Our Niche: Cologne,Germany Part 1

Cologne or "Köln" (German) or Keulen (Dutch; I can never pronounce this like they do!) is one of the oldest cities in Germany. It was named as "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis" (CCAA) by the Romans when it was granted the status of a Roman "city" in the year 50. By 5 A.D. its name was shortened to Colonia or Cologne.

The 2.5hr-train ride aint too long if you're with good company :)

With our "planners" from our Singapore office. The "mommies!"

We're heeeerrree!!!

A railway and a sacred building make strange neighbors; and the the bizarre location of the Cologne Central Station just next to the Cologne Cathedral seems "unexpected" for some.

Going up the Cathedral steps from the Central Station (at the back)

Cologne was host to the 2005 World Youth Day and was the first such gathering to occur after the death of John Paul II. This World Youth Day also marked the first apostolic journey of Pope Benedict XVI, and it was also the first time the Pope had traveled outside of Italy since his election.

COLOGNE CATHEDRAL-It's impossible to imagine Cologne without its magnificent Cathedral (Kölner Dom), one of the largest in Europe, in fact it was the world's tallest building from 1880 to 1890. Now it remains to be the second-tallest Gothic structure in the world; only the steeple of the Ulm Münster is higher. The twin spires of the Cathedral serve as the defining symbol of the city's skyline.

The Dom and the Hotel Am Dom

Interesting Facts

Germany's largest Cathedral, five-aisled Gothic basilica
Sepulchral church of the three Magi housing the Golden Shrine of the Three Magi (around 1200)
Gero crucifix, first monumental crucifix in Northern Europe (before 1000).
Altar paintings of patron saints by Stephan Lochner (around 1450).
1350 square meters of medeival stained glass windows Stained glass windows
Carved choir stalls and choir screen paintings dating back to the 14th century.
30 Ton Swallow's nest organ in the central nave

Any Da Vinci code for the missing Saint here?

We just snapped and snapped hoping to get the entire magnitude of this towering structure...But well, didn't have those fancy-smhancy lenses for SLRs...Neither an SLR!Harharhar!

Dwarfed by this towering structure...

Inside the Dom...

The Cathedral's greatest treasure, is 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, whose bones and 2000 years old clothes were discovered at the opening of the shrine in 1864.

The striking GERO CROSS named after the 10th century Archbishop Gero.It is the oldest large cross north of the Alps.

The Virgin Mary with the patron saints of Cologne. A great depiction of the Holy Mother painted by the great medieval artist Stephen Lochner.

The Dom at night...

Make sure you take the roof tour as it is unforgettable and well worth the climb. They did! The steep tower staircase kinda scared me so I went back after 50 steps. Tee hee... But Rey and the 3 older ladies, went all the way up, 590 steps! The ascent to and descent from the tower takes 30 minutes...Whew!

VIEW FROM THE TOP

In front of one of the 12 Church bells.
(from wikipedia.org) The cathedral has 12 church bells. The first was the Dreikönigenglocke (bell of the three kings), cast in 1418 , 3.4 tons of weight, installed in 1437 . It had to be cast new in 1880 . Two of them, the "Pretiosa" (10 tons), at that time the largest bell in the occident , and the "Speciosa" (4.3 tons) were installed in1448 , and are there since then. The largest of them, the St. Petersglocke (bell of St Peter), was cast in1922, weighs 24 tons and is the largest free-swinging bell in the world. The World Peace Bell in Newport,Kentucky is larger, but it does not swing free around the top, it only turns around its center of gravity, which makes a different sound.

Cologne lies at the River Rhine. For 500 years the Rhine marked the border between the Roman Empire and the lands of the Germanic tribes . Cologne's location on the river Rhine placed it at the intersection of the major trade routes between east and west and was the basis of Cologne's growth.The city covers an area of405. 15 km² (about 156 square miles), on both sides of the River Rhine.The Hohenzollernbrücke (Hohenzollern bridge) is a bridge crossing the River Rhine.