European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse N ? is. S Yaj p4tea. -.?,.a Kne of the most magnificent examples of the gothic builder s skill is is. Peter s Cash Coral in Cologne. Its mighty twin towers at 525 i get among the world s tallest dominate the City make a magnificent counterpoint against the nearby Rhine. The Cathedral or Dom As it is called in German is of the High Point of the gothic Art. Its Walls Are a bold step Forward from the cautious a proach used arlier Mich As at Chartres Rheims Vilh almost no horizontal members. In Stead. The arched windows soar sky Ward Between the ornate towers of the flying buttresses in vast expanses of Rich Glass. While Christian services have been held at the site for some 1,500 years the first religious Structure built on the Dom s Hill site was a roman Temple of mercurius Augustus about 80 . Some 70 years later an imposing Villa was built near the Temple boasting an elaborate mosaic courtyard found in recent excavations. In the of emperor Constantino i Cologne Bishop was named but the exact site of his Cathedral is unknown although it undoubtedly was in the human area. Then in the late fifth Century a series of Small shrines was built on Fie site. They were later consolidated in the Middle of the seventh Century Alaigh Large Church he first Cologne St. Friers a Chiin now is. Point Lime around h14v. As Dino i lie to Mak carolinian Cathedral. Built where the Nave of the that St. Peter s Way for a Large some 290 led i Ovah photo. Is. I Ett i ii i in in Liui its a ii in Iii tourist Giru to. Long it was completed in 870 enlarged in the manner of the old Church of St. Peter in 1164 the Cathedral received relics of the magi from Milan became a Center for pilgrimages during the Cru Sades. It was the relics of the magi which spurred the City of Cologne to erect its mightiest b u i 1 d i n a today Dom. In front of a vast gathering of secular religious figures a foundation Stone Tor the new Cathedral was Laid in 1248. The plan by the Meister Gerhard was similar to the French prototypes particularly at Amiens. The choir was the first Section to be built after the Oil carolinian choir was dismantled. Work continued slowly into the next it Nuiry under various architects with the choir being dedicated in 1322. By kiss the lower Section of the South Tran sept was completed the first of the magnificent towers on the West Side the South spire was largely completed by 1437, although the North one was no added until 18 58. Progress slowed then with the choir Nave left separate. Vital repair were made in the Isth Century happily a plan to Adorne the Cathedral with a baroque stucco was dropped because of a Lack of funds. In the last decade of the i lie French revolutionary fired the Cathedral by within the Cathedra had building fell into disuse Bishopric As transferred to Isth Century army Pluji-1801 services stopped the the Arch Aachen. In 1821 the archbishop pro was re turned to Cologne restoration b Gan. Popular feeling Rose for u major rebuilding in 1842 the King of Prus Sia Laid a new Cornerstone for the i a Mary the Christ child Are surrounded by figures from the old testament carved abbe Middle Portal of West Side. V ,7 if ii is. Queen of Sheba is included in figures of Dom Page 12 the stars stripes time has figure sunday thedral. The Structure s completion was celebrated in 1880 curiously at a time when the archbishop of Cologne was i exile. The twin towers have stood in lonely splendor the Symbol of the City from that time. During world War ii the Dom suffered severe damage from explosive incendiary bombs from the destruction of the nearby Hohenzollern Bridge after the cease fire. In july 1904 the Church celebrated the 800th anniversary of the Transfer of the relics of the magi from Milan in a restored Ca Dihedral the windows Back in place Andice towers repaired. But the fires of War the erosion of time have left scars that will take Many years to be healed Church officials say. With All its signs of age. The Cologne Cathedral remains almost a syn Enyim for gothic. W hat is it that continues to fascinate the mind when faced with Cologne s Dom is it the Triumph of a simpler time in the almost impossible tracery of thin Stone pillars seemingly too Light to withstand the ponderous weight thrust on them is it the contemplation of a Noble vision somehow not of these times yet very much of these times is it that the towers Are part of everyman s desire for a greater reach for a closer approach to the infinite or Isit the sheer massiveness of the Dom thai draws like a Magnet perhaps in is All of these. Or perhaps it is simply the recognition of near perfection. A tourist guide sums it up in these great towers German Ca thedral architecture achieved at the endow the Middle Ages its final greatest Triumph beyond which it was impossible to go any further in freeing Stone from its Fetters of weight or in trans lating the spirit of medieval mysticism into a More ingenious artistic the Case of the Cologne Cathedral mute stones do Tell a magnificent Story. F s. visitors can climb to top of South spire. The stars stripes is for those who hunger Tor solid factual information Here Isa bit of statistical data about the Cologne Cathedral Cost simply incalculable. The original monetary figures have Little meaning in this time of converting to modern dollars a continual thing so in a Way the Dom there is no real Way or Marks. Restoration is my rowing costing. Length about 157 Yards in at the transept 94 Yards. Inches. At the Central Nave 17 of the Central Nave. 7 i get. 1 j inches of the West towers 17f Yards of the Ridge lower a for the two West towers. 50,01 0 tons for the rest of the Nave transept choir ions for a loud of 120,000 during services is . At 10 ant 11 am. And 2 30, to 4 0 . Guided Tours Are Ufi Erenfree in German. A Small fee is charged for viewing the Cathedral Treasury. Another Small fee is charged to climb the Juo pm s Steps to the top of the South Sph us a Money goes it reconstruction Cost open Irum 9 to " or one hour before Sunset in the is not permitted within the Cathedral. Pole 13
