Situated on the banks of the Rhine river the Dome it is known for its beauty and also as the largest and most impressive cathedral in Europe. At one point in time it was the tallest building in the world. We stayed about 9 kms down river and we could almost see it from there! Having had an unforgettable experience exploring the Duomo in Milan we were most excited to finally get to see the Dome. Check out the city today here.
Cologne, which means "colony", has been an important city since its founding in approximately 50 AD. Two-hundred-fifty years later, as the capital of the Roman province of Germania, "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium", as the city was then known, had a population of 300,000 - about one-third its present size. In Medieval times the city flourished as a center of transportation, trade, education - and religion. An important centre for trade and commerce in the 20th century also meant that it was a target of the allies during the war. It is astonishing that it was not destroyed...
A post air raid photograph.
Finally we arrived in the centre ready to see the dome. The approach up the steps towards the Dome.
We admire the ornate exterior with its soaring Gothic columns and detailed tracery and statuary...
...and as we move inside we felt dwarfed and awed by its towering columns...and hushed interior...
and its soaring vaulted ceiling...as well as the massive pipe organ...
*Boy we feel small*...
*And LOUD* ...
*ShhhhhHHH!!*
Lily and her Dad lighting a candle and having a moment of quiet reflection while leaving a donation for someone less fortunate.
After visiting the treasury stories under the cathedral floor, which among other gilded treasures contain the remains of the three Magi of Christmas story fame, read about it here, and having our minds completely blown away by all of that, we trudged some 500 odd steps up the (claustrophobic) tiny tiny spiral turret en route to the roof... *puff...puff...puff...*
...to peek in at the bell tower halfway up for a breather and to look at the immense bell, the largest free swinging church bell in the world weighing in at a hefty 24,000 kg. One can get an idea of the size by the figure to the right of the photo as well as the gentleman doing maintenance above the bell. The bell was smooth and thick cool brass, and we could not help but wonder about it's sound and fervently hope it was not due to ring anytime in the too near future, as well ponder its manufacture in the day when every scrap of metal would have been melted and forged in a wood or coal fire. We could also not help but speculate as to the degree of engineering involved in its installation hundreds of feet above the church below. Wow.
The kids made it ALL the way up, it was quite a feat, and though we all (read I...) felt a little (panickstricken) vertigo especially as the last little bit involved ascending a rather rickety wrought iron staircase suspended up middle up the final windswept turret some (several kilometers) 100 metres up in the air....(almost as bad as the "dining naked in the high school cafeteria dream") *Shudder*... but we all made it....
Riel enjoying the view...
Needless to say the view was spectacular, and made the climb well worth the effort though the degree of the graffiti was a little astonishing. Seems folks port up their own little bottle of white- out all the way up those stairs to leave their mark on the centuries old hand carved stones.
A gorgeous view of the Rhine river and some of the town far far below.
No comments:
Post a Comment