Cologne City View

View from the Severinsbr?cke bridge in Cologne down the Rhine. Twin spires of Cathedral are on the left
? Sebastian Bohnen – Wikimedia Commons

It is a wonder the Cathedral was not bombed into oblivion.

It was World War II and GPS precision bombing had not yet been developed. Although the Cologne Cathedral stood only meters from the train station, which was the intended target of the Allied Air Forces, it wasn’t destroyed. Today the cathedral remains standing because of skilled bomber pilots avoiding it for the most part, plus this structure has no wooden roof like many other churches and did not burn. Think Notre Dame in Paris for a recent example.

Damage of Cologne Cathedral

The Cathedral at Cologne and surrounding damaged structures, 1944 — Royal Air Force official photographer, Public Domain

History of the Cathedral

Cologne has held some sort of sacred space since at least the 4th century A.D., but work building the Gothic style church began in 1248. This construction was halted for several centuries, but work began again using architectural drawings made in 1300.

Completion was in 1880, but then the destruction of WW II happened. Work on repairs was again completed the following decade and today the largely sandstone structure is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Interior of Cologne Cathedral

Interior of Cologne Cathedral ?2024 Steve Smith

The Cathedral Today

As I entered, I was amazed by the spectacular expanses of stained glass from earlier centuries lining the interior. These priceless treasures were removed by the monks during the war. The sweet smell of incense wafted throughout — this is a practice dating back to pagan times that lifts a prayer within the smoke to heaven. Undoubtedly here it was also used in earlier times to mask the odor of the many unwashed parishioners.

Listed for years as the largest structure in Europe and today as the 3rd tallest Catholic Church, like any church of renown during the medieval period it had to hold sacred relics. Cologne Dom was no different ? a large reliquary of gold and silver was built for the bones and garments of the Three Wise Men.

Leaving the church I walked through the restored Old Town section, away from the cathedral towards the river. A majority of these bombed buildings were rebuilt in a style totally devoid of ornamentation. Nothing baroque at all ? simply block structures. Sure they resemble the original architecture, but in shape only. However not everything was flattened and some of the original medieval facades remained intact.

Brauhaus Peters

Brauhaus Peters ? Neulich im Roxy Kino ? Wikimedia Commons

Peter’s Brauhaus

One of these buildings later became Peter’s Brauhaus. Although bombs found the building during the war years its frontage survived, and in the following decade the structure behind that facade was rebuilt. Opened as the Lammertz brewery in the 17th century but later converted to a mill, it returned to its beer heritage in 1996 when Peter’s occupied that space. Preserved under the surviving facade is a nod to it’s past.

 

Medieval One Stop Shop

Since the old town streets leading to the cathedral pass by, its special location allowed parishioners making their Sunday morning pilgrimage to stop for a beer. When one beer led to another and a full day at the pub resulted, a conveniently located confessional by the exit let them confess their sins and receive absolution.

I was surprised during an evening Kolsch crawl. To me the iconic impression of a German beer hall involves busty women servers carrying fistfuls of huge overflowing steins, pretzels and sauerkraut, and long tables of revelers locked arm in arm singing drinking songs. But not here ? here the beer is Kolsch, a beer licensed for brewing solely in Cologne. It is light and crisp and remarkably easy to drink. Arriving in 7 ounce glasses known as ?Stangens?, it’s constantly refreshed to stay cold and fresh. Also the food here is much more varied, offering many traditional home cooked dishes. Try the pork knuckle and the liverwurst, which is nothing like the Oscar Meyer version.

Pausing at the confessional on my exit, as I had no confession off hand to make, I simply gave a silent prayer to return…

When you go:

  • Visit Cologne Cathedral. The cathedral offers tours an is open all year round.
  • Do yourself a favor and partake of some Kolsch beer ? so many independent breweries await you. My favorite: Peter’s Brauhaus. But Gaffel is good too. Don’t forget the excellent local German beers Koblinzer and Konigsbacher Pils. Plus local wine is great as well, coming from an area often compared to the California Napa Valley for quality vintages. If you want to sample a Kolsch copy before you travel, try Rouge Honey Kolsch, with a flavor profile truest to the original.