Cologne Cathedral - History of a German Gothic masterpiece

Cologne Cathedral a UNESCO world heritage site that draws thousands of visitors a day its magnetic appeal extends well beyond the city that surrounds it the cathedral is brimming with Priceless art and cultural treasures and inspires awe and admiration and yet it is a vulnerable [Music] Colossus the cathedral is a long-term construction site scaffolding seems to be a permanent fixture Cathedral architect Peter fish and his team are responsible for securing and preserving the gigantic structure weather and air pollution take their toll the maintenance Bill runs to around €20,000 a day the stone here is much yellower than it is up [Music] there the cathedral itself tells us what needs to be done we basically just set priorities and do the work right now fish is planning projects that will not be carried out for another 50 years it's a big respons ility and we need to approach our work with a bit of humility that's because we can complete just a fraction of the work that needs to be [Music] done when the cathedral doors are locked at the end of the day say it's peaceful and quiet once again for at least a few [Music] hours custodians clean up after the day's visitors and they check to make sure that everyone has left the building through the centuy many have sought to exploit the cathedral for their own ends Kings Emperors and Cardinals the cathedral seem to inspire a sense of greed in these people and not just because of its Treasures there are lots of people who protect the cathedral and very few that we need to protect the cathedral from Cologne Cathedral is a world unto itself and the master of that that world is Provost gout bachner nothing takes place here without his permission but bna's jurisdiction is limited everything that goes on outside the building for example on the dorm platter or Cathedral Square is a matter for the city of [Music] Cologne the Dome PL is a crazy place there's a lot going on here and on a Saturday like today it's really busy 20,000 people a day visit the cathedral it's the most visited place in Germany Angela schlisser has worked as a guide at the Cathedral for more than 20 years when I started doing guided tours we just walked into the cathedral and looked around it was all very casual not like it is today later they decided to regulate the flow of visitors that makes sense so now only 10 groups an hour are allowed that helps people get more out of the tour if people were just herded through the place like they are at Versailles they wouldn't enjoy the experience and it wouldn't do justice to the cathedral either filming in the cathedral is strictly forbidden this is a place of worship after all and church officials want to maintain the cathedral's dignity and integrity still visitors do take photos and videos for their own private use to show the folks back home that they were actually [Music] here but the 20,000 visitors a day do have an impact they throw used chewing gum on the floor scribble on the walls and leave behind a mixture of fabric fibers and particles that they've exhaled all all this creates problems for the cathedral you've got all these people moving through the building and those particles settle on the artworks so we work constantly to limit the damage but we also want to make sure that the building remains open to a large number of visitors that includes the faithful up to six masses a day are held here these Services provide brief rest spes between the waves of tourists many of them don't show proper respect right now we have a problem with Pokemon players we've actually seen them leaping over pews I'm not a very religious person myself but I still find it annoying it's disrespectful Cologne Cathedral is a remarkable achievement it took centuries to build and people should respect that the security staff are responsible for keeping things under control but who decides how the cathedral's Public Image should best be preserved that's an issue that has long concerned writer and Cabaret artist Martin stankovski he's lived in Cologne for decades the cathedral Advisory Board claim that they have the authority to interpret that but that's not correct the board does represent the religious side of things but there are also artistic and political considerations and all sides have a legitimate claim when it comes to making decisions on those various [Music] issues the distinctive silhouette Towers over cologne's postwar concrete landscape from every direction the cathedral dominates the skyline an imposing Landmark at the Heart of the [Music] City all sorts of things are marketed under its name including cookies and beer it's not a registered trademark unfortunately there's no legal obstacle to people using the word cathedral but on the bright side the fact that manufacturers seek to associate their products with the cathedral shows that it's regarded as a valuable commodity but for the Provost the cathedral is first and foremost a church his favorite spot is halfway along the choir section it's a place that gives him strength a place where he can pause and reflect regardless of whether you're religious you can answer the life's important questions only if you can step back from the hustle and bustle and find a quiet spot and you can do that in a sacred place like this the cathedral has an inner Radiance that draws people to [Music] it but there is also a hidden side