125 years ago, Cologne Cathedral was finished

Cologne Cathedral St. Peter and Mary

Cathedral building started 1248, completion 1880.
Germany's largest Cathedral, five-aisled Gothic basilica with tripleaisled transept. Sepulchral church of the three Magi.
Episcopal, chapter and pilgrimage church.



The present cathedral was built to house the relics of the Magi, taken from Milan (Italy) by Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa and given to the Archbishop of Cologne, Rainald of Dassel in 1164. The foundation stone was laid on August 15, 1248, by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden. The choir was consecrated in 1322. After this initial rapid progress, construction work gradually came to a standstill, and by the year 1560, only a torso had been built. It was only with 19th century romantic enthusiasm for the Middle Ages and the commitment of the Prussian Court that construction work resumed in 1842 with the addition of the towers and other substantial parts of the cathedral, mostly according to surviving medieval plans and drawings. The completion of Germany's largest cathedral was celebrated as a national event in 1880, 632 years after construction had began. The celebration was attended by Emperor Wilhelm I. (source: wiki)

The cathedral suffered 14 hits by (A war between the Allies (Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherl) World War II aerial bombs but luckily didn't collapse; reconstruction was completed in 1956. In the northwest tower's base, an emergency repair carried out with bad-quality brickstones taken from a nearby war ruin remained visible until the late 1990s as a reminder of the War, but then it was decided to reconstruct this section according to the original appearance. It is possible to climb a spiral staircase to a viewing platform about 98 metres above the ground.

In 1996, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites. However, in 2004 it was placed on the "World Heritage in Danger" list.

(Excellent fullscreen pics here

A private collection of photos, which give a good overview about the cahtedral.