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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. the cathedral is a long term construction site scaffolding seems to be a permanent fixture. cathedral architect peter first initial 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 twenty thousand euro's a day. behind and that is the stone here is much

yellow where then it is up there. about and the new twenty since the cathedral itself tells us what needs to be dumb we basically just set priorities and do the work time for going to underprivileged head putting in. right now first the missions planning projects that will not be carried out for another fifty years. this is our kind of plan of god but it's a big responsibility and we need to approach our work with a bit of humility if i may not to the whole that's because we can complete just a fraction of the work that needs to be done by venice and. when the cathedral doors are locked at the end of the day it's peaceful and quiet once again for at least

a few hours. custody and was 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 cardinals the cathedral seem to inspire a sense of greed in these people and not just because it's treasures from the bench 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 gapped back now.

nothing takes place here without his permission. but back in his jurisdiction is limited everything that goes on outside the building for example on the dome platter or cathedral square is a matter for the city of cologne. that rather than join 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 schlosser has worked as a guide at the cathedral for more than twenty years. as yet when i started doing guided tours we. just walked into the kids each one 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 sight i 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 of that 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. and many of them don't show proper respect right now we have a problem with coke a month 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 shankar

ski he's lived in cologne for decades. peter bob 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. holds 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 promised the cathedral is first and foremost a church his favorite spot is halfway along a quiet section it's a place that gives him strength a place where he can pause and reflect. he got home. with him regardless of whether you're religious you can oncet the life simple questions only if you can step back from the hustle and bustle and find a quiet spot and moment. dugard and she can do that in a sacred place like this this is the cathedral has an inner radians that draws people to it is mentioned.

but there is also a hidden side to the cathedral deep down below the nave you can see the medieval foundations and traces of two thousand years of history they bear witness to the colorful past of the city and its people. yeah and we found roman residences on the cathedral site and a roman floor heating system that you know there are a 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. and you from here knew that something this is where early christians met in private residences to 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. 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. in i'd 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 time for and boy did and they knew it and. knew my it's their stuff 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 yet been given. and this is the most earthquake prone region in germany two types of rock we 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 current elections and targets yet you still might and transparent a medieval marvel erected in just seventy years.

possessed and so much imagine that you're living in the middle ages in a small have tempered house cologne with a city of half temperate 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. 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. people made pilgrimages to the gold shrine that held relics of the magi and 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 giftie joe 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 there 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 so where does that ability to live with second best come from i think it may have to do with the fact that it's most important building that was never finished but was always still functional and yet. the people of cologne didn't mind having a half finished cathedral the structure fell into disrepair under the polian 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 and it seems to. me isn't and. that was the lowest point in the cathedrals history the french even used part of the structure as a stable. during that period the mediæval was also lost even today we don't know if it's. it exists or if it does where it might be the blueprint is known as for sod elevation f. also disappeared at that time of us if. for subtle evasion is and original mediæval drawing of the west portal the blueprint of the cathedral. the story of elevation and if is quite incredible it's four meters high drawn in ink on parchment meat 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 in patti smith off the top. 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 wooden down santa drying was found in the attic of a tavern and 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 it's 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 show nations on 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. one very club says me are going to be. 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 or sing the same song ten times a day that. you can hear it in the confessionals where people come to pray and reflect which is in which to me took you must really disruptive no doubt about it. i never lost them food into owner of.

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 shall count was one of them. is fine as 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 made you want to stay out there a while longer and skate to my normally good fans of some of the clan. the debate went on for twenty years finally the skateboarders had to move elsewhere some of them a still upset about that decision. that is if the fans are picky it's purely subjective some people thought that we were violating the integrity of the cathedral but how can you damage cathedrals reputations in his them so how can you do that by skateboarding matheson and in here with the most birth.

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 fuelled by the immediate proximity of the city's main railways. stations. to pick i know 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 cathedrals 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 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's 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 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 where. 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 depressions use 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.v. . there 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 ix. tended as far west as the rhineland. could use a party to show the rhineland had been german territory since the middle ages but was also claimed by friends the emperor needed a powerful symbol that represented german architecture and was located in the rhineland cologne 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 efforts.

in sr back in the one nine hundred sixty s. for example hina fishburn going to evolve off and others including me held a religious service to protest the death penalty in spain. and got to. we went into the cathedral said some prayers and held a kind of vigil for. the vigil led by nobel laureate high novation 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. keep the cathedral draws political activists like a magnet. when you lose a few novich visited the cathedral for the first time with her 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 and and special. 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 that kind of an invalid because it's so big and because cardinal nice now was still in office oh my god it's not. cardinal you often meisner archbishop of cologne known for his conservative views my snice perception of women made him the perfect target for the

feminists protest. even so 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 twenty fatting 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 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 that doesn't mean i'm a kind of core and i'm up for the. you're just done so as. i didn't think it would escalate to the point of physical violence.

