Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral, Germany

The towering spires of Cologne Cathedral glowing in the golden light of a late afternoon.

Go for the sheer scale of a medieval church that took centuries to finish, and stay for the Romanesque churches and the Rhine-side old town around it.

The place

Cologne Cathedral, known locally as the Dom, stands on the western bank of the Rhine in the old centre of the city. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the headquarters of the archdiocese, so it is a working church as well as a monument. Most visitors notice the towers first. Together they reach 157 m, which makes it the tallest cathedral in the world, and the west front is one of the largest church façades anywhere. Inside, the nave is long and lofty, with tall windows that colour the stone floor in the afternoons. Expect crowds. The cathedral draws around 6 million people a year, which makes it Germany's most visited landmark, and the square outside fills with tour groups, buskers and pigeons from late morning. Arrive early for a quieter walk through the aisles. From the second half of this year, the main church will also charge tourists admission, so check the official site for opening hours and current charges for the cathedral, the treasury and the tower. The Altstadt around it is compact, so the Romanesque churches, the river and the bridges are all within a short walk.

Its story

Cologne Cathedral began in 1248, when the city's builders set out to create a building grand enough to house the relics of the Three Kings and to serve as a worship place fit for the Holy Roman Emperor. Work moved steadily for a while, then stopped around 1560, leaving the towers unfinished for more than two centuries. For much of that time the half-built church was a familiar sight on the Rhine, with its cranes and open stonework against the sky. Interest in finishing it revived around 1814, but the money did not arrive in a serious way until the 1840s. Builders then worked from the surviving medieval drawings, and the church was finally consecrated in 1880, after 632 years of on-and-off construction. The completed cathedral was later listed as a World Heritage Site in 1996, recognised as a powerful testimony to the endurance of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe. The story is visible in the building itself: the older stonework, the newer sections and the lines of the spires all show how a single project spanned many generations. Tracing the gap between the medieval plan and the nineteenth-century finish is one of the most rewarding ways to look at the façade.

What to see

Culture

Cologne Cathedral is a place of daily worship as well as a major tourist site, and the cathedral's own guidance on visiting is worth checking before you arrive. Services take place at set times, and the nave can be closed to visitors while they run, so look at the schedule posted at the entrances. Inside, speak quietly, keep your phone on silent and avoid walking through the sanctuary or the area around the altar during Mass. Photography is common, but flash and tripods can disturb worshippers, so keep both out of the way. Many of the older Romanesque churches around the city are also active parishes, and some are only open for visits outside service hours. Locals in the Altstadt are used to tourists, but they take a dim view of people who block doorways or treat the pews as seats for a picnic. Dress with shoulders and knees covered when you step into any church, and keep a light scarf in your bag in case a service is under way. Visitors who treat the cathedral as a place of prayer as well as a monument will find the experience more rewarding. Keep voices low and move quietly whenever a service is taking place.

What to wear

The Rhineland does not have an everyday traditional costume in the way that some Alpine regions do. The most visible dress tradition in Cologne is carnival wear, which is worn during the winter festival season by the carnival corps, with bright uniforms, feathered hats and embroidered jackets in the city's colours. These outfits are made from heavy wool and brocade, and the costumes are a point of pride for the groups that wear them. Carnival is the only time you will see that dress worn at scale on the streets. Day to day, people in Cologne dress much like people elsewhere in Germany. Dark jackets, jeans, sensible trainers and warm coats are common, and in the cooler months you will see scarves and knitted hats near the river. For a visit to the cathedral, wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees, since the church is a place of worship. Pack comfortable shoes with good grip, because the old town is paved with uneven cobbles and you will be standing or walking for long periods. Bring a layer for the Rhine wind, even on a mild day. A light waterproof is also useful, because showers can come in quickly.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. April and September bring the most comfortable temperatures and the first leaves along the Rhine, and October is calm with fewer crowds. Winter brings the Christmas markets and carnival in February, which are lively but busy. July and August are the hottest and wettest months, with highs near 40 °C and frequent downpours, so the river is busy but hard going in the heat.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly into Frankfurt and take a high-speed ICE train, which covers the trip in about an hour. Cologne Bonn Airport is closer to the city but has fewer long-haul links. Cologne Hauptbahnhof sits right beside the cathedral, so the last leg is a short walk. Trains link Cologne with Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources