Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Peter and ranks among the tallest Gothic churches in the world, its twin spires rising to 157.22 metres. Its founding purpose was not faith alone but a relic: when construction began in 1248, the building was conceived as a stone reliquary to house the bones of the Three Magi, which made Cologne one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in medieval Europe. Work stopped in 1560, leaving the unfinished hulk standing for nearly three centuries until the nineteenth century recast it as a symbol of German national identity; building resumed from the medieval drawings, and the cathedral was completed in 1880. After World War II it stood almost intact above a flattened city — hailed as a miracle — and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Step inside: behind every window, every side chapel, every bell lies a story that almost no one tells.
Germany · 34 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Cathedral Treasury (Domschatzkammer)
On the cathedral's north side, a dark bronze-clad cube stands against the Gothic facade — many visitors find it jarringly out of place, yet that is the entrance to the Cathedral Treasury (Domschatzkammer). Walk through it and descend: the treasury itself is housed in a medieval vaulted cellar that drops all the way down to the remains of a Roman city wall and a Roman drainage channel. When the bronze cube was inaugurated on 21 October 2000, it drew fierce criticism; today it shelters six galleries across three floors displaying liturgical vessels, reliquaries and crosses spanning four to twenty centuries of Christian art.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Richter Window
Look up at the south transept window and you will find no saints or kings — instead, 11,263 squares of coloured glass, each 9.6 cm across, in seventy-two colours arranged by an algorithm across 106 square metres of glazing. This is the Richter Window, designed by artist Gerhard Richter, the youngest window in Cologne Cathedral, unveiled during a Mass on 25 August 2007. Its abstract form thrilled some and drew fierce attacks from others — it turned a medieval cathedral window into an experiment in seeing.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Organ System
The Cologne Cathedral organ is not a single instrument but a system of organs distributed across three locations, with 143 stops in total — one of the largest organ installations in Germany. At its core are two main organs and a high-pressure stop unit, all playable from a shared console positioned behind the rear cabinet of the transept organ. The transept organ was built in 1948 by Hans Klais of Bonn and sits on a platform in the corner of the north transept vaulting; the nave organ was erected by the Klais firm in 1998, and a high-pressure stop unit was added at the west end in 2006.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Chapter Cemetery (Domherrenfriedhof)
At the eastern end of the cathedral, outside the chancel, low stone slabs set flush into the ground mark the Cathedral Chapter Cemetery (Domherrenfriedhof). This small underground crypt, built in 1925, is the burial ground for the cathedral's canons, auxiliary bishops and vicars-general; the archbishops of Cologne are interred separately in the cathedral's crypt. The chamber is roughly ten metres long and about three metres wide at its broadest point, with four tiers of eleven niches on each side — 88 burial places in all. The slabs were made by the former cathedral architect Arnold Wolff. Above the entrance stands a stone column, the sole surviving remnant of St Mary ad Gradus (St. Maria ad Gradus), one of the churches that preceded the Gothic cathedral begun in 1248.
