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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 of cultural treasures and inspires or an admiration and yet it is a vulnerable colossus. look at fetal is a long term construction site scaffolding seems to be a permanent fixture. cathedral architect pay to fix an issue and his team are responsible for securing and preserving the gigantic structure whether and evolution take that toll the maintenance bill runs to around twenty thousand euros a day. it had at it this down here is much

yellow where then it is up there. in the sindh the cathedral itself tells us what needs to be dumb we basically just set priorities and do the work i'm for going to want to put head butting in right now for some issues planning projects that will not be carried out for another fifty years. this is our kind of kind of job it's a big responsibility and we need to approach our work with a bit of humility if i monitored it that's because we can complete just a fraction of the work that needs to be done by tennis and. when the cathedral doors are locked at the end of the day it's peaceful and quiet once again at least a few hours. custody

ins clean up after the day's visitors and they check to make sure that everyone has left the building. through the centuries many have sought to exploit the cathedral for their own ends kings emperors and cotton alls. the cathedral seemed to inspire a sense of greed in these people and not just because of its treasures in the village there are lots of people who protect the cathedral and every view that we need to protect the cathedral from its. cologne cathedral is a world unto itself. and the master of that world is provost got back now. nothing

takes place here without his permission. but promise jurisdiction is limited everything that goes on outside the building for example on the dome platter cathedral square is a matter for the city of cologne. detweiler the dome plat it is a crazy place there's a lot going on here and on a saturday like today it's really busy twenty thousand people a day visit the cathedral it's the most visited place in germany. angular she has worked as a guide at the cathedral for more than twenty years. i think when i started doing guided tours we just walked into the kids he joined looked around it was all very casual it's not like it is today later they decided to regulate the flow of visitors that make sense so now only ten groups an hour are allowed that helps

people get more out of the tour if people were just heard through the place like they are at first sign 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 cathedrals 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 here. but the twenty thousand 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 expelled all this creates problems for the cathedral. and that's when i'm i've got all these people moving

through the building and those particles settle on the artworks so we were 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 bites between the waves of tourists. many of them don't show proper respect right now we have a problem with kokomo on 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 just respectful cologne cathedral it's 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 sheinkopf

ski he's lived in cologne for decades. peter bob did see how many thought the cathedral advisory board claimed 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 issues. the distinctive silhouette towers over colognes postwar concrete landscape from every direction the cathedral dominates the skyline and imposing landmark at the heart of the city. ski poles also as 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 promised the cathedral is first and foremost a church his favorite spot is halfway along a quiet section it's a place to give him strength a place where he can pause and reflect. god. would and regardless of whether you're religious you can oncet the life's important questions only if you can step back from the hustle and bustle and find a quiet spot and mama. and you can do that in a sacred place like this. but cathedral has an inner radiance that draws people to it the suspension.

but there is also a hidden side to the cathedral deep down below the naive you can see the medieval foundations and traces of two thousand years of history they bear witness to the colorful past of this city and its people. view and a kind of we found roman residences on the cathedral site and a roman floor heating system that you know 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 close to the public this was once the village district of ancient colonial the foundation on which the modern day cathedral was belt. i knew from that's something this is where early christians met in private residences be to pray and hold religious services. and it's amazing you can still see the site of the altar of. these are the foundations of the present day gothic high altar of cologne cathedral in. the. cathedrals in a sanctum long before the gothic edifice was completed people made pilgrimages here to see colognes greatest treasure. to do that cathedral was built to house the shrine and the shrine was created to store the

mortal remains of the three kings by the magi. the earlier cathedral a romanesque church is where the relics were first kept when they were brought here from italy. the relics were in milan and colognes archbishop saw his chance and took it he packed it in the relics no one here complained he turned cologne into a major pilgrimage center this year it was a lucrative business model for the church and for the city cologne ended up becoming the biggest mediæval city north of the alps. and i like. colognes reputation as a commercial center a cultural center and a transport hub extended far beyond the runway and of course the city needed a church a state of the art religious landmark to emphasise its stature mark. at the time

