Through My Lens: Kölner Dom

A lifetime ago, when I was planning my first European walkabout, I went to a travel agent (remember those?) and came home with a bunch of pamphlets from those companies that offer multi-week tours of Europe. My travel partner and I were not in any way interested in joining an organized tour, but I did want to have in my head some kind of rough itinerary before we left Canada and started hopping on and off trains.

As I flipped through the pamphlets, I came across a photo of the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) from across the Rijn River, similar to the photo shown above. What a stunning cathedral, I thought. I have to see it in person. (This would not be the only time I made a choice regarding travel based solely on a single photo, but it may have been the first.)

It turned out that passing through Cologne was already in the works. My friend and I had agreed to plan our time in Germany around a two-day Rijn cruise included with our Eurail pass, and that cruise began in Cologne.

As you see, I got my photo.

Construction of the Kölner Dom began in 1248 but wasn’t completed until 1880, due to a several-centuries’ long stoppage of the building work. This Gothic cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world. My friend and I climbed one of those spires and though my knees were protesting for days afterwards, I remember that the climb gave us a bird’s-eye view of some of the damage the cathedral suffered during World War II. I later learned that the city of Cologne was pretty much flattened; only the cathedral (miraculously) survived the bombardments. It is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

I took you on a tour of the Aachener Dom for last year’s Lenten series. This year, I’m staying in Germany, and the Kölner Dom is my photo choice for today, the First Sunday of Lent.