Cologne Cathedral

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Cologne Cathedral (1996); Gothic Cathedral Begun 1248 And Finished In 1880, Holding The Shrine Of The Three Kings, With Twin Towers Of About 157 M · Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia

Cologne Cathedral, the Koelner Dom, is the Gothic cathedral that fills the square immediately outside Cologne main station - the platforms are a two-minute walk from the west doors. Building began in 1248 to house the Shrine of the Three Kings, the gilded reliquary said to hold the bones of the Magi. Work stopped around 1560 with the south tower half-built and a medieval crane left standing on it for three centuries, then resumed in 1842 and finished in 1880 to the surviving original plans. The twin towers reach about 157 m and for a few years made this the tallest building in the world; it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The church stood through the raids that flattened the city around it, struck many times and never collapsing, and its blackened stone is still replaced block by block by the cathedral's own permanent masons' workshop, which is why there is almost always scaffolding somewhere on it. Entry to the nave is free. The 533-step tower climb and the treasury are paid. It is a working cathedral first, and during mass the nave closes to sightseers.

Domkloster 4, immediately beside Cologne main station, central Cologne, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The nave is open to visitors daily, generally from early morning until evening, with noticeably shorter sightseeing hours on Sundays and church feast days because services come first - confirm current times before planning a tight connection. Sightseeing stops during mass: stewards close the aisles and the choir and the Shrine of the Three Kings are roped off. The south tower climb and the Treasury keep their own shorter hours, usually opening mid-morning and closing well before the nave, and earlier in winter; the tower also shuts in storms, ice and lightning without notice. No ticket is needed for the nave. Expect queues at the tower and treasury desks from late morning in summer, during Carnival week and through the Christmas market.

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