the pyramids at giza in egypt were the world's largest structures but in the thirteenth century the title passed to colognes cathedral skilled labor from all over europe took part in its construction. mentioned he did in 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 triumph and boarded and they knew it . was the niemeyer it's there it's tough to see even though. the foundation pit was seventeen meters deep there is as much masonry down here as there is above ground. point of order today a structural engineer. i 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 you have been given. and this is the most earthquake prone region in germany two types of rock were used to make the foundations hard black battled and

a casing of softer rock made of volcanic ash to cushion earth tremors. the structural solution for the high vaulted 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 whiteness. it's protected like a castle by colonel ations and tarts yet he still might and transparent a medieval marvel erected in just seventy years.

but that's not and for months imagine that you're living in the middle ages in a small have tempered house cologne with a city of half to meet houses a stone house 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 cathedral. of the. home this was the view that presented itself to pilgrims for centuries. the. the oldest window in the cathedral dates from twelve sixty 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. the lot 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. but the good thing was far from finished after the area around the altar was completed the isles and parts of the south tower built. but then construction came to a halt for hundreds of years. in that in the sixteenth century cologne was an economic decline martin luther had arrived on the scene so indulgences were getting harder to sell gothic architecture was now well and truly passe the old building crane was left at the top of the unfinished tower and it stayed there

squeaking in creaking for three hundred years. over by i think that living with a stopgap solution to 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 yet but it's brilliant at being second rate like that 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 and yet. the people of cologne didn't mind having a half inch cathedral structure fell into disrepair under napoleon french troops occupied the city the archdiocese was dissolved in 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

a dead system wisconsinites grayson's and. that was the lowest point in the cathedrals history the french even use part of the structure as a stable. of the two three during that period the mediæval archive was also lost and even today we don't know if it still exists or if it does where it might be the blueprint known as for sound elevation and if also disappeared at that time if. for saddle of a. is and original medieval drawing of the west portal the blueprint of the cathedral. to decide when and for the story of elevation and if it is quite incredible you know it's four meters high is drawn in ink on parchment few and was rediscovered in the mid nineteenth century and how it of program half of it

turned up in paris border into of the i know it's impacting speed of thought. 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. and going to down santa drying was found in the attic of a tavern in damn stat and it proved a perfect match for the other half someone had been drawing gains on it that was lucky because otherwise it might have been thrown away and lost forever demand does this get down inflation and move the stick and now this is the. the drawing showed precisely what the cathedral was originally intended to look like after the three hundred year break the prussians resumed construction around the site entire streets of houses were demolished to maximize the majestic buildings visual impact a new square was created and it quickly drew crowds of local residents.

to sue nations and 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 stage show to me and very close as me are going to be in 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 here some musicians. show up with amplifiers and play all saying the same song ten times a day bit. you can hear it in the confessionals where people come to pray and reflect which is in which to me to talk to you that's really disruptive no doubt about it. i never last don't fit into one of our.

speaking of disruptive in the mid one nine hundred eighty s. the cathedral square became a rendezvous point for skateboarders from all over the country christian shout was one of them. by yes there was a lot going on here and it was cool to be part of it that the backdrop was cool too especially at night when the cathedral was lit up that was special and it makes you want to stay out there a while longer and skate to my no wonder fans of some of. the debate went on for twenty years finally the skateboarders had to move elsewhere some of them a still upset about that decision. those are the kinds of it's purely subjective some people thought that we were violating the integrity of the goofy drill but how can you damage cathedrals reputations in his the ones how can you do that by skateboarding the matheson and him here with the most birds.

