Cologne Cathedral - Table of Contents      ..............   Architecture Around the World

Facade - Cologne Cathedral
Cologne, Germany

1248 Construction begins
1330

Construction on Western section (facade), Nave, and transept

1473
Construction halted - A large crane remained in situ scarring the Cologne skyline for 400 years
1842-1880 Construction completed
Architects::
  • Master (Meister) Gerhard
  • Master Arnold (active 1271-1299)
  • Ernst Friedrich Zwirner (1802-1861) - From 1833, the leading architect of the cathedral which was to be completed; argued for the accurate reproduction of Gothic detail
Style:
Rayonnant Gothic style, with some  Flamboyant Gothic architecture
Important exterior features:
  • Largest facade of any church in the world
  • Architectural statues
  • Steep gables,
  • Blind tracery
  • Unifying series of spires
  • Flying buttresses
  • Stone sculpture
  • Pinnacles
  • Lofty porticos.
Status:
In 1996,  added to the UNESCO World Heritage List

       On this page, below:

Twin towers

Center portal

Center portal door jambs - left side

Center portal  door jambs - right side

November 2019 Photos

Twin towers


Meister Arnold, West facade,1280



Two dominant towers   ...   Rayonnant Gothic style, with some  Flamboyant Gothic architecture


Lighter areas are the result of cleaning   ...   Note the extensive cleaning taking place on the south elevation   ...   Twin steeples   ....   Finials   ...    Crockets   ...  Pinnacles   ...   Belfries



Cologne Cathedral is the model for St. Louis Church in Buffalo   ...   19th century European Immigrants to the US continued their religious beliefs and built churches that imitated churches from their homeland    ...   See German-American history in Buffalo









Vertical Gothic gable roofs   ...   
Finials   ...     Crockets   ...     In lower tympanum, unusual cinquefoil tracery



Lighter area is the result of cleaning



Note bird in flight   ...   CenterQuatrefoil above paired trefoil tracery with flanking crocketed pinnacles   ...   Right:
Quatrefoils


In center tympanum, unusually shaped cinquefoil tracery



St. Mark the Evangelist and his symbolic lion




Center main portal

All sculptures of the Cathedral are made by Christian Mohr and Peter Fuchs. The three portals of the west façade are the Magi Portal, the Main Portal and St. Peter's Portal.

The theme of the center portal is the age before redemption.


Triple portals feature gable roof tympanums, archivolts, and jamb statues      ...   Center portal details below:


Tympanum center : Christ, holding a book with the letters Α and Ω and making a blessing gesture with his right hand   ...    At his sides are statues of the four great prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel



Compound arches    ...   Archivolts, (ornamental moldings surrounding the arched opening)    ...   Tympanum   ...   Jamb statues  fanning from the doors   ...   Details below:


Archivolts    ...   Note  netting to prevent pigeons from nesting



Tympanum   ...   Relief depicts scenes, from top to bottom: The Fall of Man   ...    Noah's Ark   ...   Moses receiving the laws   ...   the Nativity    ...    Jesus in the temple  ...   2 tympanum details below:


  LeftNoah's Ark     ...   Center: Moses receiving the laws    ...   Right: Worship of the Golden Calf



Upper
panel:  The Annunciation   ...    the Nativity    ...    the Presentation of the Christ Child in the Temple
Lower panel: 
Jesus in the temple  ...    the Baptism of Christ   ...    Sermon on the Mount



Mary, crowned as Queen of Heaven holding a royal scepter, stands on a crescent moon and a snake symbolizing evil   ...   2 details below:


Note fleurs-de-lis on crowns   ...   Jesus holds an orb (the world) and gives a blessing



Crescent moon and a snake




Center portal door jambs - left side


Adam   ...    Noah & Ark   ...   Moses    ...   David   ...   Elijah   ...   Joachim, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus    ...   St. John the Baptist    ..   4 details below:


Adam   ...  Noah & Ark


Moses  and the Ten Commandments



Fae left: King David and his harp   ...    Elijah   ...   Joachim,, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus    ...   St. John the Baptist


King David   ...    Elijah 




Center portal compound arch door jambs - right side


St. Joseph    ...   St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary    ....   Eliseus / Elisha, prophet   ...    King Solomon and the First Temple, son of David    ...   Samuel   ...   Abraham   ...   Eve  (detailed below):


Eve and the serpent with a female face, detailed below:


Serpent



Abraham, detailed below








Photos and their arrangement © 2019 Chuck LaChiusa
| ...Home Page ...| ..Buffalo Architecture Index...| ..Buffalo History Index... .|....E-Mail ...| ..