Cruising through the night and into the morning, we enjoyed the varied Rhine scenery of green fields, quaint villages and castle ruins. The River Queen reached her destination, the city of Koln or Cologne around 12:30 PM. The last time we had visited Koln on a river cruise, our ship had docked quite a distance from the city center.
Then we had to ride a bus to the great cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage landmark in the city center. This time our ship was docked on the other side of the Rhine, in walking distance of the alstadt, doable even for the slowpoke gentle walkers. This was a real plus because it gave us a chance to wander around the city on our way back to the River Queen after our scheduled tour of the great Cathedral. There was plenty of time for a leisurely lunch first, as the Koln Walking Discovery Tour and Kolsch beer tasting didn’t start until 2 PM.
Like many German cities along the Rhine, Koln was an outpost of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago, Colonia, as it was called, became an official Roman city during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Currently the 4th largest city in Germany, Koln is still the heart of Catholic Germany. The great Dom (cathedral) dominates the skyline of the old city (alstadt) and is visible form the Rhine. still the second tallest building in Koln. It was not the fist cathedral built in this spot. A series of Christian churches had replaced a Roman temple on this prominent site since Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD.
This magnificent structure was built because Archbishop of Koln acquired the relics of the Three Kings, from Frederick Barbarossa. He had had “liberated” the relics from a Milanese basilica in 1164. Because the relics of Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar drew pilgrims from all over the Christian world, the Archbishop wanted to make sure they were housed in a significant place. Planning thus began for a new Dom in the latest French Gothic style. Building the Koln Dom was a huge undertaking and would take centuries to complete. The eastern side was finished and consecrated in 1322, over a hundred years later. A temporary wall was built so the existing building could be used, until the western side was finished. Unfortunately the work on the west side of the Dom stopped in 1473, with its south tower complete up to the belfry level. At this time, the tower was topped by a huge wooden construction crane that would stand as a Koln landmark for 500 years. Since they left the crane in place, it is obvious that the medieval builders hoped to complete the tower within the next few decades but such was not the case. There were many reasons why the Dom was not finished until 500 years later; perhaps the most important was a lack of funds as it was an enormously expensive project.
Fortunately for the Dom, the 19th century brought renewed interest in the medieval period. When the original plan for the facade was discovered, even the Protestant Prussians in the North supported the effort to complete the Dom, providing 1/3 of the huge cost while the Catholics raised the rest. Prussia had gained many Catholic subjects after the defeat of Napoleon and saw this as a way to improve their relationship. Thus work resumed in 1842, with a commitment to the original medieval design but using more modern construction methods. Even so, the Dom, now Germany’s largest cathedral, was not finished until August, 1880. Kaiser Wilhelm attended the joyous opening celebration. The completed towers now reached 515 feet, the Dom was the tallest building in the world for a few years until the Washington Monument was completed in 1890.
WWII was not kind to the Dom; it was hit by more than a dozen bombs during the air raids in 1945, which completely flattened Koln. It is likely the twin towers were spared because Allied pilots used them as a navigational landmark for their bombing runs. Most of the wartime damage was not repaired until 1956, although the Dom is rarely free of scaffolding today. Wind, rain and pollution slowly erode the stones.
If you have the ability (the Ramblers didn’t) it is possible to climb to the top of the building in only 533 tightly spiraling steps, no elevator provided. The narrow winding passage is not for the claustrophobic. The top of the tower must provide an wonderful view, but we took a pass. In case you’d like to try it, a special entrance at the side of the building provides access and it costs 3 Euros to make the climb past the bell platform.
The Gentle Walkers guide for the cathedral tour was an architectural historian, Dr. Stefan Rath, who proved to both knowledgeable and passionate about the history of the Dom which he shared with us. When you enter the nave of the Dom, you are almost overwhelmed by its height. Then you begin to look around, and there is much to see, an ancient crucifix, statues and paintings, many tombs of bishops and rulers and beautiful stained glass. However everyone’s eyes are eventually drawn to the glittering gold triple sarcophagus of the Three Kings.
The reliquary which according to a tradition dating back to the 3rd century holds the bones of Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar is made of gold, silver and wood and inlaid with precious stones. It was designed by one of the most famous medieval goldsmiths, Nicholas of Verdun. Nicholas began work on the reliquary around 1180 and it was finished around 1225. We know he designed it because he was perhaps the first medieval craftsman to sign his work. Up until that time, music and artwork of all kinds were not signed as they were made for to honor God. (All Christian art of the time was religious.)
The shrine was opened and its contents examined in both the 19th and 21st century, The most recent examination of the bones determined that the three skulls inside were of a young, middle aged and older man, which agrees with the belied that the Three Kings were young, middle-aged and elderly. What ever the truth, it is an amazing work and it does no harm to believe that the Magi rest within.
Our little group was amazed when our tour of the Dom ended that we had spent so much time there, but we enjoyed it immensely. Although our tour was to include sampling the famous Kolsch beer, most of us were ready to wend our way back to the River Queen. We thanked our guide and headed back towards the Rhine. A few of the Gentle Walkers accompanied our guide to the Fruh am Dom which has been serving Kolsch for a hundred years. As it turned out, Fruh was just around the corner from the Dom.
Before heading back to the River Queen and our next port, Koblenz, the Rambler encourages you to sample Kolsch if you are ever in Koln. As we learned later, Kolsch can only be brewed in Koln, it has a special terroir, just like wine, according to an agreement signed by 24 Koln breweries. It is a mild, pleasant tasting golden ale, served in special cylindrical glasses with excellent flavor. You are not likely to encounter Kolsch outside of Germany, as the amounts brewed are small in comparison to the production of famous breweries.