so what is acceptable and what isn't outside cologne cathedral the debate about that is probably as old as the building itself it continues today fueled by the immediate proximity of the city's main railway station. the pair kind of 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. it cut through the church so the cathedral board had the door locked and. 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 structural integrity steel helps protect against fire and wood worms. but more importantly industrial age technology enabled the cathedral construction to be swiftly completed 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 current workers and one of the cathedral was always a project by and for the local community and in the nineteenth 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 price depression's used the cathedral to advance their own

agenda there was no more talk of the magi the cathedral is now a symbol of german national identity and in particular german unification i'm. right. when the german empire was founded in eight hundred seventy one the prussians emperor wanted to call the world's attention to the new nation which extended as far west as the rhineland. could be the police the rhineland 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 rhineland cologne cathedral fit the bill perfectly. good now in. 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 efforts.

in sr back in the one nine hundred sixty s. for example of the birth. going to evolve off and others including me held a religious service to protest the death penalty in spain. and we went into the cathedral said some prayers and held a kind of vigil for. the vigil led by nobel laureate hein of both made headlines 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 both prayer for peace. keeper cathedral draws political activists like a magnet. when you lose a few novich visited the cathedral for the first time without family she could not

know that she would one day stage a feminist protest there. isn't some we drove to cologne and as we got closer to the cathedral we played a game to see you could spot it first i won i can still remember the overwhelming sight of it you looked up and it seemed endlessly tall it was breathtaking in its motion by and. a few years later vid was looking for a place to stage a protest against the oppression of women. protests we decided to hold the protest in a church and cologne cathedral came to mind right away. and invalid because it's so big and because cardinal nice now was still in office at the time. cardinal joachim meisner archbishop of cologne known for his conservative views my sickness perception of women made him the perfect target for the feminists protest. even we

had radical demands these included the overthrow of the entire petri arkell 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 twenty thirteen protest and provocation in a sacred place on a sacred day. yes i was extremely nervous and excited it was christmas and everyone was in a christmassy 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 friends the does this mean i'm a kind of quantum of the. that's done so as a leader. i didn't think it would escalate to the point of physical violence.

but i was afraid that it might have sworn. that saw the protest as an act of free speech. escaped from there's a place for everything come and 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 ready clee opposed to such protests as was hard to come up lee. he was afraid of it was arrested found guilty of gross interference with the exercise of religion and find. it ironic a no cause for concern. bookout yom has patrolled the cathedral

square for twenty seven years he likes his job despite the rising threat level. is this your backpack or yeah step closer place. it is until it doesn't get terrorism it's not a new problem that's been around for a number of years but we're still at risk of course recently here in cologne as part of a danger zone that includes germany and all of europe found homes. so what's the answer. and says more security personnel if that's the sort that's been the best protection would be for people to just leave the cathedral or love and wish that it's a place of worship place for gold rooms and the community as a whole dimensions 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 not to mention so at five. since two thousand and seven the magic of the cathedral has been enhanced by the new south window the work of

cologne artist gallery. archbishop meissner thought the window was wholly unsuitable but after a lengthy debate the will of the cathedral board prevailed today it's hard to imagine the south transept without it. but where there is light there is also shadow on november the second one nine hundred seventy five the cathedral treasury was robbed thieves got away with artworks worth several million dollars the crime caused a sensation. there were appeals on t.v. for anyone who had information on the crime to come forward in print. the thieves

gained access to the treasury through a ventilation shaft the cathedral's chief custody and was appalled at the way the robbery was carried out. this is a month of years and these people were not trying to steal art just gold and precious stones court. stands over two and they tore apart some extremely valuable items to get them. and then they got us in our. senior public prosecutor might be a tell there's a mercian was in charge of the investigation it was one of the most exciting cases of her career. and it is. on the night of the crime some pedestrian saw two men climbing out of the cathedral the witnesses chase. the only star who can roll for a look perpetrator split up and the witnesses lost track of them all 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 you know why a bomb. 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. done if 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 accomplices 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. if it's close to. safety she went down to the basement and put the bag in

a neighbour's storage around. the suspect allowed police to search his apartment and cellar storage room he knew that the bag was gone as police closed in on the prime suspect he fled to belgrade then he persuaded a dental technician to melt down the gold. they had. did melt down some of the items but others were so obviously valued. all that he asked the suspect to scare them. away but the suspect demanded that the precious stones be removed and the gold melted down. just as good as if walton but a private detective working undercover managed to track down the treasure. tell you we recovered a lump of compressed metal like a big salami it was a heartbreaking sight i was placed. as well through this also.

