Cologne’s two grand landmarks
Give them any excuse, the people in Köln (Cologne) love to party at any time. It’s a wonder but no surprise this is where I find some of the happiest people in the country. As the calendar flips to a new year, the time heralds the annual shenanigans of the Kölner Karneval. For residents and visitors, two of the best-known landmarks in the city are the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) and the Hohenzollernbrücke (Hohenzollern Bridge).
Köner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)
Churches have always been at this location since Roman times when early Christians gathered to worship. Construction of the present cathedral began in 1248, and finally completed six centuries later in 1880. The ever-present appearance of scaffolding is a testament to ongoing renovations and reconstruction. The cathedral is the city’s second tallest structure, and can host up to twenty thousand people as an important historical and contemporary pilgrimage site. As one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the world, the Cologne Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized and inscribed since 1996.
Hohenzollernbrücke (Hohenzollern Bridge)
Over 1200 trains cross the Rhein river daily on the Hohenzollern Bridge which celebrated in 2011 its 100th anniversary1. The Deutsche Bahn rail bridge connects both sides of the Rhein river with the city’s central station (Hauptbahnhof) to the west and the city’s exhibition and trade fair complex (Messe) at Deutz to the east. The Hohenzollern Bridge was built between 1907 and 1991, carrying trains, cars, and streetcars. Reconstruction was completed in 1959 after destruction in the Second World War. Carrying only trains and pedestrians, the present-day bridge provides great views of river traffic, as well as access to views of both cathedral and bridge, by day or at night.
Cologne landmarks from Rheinboulevard next to Kennedy-Ufer – 26 May 2016.
More on Cologne
• Germany’s urban G-E-M-S: Köln
• Love locks & love stories in Cologne
• Cologne Christmas Markets: Hearts, Angels, and Elves
• Finding simple is more in Köln
I made the photos above between 2009 and 2013. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-16t.
Fotoeins Fotografie 
7 Responses to “Cologne’s two grand landmarks”
Fantastic photos, Henry. The one showing the railway station with the cathedral behind it reminds me of my visit when I stepped out of the station and there to my left was the magnificent cathedral. “Stunned” is the best word I can think of to describe my reaction.
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Hi and thank you, Cathy. I think everyone has the similar sensation of ‘wow’ when they walk out of the train station! I’ve not yet attempted to photograph what’s called the Vorbahnhofplatz or the “atrium plaza” in front of the train station (west side) and facing the Cathedral. I wonder if there’s a lens wide enough to get it “all” and capture the gigantic verticality looming over the train station.
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What great pictures again! I must admit that I didnt even know about the bridge until this article. So strange not to know such a landmark in the own country
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Hi and thank you, Timo. It’s easy to dismiss or not consider that bridge, even though the Dom-and-Brücke combination is present in a lot of shots and postcards. 🙂 For me, I can’t imagine going to the east bank of the Rhein, look back to the west flank, and not see both the Dom and the Hohenzollernbrücke. The bridge is very young compared to the Cathedral!
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I think many things around are pretty young compared to the cathedral 🙂
Probably I have never heard about the bridge as I have never been to that area and hence never saw any postcards or things in the tv (the public tv channels have also their seperation by region/ state such as MDR, NDR etc and I am up from the North 🙂 )
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In geographical size, Germany is a relatively small nation. But with over 80 million people, there’s clearly a lot of sights and activities distributed around the country. It is an interesting question to ask Germans who can travel freely what they think about specific places to see what images (stereotypes) they have in mind, and compare their impressions against Europeans and non-Europeans. I would find this fascinating! 🙂
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[…] the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, Cologne’s Cathedral gets a lot of love in words and pictures for its size and splendour. But the distinction of oldest […]
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