Köln - Dom - Exterior - Dedicated to St Peter and Mary; Orients East. Begun in 1248 and completed in 1880. This is a few of the towers from the south. It's important relics were the bones of the 3 magi. It also holds a number of other important relics. The earliest church on this site dates from early medieval times and the bones of the Merovingian King's family are suspected to have been found (ca. 540).
Köln - Dom - Exterior - South facade
Köln - Dom - Exterior - South facade (and my finger :( )
Köln - Dom - North facade figures?
Köln - Dom - North facade?
Köln - Dom - Exterior - South facade central door with closeup on the figures in the arch.
Köln - Dom - Exterior - South facade central door
Köln - Dom - Exterior South facade central door
Köln - Dom - Exterior - South facade central doors
Köln - Dom - Exterior - South facade door on left.
Köln - Dom - Exterior - Twin towers
Köln - Dom - Exterior - West facade (main portal)
Köln - Dom - Exterior - West facade (main portal) with modern sculptures.
Köln - Dom - Exterior - St Peter's Gate
Köln - Dom - Exterior - St Peter's Gate, south tower. This is the only entrance dating from medieval times.
Köln - Dom - Exterior - figures surrounding the central portal on the west facade.
Köln - Dom - View down the Nave
Köln - Dom - View down the Nave - Look at all the light!
Köln - Dom - the stations of the cross in the cathedral are these paintings which appear very dark. Despite the netting I think this picture is worth keeping to highlight just how colorful they are. They appear black/gray in person.
Köln - Dom - St Peter and Tree of Jesse Window - Ca. 1507-1509.
Köln - Dom - View into one of the aisles.
Köln - Dom - Down the nave
Köln - Dom - North transept; The jewelry Madonna. It's said that this image works miracles and as such patrons have adorned the image with jewelry. There is a huge set of candles that burn brightly nearby. People still donate jewelry to it when they make requests.
Köln - Dom - Chapel of the Cross; Gero cross, donated by Archbishop Gero (969-976) who was a diplomat to Byzantium for Otto I. It's notable for its large size (typical in Byzantium, but atypical in the West) and it's realism.
Köln - Dom - 2 medieval-period figures in the north transept.
Köln - Dom - Choir stalls (ca. 1308-1311) where 2 are still reserved for the Pope and the Emperor!
Köln - Dom - Choir stalls
Köln - Dom - Paintings that adorn the aisle/Chapel of the Cross separation.
Köln - Dom - Interior Choir; Shrine of the Magi - 1190-1220; bones presented by Frederick Barbarossa and the shrine was constructed by Nicholas Verdun and his workshops. On Jan 6 the open the front panel and display the skulls and crowns through a screen.
Köln - Dom - Interior Choir; Shrine of the Magi
Köln - Dom - View of the choir clerestory - windows ca. 1300
Köln - Dom - Fuzzy picture :( of Archbishop Philipp von Heinsberg (ca 1330)
Köln - Dom -
Köln - Dom - Magi Chapel?; An interesting little door; it says Ossa Sancta (um?) - Holy bones?
Köln - Dom - Magi Chapel?
Köln - Dom - Beautiful mosaic floor from the south ambulatory.
Köln - Dom - St Mary's Chapel; Altarpiece of the City's Patron Saints ca. 1445 Stephan Lochner
Köln - Dom - Unknown to me, although the story goes that the grate was put over the effigy to prevent people who hated the man from destroying the tomb.
Köln - Dom - 1998 Organ
Köln - Dom - Bells in your belfrey? I believe this is the bell of St Peter and it is the largest freeswinging bell in the world.
Köln - Dom - Unfortunate blurry photo of the roof of the belfrey.
Köln - Dom - really big bells.
Köln - Dom - big bells
Köln - Dom - belfrey
Köln - Dom - View of the adjacent spire from 3/4 up.
Köln - Dom - Can you see the bird? This was taken 3/4 up the spire. Crazy pigeons.
Köln - Dom - A view near the top.
Köln - Dom - View towards the Rhine 3/4 of the way to the top.
Köln - Dom - View of adjacent spire.
Köln - Dom - Look at those beautiful buttresses.
Köln - Dom - Ribs as viewed during the climb
Köln - Dom - vault ribbing.
Köln - Dom - unfinished heraldic shields near the top of the spire?
Köln - Dom - gorgeous non-paned windows.
Köln - Dom - Towards the top of the spire.
Köln - Dom - Ceiling going towards the top of the spire.
Köln - Dom - unpaned windows
Köln - Dom - Gorgeous top of the spire.
Köln - Dom - spire vaulting.
Köln - Dom - Spire from the inside.
Köln - Dom - View of the Rhine with the transept in view.
Köln - Dom - Beautiful buttresses as photographed from the left spire.
Köln - Dom - Point on top of the spire over the transept.
Köln - Dom - View of the Rhine from the top of the Dom
Köln - Dom - View from the top.
Köln - Dom - It took them 600+ years to build the church. This was finished in 1875!
Köln - Dom - View from the top
Köln - Dom - Sam at the top of the Spire
Köln - Dom - View from the Dom spire.
Köln - Dom - A shocking look at what has been repaired/cleaned and what hasn't.
Köln - Dom - This piece laid in 1870 (600+ years after it all began)
Köln - Dom - Rainspout near the top of the Dom's spire.
Köln - Dom - cleaned? repaired?
Köln - Sam lazy in our Köln hotel room.
Köln - Dom Treasury - Reliquary with 3 links of St Peter's Chains. Given to Archbishop Bruno (953-965) as a gift. The monstrance dates from the 19th century.
Köln - Our bathroom's neato sliding glass door to cover the toilet?
Köln - Sam in our hotel room.
Köln - Dom - View of the Dom from our hotel
Köln - Sam eating at a tapas place
Köln - Sam demanded I take this picture.
