Happy Wednesday Friends! I hope that your week is off to a wonderful start! I am taking a brief break today from sharing about my Alaska trip to share one of a few remaining posts that I have from the Rhine River Cruise that my mom and I took in December and January. Today I am so excited to share a little bit about the beautiful and amazing exterior of the Cologne Cathedral (or Kolner Dom as it is called in German) that we visited on our 5th day of our River Cruise. 

Back in June I shared that on our 5th day of our Rhine River cruise we had the amazing opportunity to spend the morning cruising the Middle Rhine River. (You can read about the first part of our scenic cruising HERE and the second part HERE!) Then we spent the afternoon and early evening exploring the beautiful city of Cologne, Germany before spending the rest of the day at the Cologne Cathedral. (You can read more about a walk through historic cologne HERE.)

As a quick background the Cologne Cathedral is a renowned monument with a ton of amazing history that spans several centuries and was declared a world heritage site in 1996. It is Germany's most visited landmark of all time with the average number of visitors being nearly 20,000 people each day! It is also the tallest twin-spired church (515 feet tall) in the world. 

Construction of the Cologne Cathedral began in 1248, but was stopped in 1473 leaving it unfinished. Nearly four hundred years went by before work was resumed on this beautiful cathedral and it was finally completed (according to the original plan from the 13th century) in 1880. 

The Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the largest facade of any church in the world. The only word that I can think of when we walked up and approached the cathedral is absolutely stunning. We simply stood there in awe of the building and also the way the cathedral has withstood the test of many things over its existence.

Interestingly when the cathedral was being built, it was found that the site had been the site of many previous churches and from as early as the 4th century it has been occupied by christian buildings. 

One of the most interesting parts of the Cathedral's history for me was the history of its World War II survival. (I am sure this is not a huge surprise with my love of 20th century and the recent start up of Twenty History Lane. *smiles*)

For those who may not be familiar with the history of the cathedral in World War II, the cathedral suffered fourteen direct hits by bombs during the war. While the structure was badly damaged, it amazingly stayed standing and structurally sound, amidst the decimated city it is in. 

During World War II the cathedral and the immediate area of Cologne were the site of intense ariel bombs and also the site of numerous tank combats between the Americans (3rd Armored Division) and Germans (Panther Ausf. A). After the Americans destroyed a Panther it was actually put on display at the base of the Cathedral for the remainder of the War. 

In 1944 the cathedral needed an emergency repair on the Northwest Tower's base so this was carried out at that time. The brick that was used was taken from a nearby ruined building and was quite visible. For decades though this was left on purpose as a reminder of the war. In 2005 the decision was made to restore the section to its original appearance, but a few photographs in the museum still show the repairs done in 1944. 

I hope you enjoyed these pictures and a brief explanation of the exterior architecture of the Cologne Cathedral! In my next post from our Europe trip I can't wait to share more about the inside of the Cologne Cathedral and its unique treasures it holds! If you are interested in reading more about our Basel to Amsterdam cruise on Viking, you can click on the links below: 

//  Viking River Cruises: Answers to Your Most FAQ's // 
// Viking Eir Ship Review // Viking Eir Stateroom 203 Review // Viking Eir Food and Dining Review // 

// The Cologne Cathedral (Exterior) // A Walk Through Historic Cologne // Cruising the Middle Rhine (Part One) // Cruising the Middle Rhine River (Part Two) // A Brief History of Old Town Colmar //  Saint Martin's Collegiate Church (Place de la Cathedrale)// 
// 7 Things You Must See When You Visit Old Town Colmar in the Winter // 
// A Brief History of Beautiful Strasbourg // A Walk through Historic Strasbourg //Place Saint Thomas //  
// Strasbourg Cathedral (Cathedrale Notre Dame of Strasbourg) //  Heidelberg Castle // 
// A Walk Through Old Town Heidelberg // Hofgut Sternen in the Black Forest // 
// A Walk through Historic Downtown Basel //  Basel Cathedral (Basel Munster) // 

On our walk through downtown historic Basel (Switzerland) we had the lovely opportunity to really see and explore the Basel Cathedral, known as the Basler Munster. 

This beautiful church is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions in Basel. In addition to the beauty and unique architecture with its two slim towers, the cathedral is listed as a heritage site of national significance in Switzerland. 

Originally the church was a Catholic Cathedral but today (after the reformation) it is now a Reformed Protestant Church. 

The Basel Cathedral was built between 1019 and 1500 and contain both the Romanesque and Gothic Styles. 

In 1356 the building (Romanesque structure and style) was destroyed by the Basel Earthquake. Eventually it was rebuilt and the final southern tower was completed in 1500.

In addition to the varied and unique combination of the two styles there have been several important historical events that have taken place at the Cathedral. 

First, in 1424 Pope Martin V shared with Basel's government at the time that Basel had been chosen as the site of the next council. The point of these meetings was to implement a church reform. 

What is interesting to note is that the church continues to hold meetings, one of which we experienced when we were in Basel. On the day that we were there there were almost 20000 teens that were gathering for a conference from all over points of Europe. It was truly amazing to witness and to see so many teens gathering for a religious gathering. 

Another important historical event that happened was the destruction of religious paintings that took place. Unfortunately during the Protestant Reformation there were many pieces of art that were destroyed. Citizens stormed many of the churches in Basel and demolished many religious paintings and statues.

Despite this the church remained and eventually became a protestant church.

After we toured throughout the Basel Cathedral we walked out to the back of the church courtyard. From there we could see more of the city of Basel. 

It's tiny but in this picture (on the left) on the bridge you can see a tiny tower. This tower was built a couple of centuries ago to show they unity between "big" and "little" Basel (the two different sides of Basel separated by the river). 

Even today ferries transport people going to and from work across the rivers. 

I hope that y'all have enjoyed this brief glance into Basel, Switzerland from our trip with Viking Cruises! It is definitely a place that I would recommend visiting!