Cologne: Scenery

Cologne: Random

As with everywhere we go, we tried to catch a little of the randomness in Cologne as well.  The guy below was cleaning the glass awning with a hose as he was standing on it, I'm thinking it won't end up that clean and he will most likely slip and fall to his untimely death.

It was nice to have easy access to toilets as we toured the city.

I couldn't tell if this was Brad Lohaus or Larry Bird, but either way he is 1) new at his job or 2) not drumming up a lot of business.  Please vote in the comments.

Apparently the Dark Crystal was filmed in Cologne.

I don't have the most knowledge of European royalty, but I'm pretty sure this is the Queen of Germany.

The cowardly lion was also hanging around as seen in the photo above and the photo below standing like his stone bretheren in the fountain.

Cologne: Grob St. Martin

The roman basilica Grob St. Martin orginally was built from 1150 - 1250 and is another site that dominates the Cologne skyline.



The old town panorama with the Grob St. Martin behind.



St. Martin currently isn't in use as you can see in the photos below.

The church was heavily damaged during WWII as evidenced in the photos below.

A nice scene we found in the rear of the church

Kolner Dom

Construction on the Kolner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) began in 1248 as a pilgramage destination to house the shrine of the three magi.  It must have been a union shop that built it as it wasn't completed until 1880, I keed, I keed.  The cathedral is Germany's most visited landmark and is very, very, impressive in person.  It is over 500 ft tall at its peak and was the tallest structure in the world until the Washington Monument overtook it in 1884.

You can get a sense of the size of the structure in the photo below.  Notice how small the people are.

The Dom from the rear.





The inside feels as massive as the outside and must have been overwhelming to the visitors throughout the middle ages.

The stainglass windows light the place throughout and each tell a different story.  Some date back to the 1500's.

This is the Altar of the Poor Clares from 1350 and is the oldest remaining sacrament altar with a permanently fixed tabernacle.

The rods below indicate how long the current Archbishop's tenure has been.

The sculpture in the center is from the 1600's.

Below is the oldest monumental crucifix in the western world and was donated in 976.

Throughout the Dom there are many tombs like the one below

The following photos are from the ambulatory and its seven chapels.  It is the oldest part of the Dom and dates back to 1265.



This is the monument of Archbishop Phillip von Heinsberg and dates back to about 1300 and depicts the Cologne medieval city wall.

This is the monument of Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden who laid the first stone of the cathedral.

The chapel of the three magi

The stained glass window above the chapel of the three magi is the oldest in the Dom and dates back to 1265 the windows to the left and right are from 1330.

Behind the scaffolding is the shrine of the three magi which is believed to house the bones of the three wise men. 

In the background you can see workers refurbishing the wall painting which is originally from the 1300's



Time has worn away most of the work from these paintings

Large (nothing there was small) statue of St. Christopher from 1470.