Tom`s travels: Cologne & Düsseldorf (01-02/12/2023)

On a cold early December weekend, Ania and I decided to head to Cologne as she had a work trip organized and I had never been there before. As soon as I came out of the central train station I came across the impressive structure of the Cologne Cathedral, a Gothic church inscribed in the Unesco world heritage site list. It is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe, and the tallest twin-spired church in the world, with the spires reaching a height of 157m, as well as the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world. Construction of the Cathedral began in 1248 but was halted at the end of the 16th century. Attempts to complete the construction began around 1814 but the project was completed to its original medieval plan only in 1880. After approaching the building I headed inside but found out that as a mass would start soon, visitors were only allowed in the first vault of the long nave. Nevertheless, the view from there was great with the immense long and tall space featuring beautiful gothic arches. After heading out I decided to come back later, after mass, and try to visit it again. I walked briefly and reached the church of St. Mariä Himmelfahrt, a 17th-century mix of gothic and baroque counterreform church, and the second most important in the city after the Dom. The church was open but I could only walk to the railings that allowed access for prayer but not to the nave itself. Still, I could admire the nice Gothic structure and baroque decorations including the large main altar. Once back outside I continued on my walk and reached another church, the Basilica of St. Ursula, one of the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne. Originally dating to the 12th century, the nave and main tower are Romanesque while the choir has been rebuilt in the Gothic style. Inside I paid two euros to a lady who then showed me inside the Golden Chamber, a room whose walls are covered in bones arranged in designs and/or letters along with relic skulls. It contains the alleged remains of St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgins who are said to have been killed by the Huns. Following the visit to the church I walked onwards and passed by the Eigelstein city gate, one of the four surviving medieval city gates around the center. A further walk took me to another of those twelve churches, the Basilica of St. Cunibert, right next to the river Rhine. Built in the 13th century it features nice furnishings, medieval stained glass windows, and a small old crypt. From there I followed the riverfront heading south until I reached the core of the city center once again. I passed through the Fischmarkt, once the bustling core of the old town, and behind it reached the Great St. Martin Church. Built between the 12th and 13th centuries it presents a Romanesque style and a soaring crossing tower which is a characteristic of the old town. Its interior holds little traces of 13th-century mosaics, and a nice crucifixion group from 1509. Also, after paying a small fee I was able to go underground to visit the archaeological excavations right below the church. These included

an ancient Roman building dating to the first century, 76 meters long and 71.5 meters wide. It holds a mysterious shallow area used to store water and no similar structures from this period, North of the Alps have yet been found. This building was possibly used for recreation, and the water storage area was a swimming pool, or the pool was used to store live fish. A further theory posits that the site was a sacred Roman precinct or temple. Outside the church, a short walk led me to the Alter Markt, the old town square. Here a beautiful Christmas market was set up covering the whole grounds. I walked around taking several picturesque and admiring the architecture around including the fountain at the center of the square and the city hall on the western side with its scenic 15th-century Gothic tower. It is Germany's oldest city hall originally dating to the 11th century. Continuing onwards I then entered the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, the main art museum in the city. Its collection showcased paintings from the medieval period to the early twentieth century. Particularly nice were the Gothic and Renaissance collections with altarpieces from Italy, Flanders, and Germany. Once I was done visiting the museum I headed out as it had gotten dark. I walked for a while away from the city center core and reached the church of Saint Pantaleon, another of those twelve Romanesque churches. Built between the 10th and 11th centuries it received refurbishments during the following centuries but was brought back to its original style after the damage from WWII. Unfortunately, as I got there, I found out the main building was closed for restoration and only the small atrium was open. So I moved on, walking through the city, and reached yet another church, the Basilica of the Holy Apostles. It features a west tower that reaches a height of 67m, and its interior though quite simple has a nice altarpiece with a Madonna with child from 1500. From there I walked through the Neumarkt, another square with a nice and large Christmas market and then continued onwards. I walked again through the Alter Markt, to enjoy the Christmas light in the dark and with all the lights turned on. Then it was time for me to head to the train station. On the way there I stopped by another Christmas market, a small one set up in the Roncalliplatz, right on the side of the Cathedral. I then tried entering the Cathedral again but as it was now too late, only the first vault was open as they were inviting people to exit the building. I chose to come back the next day to visit it and headed on to the nearby station to catch my ride to Düsseldorf. Once there, before meeting up with Ania, I had a walk around town and to the main Christmas market set up in the Marktplatz. The city was quite surprisingly nice and well kept and I hadn't expected it as I thought it would be rather gray and modern. Finally, I met up with Ania at the hotel and went to sleep.