but i was afraid that it might. fit so all the protest as an act of free speech. escaped from 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 as was hard to come up to. use a feat of it was arrested found guilty of gross interference with the exercise of religion and find. it's ironic a no cause for concern. book hot yom has patrolled the cathedral

square for twenty seven years he likes his job despite the rising threat level. your status your backpack or yeah step closer place. it is until restoration to terrorism is 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 is part of a danger zone that includes germany and all of europe found homes. so what's the answer fences more security personnel 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 a place for pilgrims 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 in hans by the new south window the work of cologne

artist get out. 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 and. the thieves gained

access to the treasury through a ventilation shaft the cathedral's chief custody and was appalled a way the robbery was carried out. is a month of years and these people were not trying to steal art just gold and precious stones poured on it or starnes moved it and they tore apart some extremely valuable items to get them as i know no good as not. in the. senior public prosecutor might be a target is 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 gave chase. the only star who could roll for the perpetrators 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 i want to know. the next day an artist who had a criminal record was identified as. i'm suspect the prosecutor immediately ordered a search of his apartment and the stolen treasure was indeed there as investigators later discovered. 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. is supposed to go to shooting she went down to the basement and put the bag in

a neighbor's storage room who shared. 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 that he persuaded a dental technician to melt down the gold. they had to use the whole anger for months did melt down some of the items but others were so obviously valuable that he asked the suspect to spare them. but the suspect demanded that the precious stones be removed and the gold melted down. just a small tin but a private detective working on the cover managed to track down the treasure. he told you we recovered a lump of compressed metal like a big salami it was a heartbreaking sight bull's eye was placed. as well should this also.

took ten years to reconstruct the damaged items. theft is not the only problem the church officials have to. about there's also vandalism. in my mind doesn't the largest spots up there are places that haven't been exposed to weathering of it all 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 by order. yard form as martin sometimes saw them on the stone mason might spend a year and a half working on a canopy that type so it breaks your heart to see that work destroyed and it makes all of us angry of course so we're trying to find new ways to protect the cathedral

or is it does it what you want to believe just couldn't be done to one end and on to ships and. 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 you're an aging on the wall but many cologne residents don't like the idea of putting barriers around them. then because when there's in cross station and dirt are removed you can see some beautiful workmanship 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 and for. a conservatory 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

don't like a lot of americans arrive here on the rhine crees ships and one night a can on tourists they're convinced that the allies did not intend to bomb the cathedral but there's no credible evidence to back that war. from a distance the cathedral seems unscathed. if you mention a lot of people believe that the cathedral came through the wall without any major damage but that's wrong and 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 hope on hooves so had to do a few the cathedral was hit 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 autumn nine hundred forty three a bomb tore a massive hole in the north tower there were concerns that the tower might collapse

so despite the water time 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. stop 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 that they saw that the cathedral had survived and they might chew 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. to the plumber had done that filling survive for decades but it sparked an intense debate among preservationists some thought it should be removed others said it should be kept in place as a memorial to the wall. despite they could. 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 passions of buildings are always changing depending on how you explain the context annoyed at. a refugee boat as an altar. in may twenty sixth in cardinal vine

a maria voting archbishop of cologne sparked 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 human and 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 leadership into quick hits on. so what sorts of activities are acceptable in the cathedral. there are lots of different answers in summer twenty sixteen provest gap batna open the doors to those who are attending the cologne computer games fat games. there was an exotic music

a lighted laser show and a party atmosphere that put a new perspective on colognes largest structure the. first in the hope we can all flesh comes from of i want to build bridges perhaps people can take away more from these events than they think sided with god and for 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 very clear does it kill him it is a blog. 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 and all the people of cologne

said my leg 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 . 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. move . move. move. move move. move move.

move. move. move. cut cut. cut. cut. cut. cut cut last an eternity. the walls of all the coal but what makes them so gurgle and can we use this construction

technology in the future to experts have studied the composition of these materials and they discovered the substance from house remarkable property. going to karachi thirty minutes to dublin to a. six entered the conflict zone confronting the powerful folks have been challenging those asking questions for money. has come fix intensify i'll be meeting with key players on the ground in the sun says a. crushing through the rhetoric holding the caucus coax out of comfort. complex come from doing the powerful d.w. . much of it. surely news from africa the world or link to exceptional stories and discussions. of

easy to our website dedicated combs to. join us on facebook at g.w. or god. this long as it is bangladesh on the plate of civil war. we are scared we are very scared we have to stay. in libya to fight for this fight against it are. torn by domestic power struggles and the influence of islamist extremists. the country's democratic institutions now face a serious threat. to the law we call for the rule of law is mom of violence dominates the headlines. you just couldn't get. out of this should be. a pretty.

bangladesh the dawn of islam is on starting april twenty first on t.w. . russia or in the united states of try to bob's at the united nations security council are for an alleged chemical weapons attack in syria if russia denies the chemical weapon attack took place the u.s. about to take action on the issue and said it's currently considering how best to respond once again on syria. in the united states the f.b.i. has raided the offices of u.s. president donald trump's personal lawyer michael cohen the new york times has.