to the cathedral deep down below the Nave you can see the medieval foundations and traces of 2,000 years of History they bear witness to the colorful past of this city and its [Music] people here in the we found Roman residences on the cathedral site and a Roman floor heating system there are living rooms that have painted walls we've also found old churches this is basically the nucleus of the present day Cathedral this passageway leads to an area that's closed to the public this was once the Villa District of ancient Colonia the foundation on which the modern day cathedral was [Music] built some think this is where early Christians met in private residences to pray and hold religious services and it's amazing you can still see the sight of the altar these are the foundations of the present day Gothic High altar of Cologne Cathedral the cathedral's inner sanctum long before the gothic edifice was completed people made pilgrimages here to see cologne's greatest treasure the cathedral was built to house the shrine and the shrine was created to store the Mortal remains of the three kings the Magi the earlier Cathedral a Romanesque church is where the relics were first kept when they were brought here from [Music] Italy the relics were in Milan and cologne's Archbishop saw his chance and took it he pocketed the relics no one here complained he turned cologne into a major pilgrimage Center it was a lucrative business model for the church and for the city cologne ended up becoming the biggest medieval city north of the Alps cologne's reputation as a commercial center a cultural center and a transport Hub extended far beyond the Rin and of course the city needed a church a state-of-the-art religious land Mark to emphasize its stature at the time the pyramids at Giza in Egypt were the world's largest structures but in the 13th century the title passed to cologne's Cathedral skilled labor from all over Europe took part in its construction those early Cathedral Builders did an incredible job they were the first people to lay the foundations for a building that they would never see completed and they knew it the foundation pit was 17 M deep there is as much masonry down here as there is above ground today a structural engineer would say that this is way over the top the foundations don't need to be this big but it also means that we don't need to worry if there's an earthquake and this is the most earthquake prone region in Germany two types of rock were used to make the foundations hard black Bassel and a casing of softer rock made of volcanic ash to cushion Earth [Music] Tremors the structural solution for the high voled ceilings is equally ingenious without the buttresses the window walls would lack the necessary stability the area around the altar is supported by numerous Arms This creates a solid structure that is nevertheless Airy and [Music] weightless it's protected like a castle by crenellations and turrets yet it is still light and transparent a medieval Marvel erected in just 70 years [Applause] imagine that you're living in the Middle Ages in a small half timbered house cologne was a city of half timbered houses a Stonehouse was a luxury your windows would have been about this big but what was in the windows not glass it was animal hide or oil soaked cloth and when it was cold in Winter the shutters were closed so that's your home and then imagine yourself a Pious medieval Catholic stepping into the [Music] cathedral this was the view that presented itself to pilgrims for centuries the oldest window in the cathedral dates from 1260 sunlight makes the colors so intense and luminous that many at the time thought that the glass panes were precious stones but people didn't come to the cathedral just to see the windows people made pilgrimages to the gold Shrine that held relics of the Magi it didn't matter what was inside the main thing was that people came they stayed overnight did some shopping bought some presents perhaps paid a visit to a brothel and then went home [Music] but the cathedral was far from finished after the area around the alter was completed the Isles and parts of the South Tower were built but then construction came to a halt for hundreds of [Music] years in the 16th century cologne was an economic decline Martin Lut had arrived on the scene so indulgences were getting harder to sell Gothic architecture was now well and truly P the old building crane was left at the top of the unfinished Tower and it stayed there squeaking and creaking for 300 [Music] years I think that living with a stop Gap solution this unfinished project played an important role in shaping the mentality of the people here cologne is not a particularly beautiful city nor is it a world beater but it's brilliant at being second rate so where does that ability to live with second best come from I think it may have to do with the fact that its most important building was never finished but was always still functional the people of cologne didn't mind having a half-finished cathedral the structure fell into disrepair under Napoleon French troops occupied the city the arch dicese was dissolved and the cathedral became an ordinary Parish church for the Catholics of course that was a bitter pill to swallow their church had been taken away from them it was now a military barracks and it was in a dreadful state that was the lowest point in the cathedral's history the French even used part