathedral in Spain and the Milan Cathedral in Italy.
  12. Pope Benedict XVI visited the cathedral in 2005, as part of World Youth Day 2005 festivities. 
  13. The cathedral’s oldest stained-glass windows were crafted in the 13th century. More modern in style is an immense stained-glass window by the Cologne-based artist Gerhard Richter, completed in 2007 as a permanent replacement for 19th-century glass that was destroyed in World War II.
  14. The Cathedral 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.
  15. The Lady Chapel contains the Altar of the City Patrons, painted in 1442 by Stefan Lochner.
  16. The Cathedral was hit by 14 bombs during World War II, Lucky the building didn’t fall. 
  17. The building plan for the Gothic Cathedral was drawn up by master mason Gerhard of Reil, who modelled the new church on the cathedrals of Paris, Strasbourg and Amiens.
  18. Cologne Cathedral has two pipe organs by Klais Orgelbau: the Transept Organ, built in 1948, and the Nave Organ, built in 1998.
  19. As of 1 March 2017, authorities instituted a ban on large bags in the cathedral in light of recent terrorist attacks in the country.
  20. Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany.
Cologne Cathedral Facts
Cologne Cathedral Facts
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