took ten years to reconstruct the damaged items. theft is not the only problem that church officials have to worry about there's also vandalism. you know my view doesn't the lighter spots up there are places that haven't been exposed to weathering with that's where it's been damaged by vandals and people climb up and use an umbrella to knock off a bit of a gargoyle or gable or pinnacle we're very concerned about this my own. yard for this month and something you saw them on the stone mason might spend a year and a half working on a canopy type so it breaks your heart to see that were destroyed hundreds of it makes all of us angry of course so we're trying to find new ways to protect the cathedral zero one is in does it what you want to believe just couldn't be done to

one hundred on two ships. since the wave of sexual assaults in cologne on new year's eve twenty fifteen 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. then that is when this in cross station and dirt are removed you can see some beautiful workmanship and all the wonderful stone carvings and sculptures from the nineteenth century these are real works of art to you and they're being restored to their former glory for. a conservative uses a laser to remove the dark dirt and the like 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 two some would have faced by bullets or shrapnel the war pose the greatest threat to the cathedral in its entire history. by may nine hundred forty five cologne had been almost completely destroyed but one structure rose above the rubble the cathedral or what was left of it is feel if you

like a lot of americans arrive here on the rhine cruise ships and i take them on tours there convinced that the allies did not intend to bomb the cathedral by no less than fourteen allied bombs large parts of the roof of the navy collapsed much of the north transept lay in ruins and the cathedral organ was destroyed. in order nine hundred forty three a bomb tore a massive hole in the north tower there were. cern's that the tower might collapse so despite the waterline complications the hole was bricked up partly by forced laborers. after the war cologne was virtually unrecognizable only forty thousand people still lived among the ruins. that kind could include loughner as 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 choose to 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 one nine hundred forty eight to mark the cathedral seven hundredth anniversary a mass was celebrated in the chancel. the war damage in the north tower has been repaired you can recognize the temporary filling by its lighter color. as a plumber had done that filling survive for decades but it sparked an intense debate among preservationists betting 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 to raising a highly visible reminder of the city's recent history. personally i would have favored the other option but you have to respect the opinions of those who were affected by those events and still you've got to explain to people what that white spot is per say. sions of buildings are always changing depending on how you explain the context annoying to. a refugee boat as an altar. in may twenty sixth cardinal vine a movie of o.t. archbishop of cologne spock vehement debate with this mass held to mark the feast of corpus christi. 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. as a you do not just 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 to shame to put its own. so what sorts of activities are acceptable in the cathedral. there are lots of different answers in summer twenty sixteen provest gap open the doors to those who are attending the cologne computer games fad games cause there was an exotic music a lighted laser show and a party atmosphere that put a new perspective on colognes largest structure.

first in the hope we can both flesh comes to more i want to build bridges perhaps people can take away more from these events than they think i did with voting god i thought my 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 goal to this church and it's very clear because it can be committees and no. cologne cathedral. a place for everyone even those who want to use it for their own purposes but who owns it now. there's the city of cologne i hope all the people of cologne said my life be 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 world and it yet the woman doesn't and it doesn't belong to the archbishop or the archdiocese as

a lot of people think that 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 generations. the be.

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palestinians in gaza as thousands take to the streets demonstrators supporting the medicine group hamas were met by israeli fire at the border gaza official site at least ten palestinians were killed and hundreds more injured also on the program. russia expressed more diplomats abbasi this was summoned to the foreign ministry in moscow twenty three of them were told to sign stuff when the standoff over the boys made a form of russian double agent and his daughter in britain.