of the structure as a [Music] stable during that period the medieval archive was also lost even today we don't know if it still exists or if it does where might be the blueprint known as facade elevation F also disappeared at that time facade elevation f is an original medieval drawing of the West Portal the blueprint of the [Music] cathedral the story of elevation f is quite incredible it's 4 M High drawn in ink on parchment and was rediscovered in the mid 19th century half of it turned up in [Music] Paris it was found among a job lot of architectural drawings that was bought by a collector who had a special interest in Cologne Cathedral but the crucial left half was missing then a drawing was found in the Attic of a Tavern in damat and it proved a perfect match for the other half someone had been drying beans on it that was lucky because otherwise it might have been thrown away and lost forever the drawing showed precisely what the cathedral was originally intended to look like after the 300-year break the prussians resumed construction around the site entire streets of houses were demolished to maximize The Majestic building's visual impact a new Square was created and it quickly Drew crowds of local [Music] residents the square is really popular and at the same time it's a local Landmark so people are always reinterpreting it and using it to promote their own interests but I think the square is more than just a [Music] stage the city permits six major events a year to be held outside the cathedral but these events must be compatible with the Dignity of the church whether that Criterion is met by every street artist is debatable some musicians show up with amplifiers and play or sing the same song 10 times a day you can hear it in the confessionals where people come to pray and reflect that's really disruptive no doubt about it speaking of disruptive in the mid 1980s the Cathedral Square became a rendevu point for skateboarders from all over the country Christian shakat was one of them there was a lot going on here and it was cool to be part of it the drop was cool too especially at night when the cathedral was lit up that was special and it made you want to stay out there a while longer and skate the debate went on for 20 years finally the skateboarders had to move elsewhere some of them are still upset about that decision it's purely subjective some people thought that we were violating the Integrity of the cathedral but how can you damage a cathedral's reputation how can you do that by skateboarding so what is acceptable and what isn't outside Cologne Cathedral the debate about that is probably as old as the building itself and it continues today fueled by the immediate proximity of the city's main railway station keep no other European city has a cathedral right next to a railway station you almost stumble into the cathedral when you leave the station The cathedral's North Door used to be open and on a rainy morning commuters used to take a shortcut through the church so the cathedral board had the door locked it was the prussians who wanted the main Railway Station built right next to the cathedral the idea was to create an impression of progress and modernity steel bracing the cathedral also has an iron roof truss despite opposition from local traditionalists it was used to preserve the cathedral's structural Integrity steel helps protect against fire and woodworms but more importantly Industrial Age Technology enabled the cathedral's construction to be swiftly completed at last American Engineers are said to have learned a lot here for later use in the construction of skyscrapers but it was the local population who benefited most it was also a job creation scheme for colog workers the cathedral was always a project by and for the local community and in the 19th century especially there was a very close connection between the community and the cathedral when the cathedral was finished it was the tallest building in the world a powerful symbol but there was a price to be paid the prussians used the cathedral to advance their own agenda there was no more talk of the Magi the cathedral was now a symbol of German national identity and in particular German unification when the German Empire was founded in 1871 the Prussian Emperor wanted to call the world's attention to the new nation which extended as far west as the reinland [Music] the rhin land had been German territory since the Middle Ages but was also claimed by France the emperor needed a powerful symbol that represented German architecture and was located in the reinland colog cathedral fit the bill perfectly so the cathedral construction project became a symbol of German nation building and therefore took on a new political significance even today the cathedral often plays a symbolic role in various political [Music] efforts back in the 1960s for example hinr b g valra and others including me held a religious service to protest the death penalty in Spain we went into the cathedral said some prayers and held a kind of vigil the vigil led by Nobel laurate hinish B made headlines the Tabloid press portrayed it as an occupation if you hold a political event at a major location it has a major impact the cathedral has been the scene of numerous similar events since B's prayer for [Music] peace the cathedral draws political activists like a MAG when yina vit visited the cathedral for the first time with her