Cologne, Köln and the Weihnachtsmarkt

The Cologne Cathedral looking across the Rhine with the Hohenzollern Bridge in the foreground

We traveled to Cologne (Köln) in search of a little holiday spirit and to check out the great Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmarkt). We ended up exploring six of them. Each one had it's own theme making it quite different than the others but all were filled by people having a great time while enjoying a bit of shopping along with plenty of Gluhwiene, German Bier, and Glogg and an abundance of wonderful Christmas music. We joined in and did more than a little of all of that! We had a great time. We walked around the old town both day and night taking in the sights. We even took a stroll over the Hohenzollern Rail Bridge to take a few pictures. We met some wonderful people in Cologne. At the end of our first day we grabbed our evening meal at Gaffel am Dom. What a great experience! This is a popular Brauhaus located just across the street from the (Dom) Cathedral. The place is loud and crowded, full of people celebrating. No way for us to get a table for two, we were seated with two German couples who welcomed us to their celebration and told us we were to be their guests. We had to work a bit at communication as we don't speak any German and some of those we were seated with spoke no english but we managed just fine. Our new found friends made us feel very welcome in their home, guided us to great local food dishes and kept the bier flowing, great fun!

There is also plenty of history to consider here. The city of Cologne (Köln) was established in the first century by the Romans as a walled city. Some portions of the old city walls remain today. The city was a major trade destination throughout the middle ages and saw occupation by the French and British. Cologne was an important German military command headquarters and was heavily bombed by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The RAF dropped an incredible 34,711 tons of bombs on the city. World War II was extremely hard for the people of Cologne. During the war the city's 11,000 jews were deported or killed by the nazis and the city's population was reduced by 95%. The city was captured by the American First Army in March 1945. Fortunatley a robust post war rebuilding has restored many of the important historic structures including the Cathedral. Today old and new sit side by side giving Cologne a unique personality. Today it is a vibrant city ranking as the fourth largest in Germany.

Weihnachtsmarkt am Dom

Beautiful Music day and night 

The Rhine River taken from the Cologne Chocolate factory

The Cologne Cathedral (Dom) is a very special place. This is the most visited landmark in all of Germany with about 20,000 visitors each day (including us!) and is a World Heritage Site. Construction of the Cathedral began in 1248 and was finally fully completed to the original plan in 1880.  It is the largest gothic church in Northern Europe with towers reaching 515ft (157m) into the air. Due to those two massive towers it has the largest facade of any church in the world. The structure was designed and built to house the reliquary to the Three Kings and was to be a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor.

During World War II the cathedral was hit by RAF bombs14 times and was badly damaged but remained standing as a landmark and a navigational aid in the midst of a city that was devastated by intense bombing. Post war repairs were completed in 1956. The weather continues to take its toll on the old structure and therefore repair and restoration work is carried out continuously. So, when visiting appreciate that a scaffolding will invariably be erected somewhere on the beautiful old building.

There is no way not to be impressed with the massive scale of the Kölner Dom! The interior hight of the nave is 142 ft (43.35m), that is a very high ceiling. You can climb to a viewing platform in the south tower exactly 533 steps from the ground, and of course one of us just had to do that.

The Shrine of the Three Kings is said to contain the bones of the Biblical Magi. It is currently siting in a prominent place behind the high alter of the Cologne Cathedral. The relics were originally held in Constantinople (now Istanbul) then taken to Milan in the care of Emperor Constantine in 314 AD. The relics were moved to Cologne in 1164.