The Cologne Cathedral

St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is certainly an awe-inspiring sight. The great Spanish cathedrals of Burgos, Salamanca and Grenada are truly breathtaking. The Duomo in Florence is proud and regal. But when it comes to sheer majesty, the colossal Cathedral of Cologne is the most impressive structure of them all.

The Cologne Cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral in existence. Its awesome western façade and twin towers comprise an area of over 7000 square meters and it stands a towering 157 meters tall. For a short period in the 1880s it was even the tallest building on earth. And perhaps the most peculiar aspect about the history of this building is that it is not one building at all. It's a very long, historic succession of buildings.

Christians began gathering at this location during Roman times and over the many years since then, several churches, each one larger than its predecessor, were built upon this very spot. The first "official" church was the Carolingian (Charlemagne) Cathedral of 870. It stood here until the 13th century with very few changes to its basic structure being made.

Soon after this period, the relics of the Magi were brought here in 1164. Yes, this cathedral is said to be the final resting place of the astrologers of the East who brought their gifts to the infant Jesus. And this helped make the cathedral one of the most important churches of pilgrimage throughout Europe.

The old cathedral was torn down to make room for the construction of the "new", Gothic cathedral in 1248. Several other important steps along the way to its present form proceed as follows:

The consecration of the Gothic choir was finished in 1322. At was at this time that those Gothic vaults and flying buttresses so familiar to us were constructed. The burial of Saints and archbishops within the choir chapels also began during this period.