family she could not know that she would one day stage a feminist protest there we drove to cologne and as we got closer to the cathedral we played a game to see who could spot it first I won I can still remember the overwhelming side of it you looked up and it seemed endlessly tall it was breathtaking a few years later vit was looking for a place to Stage a protest against the oppression of [Music] women we decided to hold the protest in a church and Cologne Cathedral came to mind right away because it's so big and because Cardinal mner was still in office Cardinal yahim mner Archbishop of cologne know known for his conservative views misner's perception of women made him the perfect Target for the feminists protest th we had radical demands these included the overthrow of the entire patriarchal system and when a building ties patriarchal power so closely to a particular ideology it's an obvious place to try to break that power at least for a day or even for a brief moment Christmas 2013 protest and provocation in a sacred place on a sacred day I was extremely nervous and excited it was Christmas and everyone was in a christmy mood including me it wasn't really a time for a protest so it was a really big deal and I knew it wasn't going to win me any [Music] friends I didn't think it would escalate to the point of physical violence but I was afraid that it might vit saw the protest as an act of free speech there's a place for everything people can demonstrate but this is a place where others come to commune with God find peace pray and celebrate the Liturgy for their sake and for the sake of God's Will I Am radically opposed to such protests yosina vit was arrested found guilty of gross interference with the exercise of religion and [Music] fined everyone okay no cause for concern bookart Yan has patrolled the Cathedral Square for 27 years he likes his job despite the rising Threat Level is this your backpack Step Closer please terrorism is not a new problem it's been around for a number of years but we're still at risk of course colog is part of a danger zone that includes Germany and all of Europe so what's the answer fences more security Personnel the best protection would be for people to just leave the cathedral alone it's a place of worship a place for pilgrims and the community as a whole some people who walk past might have their doubts about the cathedral but once they go inside they almost always find it a moving experience since 2007 the magic of the cathedral has been enhanced by the new South window the work of colog artist Gad [Music] Risha Archbishop mner thought the window was wholly unsuitable but after lengthy debate the will of the cathedral board prevailed today it's hard to imagine the South transip without [Music] it but where there is light there is also Shadow on November the 2nd 1975 the cathedral treasury was robbed thieves got away with artworks worth several million dollars the crime caused a sensation [Music] there were appeals on TV for anyone who had information on the crime to come forward the thieves gained access to the treasury through a ventilation shaft the cathedral's chief custodian was appalled at the way the robbery was carried [Music] out these people were not trying to steal art just gold and precious stones and they tore apart some extremely valuable items to get [Music] them senior public prosecutor Maria Teresa mus was in charge of the investigation it was one of the most exciting cases of her [Music] career on the night of the crime some pedestrians saw two men climbing out of the cathedral the witnesses gave [Music] chase the perpetrators split up and the witnesses lost track of them the witnesses went to the railway police and told them what they'd seen But the railway police said it wasn't their responsibility amazing but true the next day an artist who had a criminal record was identified as a prime suspect the prosecutor immediately ordered a search of his apartment and the stolen treasure was indeed there as investigators later discovered the C there was a suitcase behind the door in the hallway but before a proper search could be conducted two more men turned up they were later found to be accompli so two police officers had three men to keep an eye on the suspect's wife then saw her chance she said she felt ill walked out the door and took the suitcase with her she went down to the basement and put the bag in a neighbor's storage room the suspect allowed police to search his apartment and seller storage room he knew that the bag was gone as police closed in on the prime suspect he fled to Belgrade there he persuaded a dental technician to melt down the gold they have to he did melt down some of the items but others were so obviously valuable that he asked the suspect to spare [Music] them but the suspect demanded that the precious stones be removed and the gold melted down a private detective working under cover managed to track down the treasure in Italian we recovered a lump of compressed metal like a big salami it was a heartbreaking site also it took 10 years to reconstruct the damaged [Music] items theft is not the only problem that church officials have to worry about there's also vandalism the lighter spots up there are places that haven't been exposed to weathering that's where it's been damaged by vandals people climb up and use an umbrella to knock off a bit of a gargoyle or gable or Pinnacle we're very