Revisiting Cologne’s cathedral

Cologne’s cathedral. The rectangular structure way up on the left tower is scaffolding. The cathedral is over 770 years old so it requires constant maintenance. To us, the scaffolding looked a bit like a Borg cube had attached itself to the structure. Perhaps we’ve watched too much Star Trek.

In 2002, we took a train to Cologne, Germany, for a weekend holiday. Upon arrival, we took an underground passageway through the train station directly to the cathedral. Climbing the stairs to the exit, we came face-to-face with it: Cologne’s cathedral. A dark, towering behemoth that filled the sky in front. We were awestruck.

Seventeen years later, we went back.

We exited the train station right in front of the cathedral. The right-hand tower is over 515 feet tall. For scale, note the person’s head at the bottom middle of the photo.

These stairs lead to a viewing deck near the top of the right-hand tower. There are only 509 of them.

The 509 steps end at a viewing platform over 97 meters (about 319 ft.) above ground. The Hauptbahnhof (central train station) is adjacent to the cathedral.

In the opposite direction from the Hauptbahnhof is the Rhine river. In Roman times, the Rhine was the border between the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes.

We took a short tour of the cathedral interior. Our guide, one of the brothers, began the tour by asking us to try to imagine the cathedral as a medieval person would’ve experienced it. In medieval times, most buildings had small rooms that were dark because windows were few and small. Imagine how a person who was used to living like that would feel when walking into a huge, airy, light-filled space like this.

…and stained glass. The stained glass may be the most important element because it serves two purposes: to teach and to let in the light.

This is the south transept. The original stained glass for this window was destroyed during World War II. For over 60 years, the space was filled with plain glass. In 2002, the artist Gerhard Richter was asked to design a new stained glass window for this space. His design, shown here, was installed in August 2007. Joachim Meisner, the archbishop of Cologne at the time, did not approve. He wanted a design similar to the other windows. He did not attend the unveiling.

On a sunny day, the sunlight streams through Richter’s stained glass window, colorfully highlighting small parts of the cathedral’s interior.

As the sun moves across the sky, light from Richter’s window moves across the cathedral.

Most of the statues are easily understood. But this reclining figure seems to be more appropriate for a 20th-century pulp magazine.

Exit the cathedral and the Hauptbahnhof (central station) is just across the plaza.

The plaza surrounding the cathedral is always busy with tourists and some street musicians, such as this industrious piano player who somehow managed to get an upright piano up all the stairs.

The Hohenzollern Bridge, directly behind the cathedral (the one in the photo above), is over 400 meters long. One entire side of the bridge’s pedestrian walkway is covered with love locks.

And some enterprising people have figured out how to advertise using the love locks.

We visited the week before Carnavale. As part of the pre-party, local clubs put on parades. This club’s costumes are referencing the time when Cologne was part of the French Empire.

Our visit coincided with Valentine’s Day weekend, so as a Valentine’s gift to ourselves we went out for Italian (our go-to cuisine). I had mezzaluna that was stuffed with goat’s cheese and bacon, then topped with Genovese pesto, basil, pine nuts and parmigiana reggiano. It was yummy.

Rosemary had lasagne. She said it was yummy. We chose a primitivo from Manduria as the wine.

Finally, a bit of Trivia

Did you know that eau de cologne originated in Cologne?

Eau de Cologne was invented in 1709 by Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian gentleman living in Cologne. According to the internet, in a bout of homesickness, he developed a fragrance that would remind him of “an Italian spring morning.” According to our tour guide, he developed the fragrance as a defense against the industrial, smelly nature of 18th-century Cologne.

Either way, eau de cologne is a profitable business today and everyone loves the sweet smell of success.

Parting thought: after 17 years, were we still in awe of the cathedral?

The short answer is yes.

Gerhard Richter’s window in the south transept.

We’ve visited many other gothic cathedrals (in Reims, Paris (Notre Dame before the fire), Córdoba, Seville, Gniezno, Poznań, to name a few) since our visit 17 years ago and Cologne’s is still my favorite.

Why? First, I find it stunningly beautiful. And second, to me, this one best fulfills a cathedral’s spiritual purpose.

From the outside, the cathedral is large and dominating. So large, that you can’t see it’s full height in one glance. It dominates the city much as faith should dominate a believer’s life. On the inside, the space is welcoming, large and airy, filled with light and joyous color, much as faith should fill a believer’s life with hope and joy.

Revisiting Cologne’s cathedral

Seventeen years later, we went back.

Finally, a bit of Trivia

Parting thought: after 17 years, were we still in awe of the cathedral?

Parting shot