Sources: koelschgaenger.net · koelschgaenger.net · wikidata.org
Judensau Carving on the Choir Stalls
On one of the side panels of the choir stalls, hidden in plain sight, is a wood carving that most visitors walk past without noticing: a sow surrounded by figures depicted as Jews — an image type known in medieval Europe as a Judensau, a standard anti-Jewish propaganda motif. Carved between 1308 and 1311, it is one of the oldest surviving examples of this image type. The choir stalls, with 104 seats, are the largest surviving medieval choir stalls in Germany and were completed by an unknown master carver in the same period; a second anti-Jewish image nearby relates to the so-called ritual murder legend of Werner of Oberwesel.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Three Magi Chapel (Axial Chapel)
Follow the ambulatory to its deepest point, due east, and you reach the Three Magi Chapel… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: koelner-dom.de · koelschgaenger.net
Chapel of St John the Baptist
In the ambulatory on the east side of the chancel, one bay to the right of the axial chape… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org · koelner-dom.de
Cross Chapel (Gerokreuz Chapel)
The Cross Chapel takes its name from its centrepiece: the Gero Cross, an oak crucifix dona… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org · koelner-dom.de
Lady Chapel (Marienkapelle)
The Lady Chapel in the cathedral chancel has been a significant place of pilgrimage since… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org
Chapel of St Stephen
The Chapel of St Stephen is one of the seven radiating chapels of the chancel, dedicated t… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org · koelner-dom.de
Shrine of the Three Magi
Behind the high altar, a golden reliquary shaped like a miniature three-aisled basilica ho… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Bells
Cologne Cathedral's bell ensemble — twelve substantial bells each with its own character —… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Head of a King (Stained Glass Fragment)
In the Museum Schnütgen, a stained glass fragment just twenty centimetres tall depicts the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Crossing Spire
Cologne Cathedral has three towers: the south tower, the north tower, and a lesser-known t… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
The Cathedral's Wartime 'Patch'
For decades the north tower of Cologne Cathedral bore a conspicuous red-brick repair. Duri… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
St Michael's Portal (Michaelsportal)
The Michaelsportal on the north facade is the most prominent of the three north-side entra… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: koelner-dom.de · koelschgaenger.net
St Gereon's Portal (Gereonsportal)
The Gereonsportal occupies the far right of the south facade, facing the Roncalliplatz. It… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: koelschgaenger.net · commons.wikimedia.org
World Youth Day 2005 Memorial Relief
On a buttress of the cathedral's south face, overlooking the Roncalliplatz, a bronze relie… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: statues.vanderkrogt.net · de.wikipedia.org
Petersglocke (St Peter's Bell)
The heaviest bell on the south tower's bell frame — the Petersglocke, known to Cologne res… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
St Ursula's Portal (Ursulaportal)
The Ursulaportal is on the far left of the south facade. Its tympanum depicts the martyrdo… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: koelschgaenger.net
St Peter's Portal (Petersportal)
The Petersportal is the main entrance at the base of the south tower, built in the same ph… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Three Kings' Portal (Drei-Königs-Portal)
The Three Kings' Portal stands on the left of the west facade, flanked by the central main… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: koelschgaenger.net · statues.vanderkrogt.net
Cathedral Sacristy (Domsakristei)
The Cathedral Sacristy (Domsakristei) is a two-storey medieval building directly adjoining… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: 360.schnurstracks.de · erzbistum-koeln.de
South Tower
The south tower is one of the two landmark spires of Cologne Cathedral, built over nearly… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
North Tower
The north tower rises to almost the same height as the south tower and carries the mark of… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Roman City Wall (Treasury)
Descend through the Cathedral Treasury's underground galleries and you reach an exposed se… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: roemisch-germanisches-museum.de · koelntourismus.de
Roman City Wall (Car Park)
In the underground car park beneath Cathedral Square (entrance at the corner of Komödienst… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: koelntourismus.de · roemisch-germanisches-museum.de
Roman Defensive Tower (Car Park)
The remains of a Roman defensive tower buried beneath the car park are part of the broader… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: koelntourismus.de · de.wikipedia.org · roemisch-germanisches-museum.de
Cologne Cathedral (Architecture)
When World War II ended, the centre of Cologne was nearly levelled — and the cathedral sto… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Iron Roof Structure and the Completion of the Twin Towers
In 1860, Cologne Cathedral acquired an iron roof structure covering roughly 12,000 square… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Merovingian Cathedral
The hill on which the cathedral stands has been a gathering place for Cologne's Christians… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Baptistery (Ancient Baptismal Pool)
Inside the cathedral's substructure, an accessible archaeological space preserves a fifth-… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Hildebold Cathedral (Old Cathedral)
Beneath the present Gothic cathedral lie the foundation walls of a long-vanished Carolingi… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Antisemitic Art and Reflection on Christian–Jewish Relations
Cologne Cathedral preserves several medieval artworks with explicit antisemitic content, m… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Cologne Cathedral?
Cathedral Treasury (Domschatzkammer), Richter Window, Cathedral Organ System and more — 34 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Cologne Cathedral guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 29 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).