Cologne cathedral
Cologne

The history of St Peter’s Cathedral in Cologne dates back to early Christian times. Among other things, the baptismal font from a baptistery built around 500 AD bears witness to this. The foundation stone for the current building was laid on 15 August 1248 by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden (reigned 1238-1261). The choir was the first part to be consecrated in 1322. When construction work was interrupted for over 300 years around 1520, the nave and transept as well as the towers were unfinished. The medieval construction crane on the south tower stump remained Cologne’s landmark for centuries.

In 1842, the Prussian King Frederick William IV (reigned 1840-1861) laid the foundation stone for the completion of the cathedral. When the cathedral was completed in 1880, it was the tallest building in the world at over 157 metres high. Its completion was only possible thanks to the commitment of the Zentral-Dombau-Verein, which was then, as now, the main donor for the cathedral building. During the Second World War (1939-1945), the cathedral suffered severe damage. The nave was not open to the public again until 1956. Minor war damage can still be found on the building today.

The Kölner Dombauhütte is the successor to the medieval Bauhütte and Domfabrik. Even after construction work was interrupted for over 300 years in 1520, the cathedral factory remained responsible for coordinating the necessary repair and maintenance work on the cathedral until the French Revolutionary troops marched into Cologne in 1794. In 1823/24, the Dombauhütte was re-established in preparation for the completion of the cathedral. Since the completion of the cathedral in 1880, it has been responsible for the maintenance of the cathedral. After 1945, the focus was on restoring the building, which had been severely damaged in the Second World War. Today, around 100 employees work in the cathedral building workshop. Most of them work in the fields of craftsmanship and restoration. The head of the cathedral building lodge is master builder Dipl.-Ing. Peter Füssenich.