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The Cologne cathedral is a huge Gothic cathedral, right in the middle of a large city, in Germany.
The UNESCO World Heritage List includes more than a thousand properties with outstanding universal value. They are all part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
Official facts
- Country: Germany
- Date of Inscription: 1996
- Category: Cultural site
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s short description of site no. 292:
“Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880. Apart from its exceptional intrinsic value and the artistic masterpieces it contains, Cologne Cathedral testifies to the enduring strength of European Christianity.”
(…)
“Cologne Cathedral is a High Gothic five-aisled basilica (144.5 m long); with a projecting transept (86.25 m wide) and a tower façade (157.22 m high). The nave is 43.58 m high and the side-aisles 19.80 m. The western section, nave and transept begun in 1330, changes in style, but this is not perceptible in the overall building.
My visit
I must admit not having spent weeks and not even days in the Cologne cathedral. Instead I had a look inside and out one very early morning in 1990 on my way from Salzburg to Brussels. The cathedral is famous and worth it.
