Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral
The Cathedral of St. Peter
  • Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus
  • Kölner Dom
Cathedral façade
Map
50°56′29″N 06°57′30″E / 50.94139°N 6.95833°E / 50.94139; 6.95833
LocationCologne
CountryGermany
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websitekoelner-dom.de https://www.koelner-dom.de/en
History
StatusCathedral
DedicationSaint Peter
Consecrated15 October 1880 (15 October 1880)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
StyleGothic
Years built
  • 1248–1560
  • 1842–1880
  • 1950s–present (restoration)
Specifications
Length144.5 m (474 ft)[1]
Width86.25 m (283.0 ft)[1]
Number of spires2
Spire height157 m (515 ft)[1]
Bells11
Administration
ProvinceCologne
ArchdioceseCologne
Clergy
ArchbishopRainer Woelki
ProvostGuido Assmann[2]
Vice-provostRobert Kleine
Vicar(s)Jörg Stockem
Laity
Director of musicEberhard Metternich
Organist(s)Winfried Bönig[3]
Organ scholarUlrich Brüggemann
Building details
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1880 to 1890[I]
Preceded byRouen Cathedral
Surpassed byUlm Minster
Height
Antenna spire157.4 m (516 ft)
CriteriaCultural: i, ii, iv
Reference292
Inscription1996 (20th Session)
Endangered2004–06

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, pronounced [ˌkœlnɐ ˈdoːm] ⓘ, officially Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus, English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996.[4][5] It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 6 million people a year.[6] At 157 m (515 ft), the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world.[7]

Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 but was halted in the years around 1560,[8] unfinished. Attempts to complete the construction began around 1814 but the project was not properly funded until the 1840s. The edifice was completed to its original medieval plan in 1880.[9] The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world.

Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit for its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe".[5] In Cologne, only the telecommunications tower is higher than the cathedral.[4]

  1. ^ a b c "Cologne Cathedral official website". Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Monsignore Guido Assmann wird neuer Dompropst" (in German). Erzbistum Köln. 29 May 2020. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Prof. Dr. Winfried Bönig" (in German). Kölner Dommusik. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Cologne Cathedral | Cologne Tourist Board". www.cologne-tourism.com. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Cologne Cathedral – UNESCO World Heritage". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Der Dom in Zahlen". www.koelner-dom.de. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  7. ^ "8 Tallest Cathedrals in the World". HISTRUCTURAL – SAHC. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  8. ^ Leonard Ennen, Der Dom in Köln von seinem Beginne bis zu seiner Vollendung: Festschrift gewidmet den Freunden und Gönnern aus Anlass der Vollendung vom Verstande des Central-Dombauvereins [The cathedral in Cologne from its begin to its completion: Festschrift dedicated to the friends and patrons on the occasion of the completion of the understanding of the Central Cathedral Building Association], 1880, p. 79
  9. ^ "Cologne Cathedral". UNESCO World Heritage. Retrieved 2 February 2024.