As said in many of the other entries the most striking thing about the cathedral is it’s size, it dominates the centre of the city, it is also Germany’s largest cathedral. The exterior of the building is perhaps the finest part, it is Gothic to the very core and everything points upwards, the massive towers were the largest building in Europe until the completion of the Eiffel tower. It also took a long time to complete the building, it was started in 1248 and only completed in 1880, 638 years altogether which is pretty impressive!

The interior is again very Gothic everything making you look up! The stained glass windows are very fine as well, it also contains the Shrine of the Three Magi, containing the remains of the three wise men.

There are a lot of down points to this site though, it was very busy inside, partly because it was free to enter, and this detracts from the feeling that this is a place of worship. The area around the cathedral is also cluttered and untidy, whilst having it share a square with the station is good for your legs, it means that the ugly façade of the station crowds the cathedral surrounds. I was also very under whelmed by Köln on the whole, it had a few nice buildings, but on the whole it left me a little indifferent. However I was quite hung over and didn’t get to sample the apparently impressive local beers!