concerned about [Music] this a stonemason might spend a year and a half working on a canopy so it breaks your heart to see that work destroyed it makes all of us angry of course so we're trying to find new ways to protect the cathedral since the wave of sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year's Eve 2015 there have been calls for tougher security measures at the Cathedral these include a fence around the entire building like the one on the south side that stops people urinating on the wall but many cologne residents don't like the idea of putting barriers around their [Music] Cathedral when this incrustation and dirt are removed you can see some beautiful workmanship all the wonderful Stone carvings and sculptures from the 19th century these are real works of of Art and they're being restored to their former glory a conservator uses a laser to remove the dark dirt and the light colored Stone underneath remains intact afterward the figures of the north portal seem brand new but some of the sculptures still show signs of damage suffered during World War II some would effaced by bullets or shrapnel the war posed the greatest threat to the cathedral in its entire [Music] history by May 1945 cologne had been almost completely destroyed but one structure Rose above the rubble the cathedral or what was left of it it feel a lot of Americans arrive here on the Ry cruise ships and I take them on tours they're convinced that the Allies did not intend to bomb the cathedral but there's no credible evidence to back that up from a distance the cathedral seems unscathed mention a lot of people believe that the cathedral came through the war without any major damage but that's wrong the fact of the matter is that the cathedral suffered serious damage during the war not least because it was located next to the main railway station the cathedral was hit by no less than 14 Allied bombs large parts of the roof of the Nave collapsed much of the north transcept lay in Ruins and the cathedral organ was destroyed in Autumn 1943 a bomb tore a massive hole in the North Tower there were concerns that the tower might collapse so despite the wartime complications the hole was bricked up partly by forced laborers after the war cologne was virtually unrecognizable only 40,000 people still lived among the [Music] ruins colog a proud City and the oldest in Germany was no more but the fact that the cathedral was still standing may have given people hope they saw that the cathedral had survived and they might too so they stayed put the logical thing to do would be to leave there was nothing left here so I think the cathedral really did give strength and encouragement to the people of cologne in 1948 to Mark the cathedral 700 100th anniversary a mass was celebrated in the [Music] chancel the war damage in the North Tower has been repaired you can recognize the temporary filling by its lighter color that filling survived for decades but it sparked an intense debate among preservation some thought it should be removed others said it should be kept in place as a memorial to the war it was decided that this scar should be removed even if it meant erasing a highly visible reminder of the city's recent [Music] history personally I would have favored the other option but you have to respect the opinions of those those who were affected by those events still you've got to explain to people what that white spot is perceptions of buildings are always changing depending on how you explain the context a refugee boat as an altar in May 2016 Cardinal rhina Maria vogi Archbishop of cologne sparked vehement debate with this Mass held to Mark the Feast of Corpus Christie the boat was later put on display in the cathedral a reminder of the essence of the Christian message and a powerful political signal the story made headlines around the world on a human religious and political level I think it's brilliant that he used the cathedral in this way a Corpus Christi procession featuring a boat from lampedusa that saved refugees so what sorts of activities are acceptable in the cathedral there are lots of different answers in summer 2016 Provost G bachner opened the doors to those who were attending the cologne computer games Fair Gamescom there was electronic music A Light and Laser show and a party atmosphere it put a new perspective on cologne's largest [Music] structure [Music] I want to build Bridges perhaps people can take away more from these events than they think the idea was not just to address those who already have a close relationship with the church it was designed to reach out to those who might have a problem with this God this church and this Faith Cologne Cathedral a place for everyone even those who want to use it for their own purposes but who owns it now the city of Cologne I hope all the people of cologne I'd say it's owned by everyone who respects it and can feel its magic and that can be anyone from anywhere Cologne Cathedral belongs to the [Music] it doesn't belong to the Archbishop or the arch dicese as a lot of people think the cathedral belongs to itself and that's more than just a legal formula the cathedral represents an obligation for the current generation and a gift to Future [Music] Generations

Channel: DW History and Culture

Views: 221,961

Keywords: DW, Deutsche Welle

Id: ltoEsUxWTsA

Length: 40min 56sec (2456 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 24 2023