P203 - Germany - Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral, Germany ( UNESCO WHS )

Cologne (German: Köln) is Germany's fourth-largest city (after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich), and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38 BC.

Cologne lies on the River Rhine. The city's famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) is one of Europe's oldest universities.

Cologne is a major cultural center of the Rhineland and has a vibrant arts scene. Cologne is home to more than 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The city's Trade Fair Grounds are host to a number of trade shows such as the Art Cologne Fair, the International Furniture Fair (IMM) and the Photokina. Cologne is also well-known for its celebration of Cologne Carnival, the annual reggae summerjam, and the gay/lesbian pride festival Christopher Street Day (CSD).

Within Germany, Cologne is known as an important media center. Several radio and television stations, including Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), RTL and VOX, are based in the city. Pro7 also produces many shows in Studios in Cologne (i.E. TV Total). The city also hosts the Cologne Comedy Festival, which is considered to be the largest comedy festival in mainland Europe.

In 2005 Cologne hosted the 20th Roman Catholic World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI.

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria) is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of Gothic architecture and of the faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, being one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an "exceptional work of human creative genius".Cologne Cathedral is one of the world's largest churches, being the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880-84, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single spire of Ulm Cathedral, completed ten years later in 1890. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest façade of any church in the world.

The choir of Cologne Cathedral, measured between the piers, also holds the distinction of having the largest height to width ratio of any Medieval church, 3.6:1, exceeding even Beauvais Cathedral which has a slightly higher vault.

Construction of the Gothic church began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete – a period of over six hundred years. It is 144.5 metres long, 86.5 m wide and its two towers are 157 m tall.

Cologne Cathedral, despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe", as was befitting a worship-place of the Holy Roman Emperor and the traditional shrine of the Three Kings.

科隆（德語: Köln，[kœln]；1919年前德語也拼寫為Cöln），是德國人口第四多的城市，是北威州最大的城市，亦是德國內陸最重要的港口之一，萊茵地區的經濟文化和歷史中心。它已有2000多年的歷史，是德國最古老的城市之一。中世紀科隆已經成為一個重要的教會中心和藝術知識中心。科隆在二戰期間遭到嚴重破壞。今天它以其文化和建築遺產以及許多重要的國際性活動而聞名。

1850年科隆的人口超過十萬，在德國算作大城市。加上其第二住址在科隆的人其居民數今天超過一百萬，但是實際上市內的居民只有在1975年和1976年真正超過了百萬，此後始終稍低於一百萬。

科隆也有天主教大主教。哥德式教堂科隆大教堂1996年被指定為世界文化遺產；它是科隆的主要標誌，非官方象徵。

43%居民信奉羅馬天主教, 18%信奉新教，39%信奉其他宗教。直到二戰從東德湧來的大量難民，羅馬天主教徒一直占科隆居民的大多數。2005年，科隆見證最大的天主教青年盛會。第二十屆世界青年日從8月15日星期一到8月21日星期日在科隆舉辦。

科隆位於歐洲一條重要的東西交通要道與萊茵河的交叉口上。萊茵河是歐洲南北交通的一條重要水道。科隆今天是德國鐵路交通最繁忙的樞紐。它的內河港口是歐洲最重要的內河港口之一。

它還是一個文化中心，尤其是創造藝術的一個中心。它的狂歡節非常有名，此外它還是許多協會的駐地。在20世紀的後半葉科隆從一個以重工業為主的城市演變為一個以服務業為主的工業。今天科隆是一個媒體中心，市內還建造了許多新的辦公樓。科隆的保險業也有跨地區性的意義。

科隆還以當地的「科隆啤酒」(Kölsch)聞名，Kölsch也是科隆方言，一句笑話說Kölsch是世界上唯一能喝的語言。科隆也是科隆香水或古龍水的發源地。

科隆是德國最大的大學城之一，市內共有85,183名入冊的大學生，占市民總數的8.5%。科隆的外國人數量也很高，2004年底市內有 175,515名外國籍居民，占市民總數的17.2%，尤其土耳其人社群是德國最大的之一。科隆因此有很長的多文化熔爐的傳統。科隆人素來以開放、自由和寬容著稱。

柏林和科隆是兩個以接受同性戀文化聞名的城市。科隆在這方面歷史悠長，很長時間以來科隆是德國同性戀運動的重要陣地。即使有些事情柏林都有些收斂，科隆卻以此為榮，並以德國最大的同性戀群體（著名的例如克里斯多佛大街日）自豪。每年七月間，同性戀們都要舉行一次盛大的遊行（每年吸引超過1百萬遊客），這裏已經成為多個不同同性戀組織（LGBT）和他們活動的基地。

科隆主教座堂（Kölner Dom，全名Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria），是位於德國科隆的一座天主教主教座堂，它是科隆市毫无争议的标志性建筑物。157米高的钟楼使得它成为德国第二（仅次于乌尔姆市的烏爾姆主教座堂）、世界第三高的教堂，另外也是世界上第三大的哥特式教堂（前两位是塞维利亚主教座堂和米兰主教教堂）。它從13世紀中起建，工程時斷時續，至1880年才由德皇威廉一世宣告完工，耗时超過600年，直到今日仍然修繕工程不斷。艺术史专家认为它完美地结合了所有中世纪哥特式建筑和装饰元素，因此聯合國教科文組織于1996年将其列為世界文化遺產（2004年科隆主教座堂被列入瀕危世界遺產名录，2006年脱离该名录）。

1880年至1888年间科隆主教座堂曾是世界上最高的建筑。它至今仍是德国最受欢迎的旅游景点：2001年有5百万游客参观了这座教堂，2004年达到了6百万。

科隆主教座堂隸屬於天主教科隆总教区，是科隆總主教的主教座堂，主保圣人為聖母瑪利亞及聖伯多祿（圣彼得）。

References sources : wikipedia