COLOGNE CATHEDRAL

It is tall, really tall. In fact, it was the tallest structure in the world for ten years from 1880 to 1890. The first time I saw this structure, it took my breath away. It was like an enigma, difficult to believe...unimaginably beautiful and intimidating at the same time. That's how I felt when I saw the Cologne (Koln) Cathedral for the first time, almost a decade back. And, that's how I felt when I saw it again a couple of months back....

It took me some time to fathom the immensity of the exterior of the Cathedral. I had still not got my breath back when I proceeded into the Cathedral and what I saw inside was beyond my best imagination of Heaven. A magnificent Gothic Cathedral with it's tall spires and flying buttresses, intricately carved images of the angels, gargoyles and apostles and the stained glasses...wrapped within centuries of medieval mysteries and history engraved within....following the plan of a Cross or a Cruciform (when viewed from the top).

It was the mid of 12th century, 1164 to be precise, when the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa got the relics of the three Biblical  Kings (Magi) from Milan and gave to the archbishop of Cologne. A golden shrine was created and the relics of the three Kings were kept inside. The shrine took almost fifty years to be completed and got to be known as the Shrine of the Three kings.To preserve the shrine, a new Cathedral was designed to replace the existing Cathedral, which was demolished. Apparently, the old Cathedral had replaced a Roman temple many centuries back. The new Cathedral was named the Cologne Cathedral and construction started by mid of the 13th century. But, towards the second half of the fifteenth century, the construction was halted and it took another four hundred years, well into the nineteenth century for the construction to start again. The Cathedral was completed by the end of 19th century. What was originally planned to be one of the most revered places for the Holy Roman Emperor could only be completed more than six hundred years after the conception of the idea. Irony of history, it turned out to be symbol of a monument which belongs to both the medieval and the modern world. The Shrine of the Three Kings was placed on the altar of the Cathedral.

The value and symbolism continued to evolve and the Cologne Cathedral was destined to be the symbol of Christianity and pride of Germany. Unfortunately, the Cathedral, along with Cologne, had to witness the brutality of the World War II. Cologne was shattered but the Cathedral, though severely damaged was the lone structure which continued to hold its ground. It took a dozen years of post war restoration to shape the Cathedral again to its gigantic past and to the way we see the Cologne Cathedral today.Apart from the Shrine of the Three Kings, the Cathedral also houses other medieval treasures including the Crucific of Bishop Gero (the oldest known large Crucifix from the 10th century) and many famous stained glasses. Needless to mention, the Cologne Cathedral is a UNESCO world heritage monument and shrine of immense significance.

The Cathedral was not originally black. The color is due to pollutants and dirt accumulating giving it a unique and mystic look..probably more beautiful than it would have looked during its early days. Moving away from this monument is difficult. And both the times, I kept on looking back again and again till I could see the monument. The Cologne train station was just adjacent. Into the train, I realized how soon time flies. A decade just breezed through between the time I saw the Cologne Cathedral last time and now. A decade of experiences...

This post is for alphabet ‘C’ of the #BlogchatterA2Z 2020 challenge:

 C for Cologne