The next day we woke up early and had a walk around town. Our first stop was the Marktplatz with the nice 16th-century Renaissance town hall. This building along with others around town reminded me a lot of Dutch towns. From the square, we continued on our walk and reached the Basilica of St Lambertus. Originally dating to the 13th century it took its Gothic style a century later, while the interior holds some nice baroque altars. Exiting the church we had a brief look inside the small Josephskapelle, built in a baroque style in the early 18th century. Following that we walked along the promenade next to the Rhine River and then entered another church, St. Maximilian. Originally built at the end of the 17th century it was later rebuilt in its current brick baroque form in the 18th century. It was then time to head to the train station and catch our ride into Cologne. Once there we immediately headed to visit the Cathedral, this time finding it fully open. Inside were many beautiful and important treasures including several Gothic altarpieces, medieval statues, and altars from several centuries. One of the most important things is the Shrine of the Three Kings, a reliquary traditionally believed to contain the bones of the Biblical Magi. The relics were originally situated at Constantinople but brought to Milan in 314. Eight centuries later in 1164, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa took the relics from the church of Saint Eustorgio in Milan and gave them to the Archbishop of Cologne who then had the beautiful large gilded and decorated triple sarcophagus created from 1180 to 1225, making it the largest reliquary in the Western world. Another important object in the church is the Gero Crucifix dating to 970 and the oldest large sculpture of the crucified Christ north of the Alps. After the visit to the Cathedral, with an entry ticket, we then decided to visit the treasury which contained reliquaries, liturgical equipment, manuscripts, vestments, and insignia of the archbishops and cathedral clergy from the 4th to the 20th century. At that point as we were done visiting the whole complex we took the light rail right below street level and headed to the southern part of the city center. Here we got off and walked through the Severinstorburg, one of the surviving medieval city gates. A few meters from there we then reached the Basilica of St. Severin, originally founded in the 4th century, but taking its current Romanesque form during the 10th century. Despite having been bombed the interior still contained some nice furnishings such as the 14th-century crucifix. Once outside we took the light rail again to the northern part of the city center and then visited St. Gereon's Basilica. The current Romanesque building dates between the 12th and 13th centuries with a huge decagonal oval dome, 21.0 m long and 16.9 m wide. It is the largest dome built in the West between the erection of the Hagia Sophia in the 6th century and the Duomo of Florence in the 15th century. It also holds a large crypt with the sarcophagus of the martyr Gereon and beautiful floor mosaics from the 12th century depicting Old Testament scenes of David and Samson. Back upstairs we visited the choir with frescoes depicting Christ at the Last Judgement and saints of the Theban Legion. We also visited the nice baptistery with its eight-pointed vault built in the mid-13th century in a transition from Romanesque to Gothic. It also features well-preserved frescoes from the 13th century. Once the visit was over we headed back out and continued on our walk eventually reaching and visiting yet another church, St. Maria in der Kupfergasse. It was built at the beginning of the 18th century in a baroque style. Not far from it we then went to have lunch at COCO Ramen where we had a warm and tasty ramen. After lunch we continued on our visit, heading on to one other of the twelve Romanesque churches of the city, St. Mary's in the Capitol. It was built in the 11th century and its name refers to the Roman temple for the Capitoline Triad that was built on the site in the first century. Measuring 100 m x 40 m and encompassing 4,000 square meters of internal space, St. Maria is the largest of the Romanesque churches in Cologne. Once inside a friendly lady volunteering as a guide and helper, there gave us an interesting and insightful tour of the church. We saw the amazing 11th-century wooden doors, the Limburger Madonna from 1300, a 14th-century crucifix, and the Renaissance rod screen from 1523. Our next stop was St. George's Church, a few minutes walk to the south. It was built in the 11th century with the nave and westwerk added a century later. Once back out we walked through the center passing by the Heumarkt, a large square with a nice large Christmas market and ice rink inside. We also walked through the Old Market Square Christmas market and then past the Cathedral once again. Here we admired its huge facade in the light of sunset. A short walk from there brought us past a remaining trace of ancient Roman walls and then inside the church of St Andrew nearby. Dating to the 10th century it is another Romanesque building but with traces of Gothic influences and below it features a crypt with a Roman sarcophagus containing the bones of Albertus Magnus. After the visit to the church, Ania had to head back to Düsseldorf to grab her luggage and from there take the train to Berlin, while mine leaving from Cologne would depart later. So after accompanying her to the main train station I still had an hour or so to kill. I had a walk around town and then visited the Minoritenkirche a large 13th-century single hall church with a nice Gothic altarpiece. After one last walk, I headed to the train station too and eventually got my ride back to Berlin.