Kölner Dom

(Dr. Wasser, this is for the week of 1/30)

Last Wednesday, we went to Cologne as a class, and got a topside, behind-the-scenes view of the Cologne Cathedral! It was interesting to see all of the byways that riddle the walls of the cathedral, and I could imagine monks scurrying through them to ring bells and get around through the secret passageways; however, as we learned, there were probably never monks left to run the cathedral alone, since the building was only completed in 1880. I had also never expected to see steel framework in a cathedral, but the "attic space" above the ceiling of the cathedral was steel and wood, sure enough. This attic space houses the workspace for the eternal restoration effort--bits of stone and glass lined the walls, along with components of scaffolding bundled up and suspended over the ceiling of the church. We were given a tour around the "ramparts" of the roof, and were shown where the craftsmen had carved themselves and other recognizable figures into the flying buttresses for fun as they neared the finish. The tour ended with a climb up to the tower atop that sits at the center of the cross that the church's footprint forms. We got a few pictures of the sunset over the city before we completely froze, then we took the elevator down and returned to Bonn.