The Cathedral of Cologne.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1, 5 January 1905, Page 30

The Cathedral of Cologne.

In the Dublin ' Freeman ' Mr. P. L. Gonnellan has been devoting attention to the Catfoqdral of Cologne and its statAies. He says :—: — ' Tvhc great churCh of Catholic Germany is the Cathedral of Cologne. When the city was in its glory and tlhe merchants were 'distinguished for I«heir wealth, tie) fauiitdation stjone of the Cathedral was laid. A century lator a king ,of England raised money in CologSne for his wars witlh France. In 1340 King E,dward 111. pawnod all Ins q,uedn's jewels, even to her crown, wcote the late IJungerSord Pollen, to raise money for his French wars from tjhe merchants of Flandens ; he had p,aw*ned tihis crown Hhe year before at Cologne lor 12,5,00 dollars, till In is subjects sent 30,00i0 packs of wiool up* the Hhine to redeem it. This furnishes an indioatioji of the wealth of Cologne. This grand Cathedral is of the eajrly .pointed style of architecture, known as Gothic. . . . To the cloisters of Che corlvent once beldngimg t o tlhe cljurdh, flad the bruised Spirit of a royal Sufferer— the victim of Richelieu — the unfortunate and arribitious Mary de Mqdicis. It is the largest Gothic edifice fn the world. No one knows for certain who was the marvellous ganhis who desiigjned it. Popular fancy has, in Uhe form of tegeiids, settled flhis ciues.tiqn to its own satisfaction ; arid while one of these legerfds attributes tJhe design to heavenly inspiration, the other as/sociates it with diabolical agency. The Cathedral of Cologne was ttuilt Co enshrine the remains of Khe Three Kings w-bo, led by the Star which in the Rast at the time of tJhe birth of Qhrist, came to Betihlehem to adore tlhe King of the Jews. The twx> great towers that rtee in the ffdnt of the bMildins; reaoh the enormous heigiht of 525 feet — the iame as flhe length of the Cathedral itself.