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Cologne Cathedral ( German: Kölner Dom) is one of the most well-known architectural monuments in Germany and has been Cologne's most famous landmark for centuries. The cathedral is under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne. Construction of the gothic church began in the 13th century and took, with interruptions, more than 600 years to complete. The two towers are 157 m tall, the cathedral is 144m long and 86m wide. The cathedral is dedicated to Saints Peter and Mary.

It was built on the site of a 4th century Roman temple, a square edifice known as the 'oldest cathedral' and commissioned by Maternus , the first Christian bishop of Cologne. A second church built on the site, the so-called "Old Cathedral", was completed in 818. This burned down on April 30, 1248.

The present cathedral was built to house the relics of the Magi, taken from Milan (Italy) by Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick BarbarossaFrederick I Hohenstaufen ( 1122 June 10 1190), also known as Frederick Barbarossa ("Frederick Redbeard") was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18 1155. He was also Duke of Swabia (1147-1152, as Frederick I and given to the Archbishop of Cologne, Rainald von Dassel in 1164Events Count Henry I of Champagne marries Marie de Champagne. Pope Adrian IV recognizes Uppsala as seat of the Swedish metropolitan. Antipope Paschal III elected by cardinals supporting Frederick Barbarossa. Olaf II of Norway is canonized as Saint Olaf.. The foundation stone was laid on August 15August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. Events 778 The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, in which Roland is killed 1517 First European connection with China seven Portuguese armed vessels le, 1248, by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden. The choir was consecrated in 1322Events September 27/ September 28 Battle of Ampfing, often called the last battle of knights, in which Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor defeats Frederick I of Austria Births Emperor Komyo of Japan, second of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Deaths January 3 P. After this initial rapid progress, construction work gradually came to a standstill, and by the year 1560Events February 27 The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. July 6 Treaty of Edinburgh between England, France, only a torso had been built. It was only with 19th centuryAlternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical ( 18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801- 1900. Events The Little Ice Age ended romantic enthusiasm for the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages formed the middle period in a schematic division of European history into three 'ages': Classical civilization, the Middle Ages, and Modern Civilization. It is commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire ( 5th century) until th and the commitment of the PrussiaThe word Prussia ( German: Preussen (Preussen Polish: Prusy Lithuanian: Prusai Latin: Borussia has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russian Court that construction work resumed in 1842 with the addition of the towers and other substantial parts of the cathedral, mostly according to surviving medieval plans and drawings. The completion of Germany's largest cathedral was celebrated as a national event in 1880, 632 years after construction had began. The celebration was attended by Emperor Wilhelm I.

The arch above the cathedral's main entrance

In the end, the outer appearance remained faithful to the original medieval plans; however, the roof was a modern steel construction. At its completion, the Cologne cathedral was the World's Tallest Building, having taken over from the minster of Strasbourg. In 1884, it lost the title to the Washington Monument. It features the largest church facade in the world.

Some repair and maintainance work is almost constantly being carried out in some section of the building, which is almost never completely free of scaffolding, since wind, rain, and pollution slowly eat away at the stones. The Dombauhütte, which does the repairs, is said to employ the best stonemasons of the Rhineland.

The most celebrated work of art in the cathedral is the Sarcophagus of the Magi, a large gilded sarcophagus dating from the 13th century, and the largest reliquary in the western world. It is thought to hold the remains of the Three Wise Men, which bones and 2000 years old clothes were discovered at the opening of the shrine in 1864.

The Gero Cross (Gero-Kreuz) (around 970), near the sacristy, is the oldest large cross north of the Alps. In the Sacrament Chapel, the "Milan Madonna" (Mailänder Madonna), dating from around 1290, is a wooden sculpture depicting Mary and the child Jesus. In St. Mary's Chapel (Marienkapelle) is the altar of the patron saints of Cologne with an altar piece by Stephan Lochner. Other outstanding works of art are to be found in the cathedral treasure chamber.

For a small fee it is possible to climb a spiral staircase to a viewing platform about 98 metres above the ground.

The cathedral suffered 14 hits by World War II aerial bombs but luckily didn't collapse; reconstruction was completed in 1956. In the northwest tower's base, an emergency repair carried out with bad-quality brickstones taken from a nearby war ruin remained visible until the late 1990s as a reminder of the War, but then it was decided to reconstruct this section according to the original appearance.

In 1996, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites.