Posted on 03.06.2013 and completed on 02.08.2013
With 157,4m height, Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), dedicated to St. Peter, is the tallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world. In 1248, when was commenced its construction, the site had been occupied by several previous structures, the earliest been a grain store, succeeded by a Roman temple. Nothing strange, because the city was built by Romans in 50 AD, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium becoming the provincial capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. The work to the cathedral was halted in 1473, leaving the south tower complete up to the belfry level and crowned with a huge crane that remained in place as a landmark of the Cologne skyline for 400 years.
Work has resumed in the 19th century, the building being completed in 1880. The enormous costs (over US$ 1 billion in today's money) were supported in the proportion of two-thirds through civic effort, while the Prussian state supplied the remaining third. During the WWII the cathedral suffered seventy hits by aerial bombs, but didn't collapse. The repairs were completed in 1956, and in 1995 Cologne Cathedral became an UNESCO WHS. Today is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.
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