Koln, Cologne
Kurz vor Kriegsend 1945; Alliierte Soldaten in der zerstorten Stadt.
In 1945, just before the end of the war: soldiers of the allied forces in the destroyed city.
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Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, and is under the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral is a World Heritage Site and one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.
Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete. It is 144.5 metres (474 ft) long, 86.5 m (284 ft) wide and its towers are approximately 157 m (515 ft) tall. The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and 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.
The cathedral suffered seventy hits by aerial bombs during World War II. It did not collapse, but stood tall in an otherwise flattened city. The great twin spires are said to have been used as an easily recognizable navigational landmark by Allied aircraft raiding deeper into Germany in the later years of the war, which may be a reason that the cathedral was not destroyed.
The repairs to the building were completed in 1956.
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