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Unlike our local cathedral[0] which some say won't ever be completed because the construction seamlessly transitioned into the maintenance phase -- allegedly it

by pluma 11y ago

Unlike our local cathedral[0] which some say won't ever be completed because the construction seamlessly transitioned into the maintenance phase -- allegedly it will be covered by scaffolding for all of eternity. There's a fun local legend about this being the result of a lost bet with the devil[1] (originally used as an explanation of the centuries-long pause during construction but now extended to the present day). Amazingly enough you wouldn't know this by looking at photographs. As the scaffolding moves across the façade over the years, crafty photographers have managed to capture every last inch of it always making sure you can't see the scaffolding. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Cathedral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Cathedral [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eifel_Aqueduct#The_aqueduct_as_a_stone_quarry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eifel_Aqueduct#The_aqueduct_as...

sanoli 11y ago
Huh... The Wikipedia link you provided states "Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880." So it is technically completed, but its maintenance is now basically year-round, is this correct?
- pluma 11y ago
  Yeah, technically it was completed in 1880 but it was significantly damaged in WW2[0] and the stone used to construct it doesn't deal well with environmental factors (e.g. acidic rain and pigeon poop) so the cathedral has been undergoing year-round maintenance ever since (if not even before WW2). There's even a dedicated stone mason workshop beside the cathedral itself (the "Dombauhütte", which according to its website currently employs about 60 people). They have replaced a lot of the weathered parts with more resilient replicas. I'm not sure what they do when they have to replace entire statues but I've heard about smaller parts being presented as a special honour to individuals (similar to fragments of the Berlin Wall). [0]: Aerial photographs after WW2 gave rise to the urban legend that bomber pilots were instructed not to damage it and that it survived unscathed. Not only was there no such order, it would have been impossible to follow given the accuracies of bombing runs at the time. Until a decade ago there was a large piece of brick wall covering up some of the damage from WW2. In total, the Cathedral was hit by at least 70 bombs -- that its exterior didn't collapse should be attributed to its skilled architects rather than well-meaning Allied admirals or divine protection.
lukeqsee 11y ago
> allegedly it will be covered by scaffolding for all of eternity. The first time I visited, I counted myself unlucky to have visited during maintenance. The second time I visited, I considered myself extremely unlucky to have visited twice during maintenance. By the third time I saw the Kölner Dom, I just assumed it would always be covered in scaffolding. It has been a source of frustration because it seems as if I've never seen many of the great European works of architecture in their full glory.

by pluma 11y ago

sanoli 11y ago

Huh... The Wikipedia link you provided states "Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880." So it is technically completed, but its maintenance is now basically year-round, is this correct?

pluma 11y ago
Yeah, technically it was completed in 1880 but it was significantly damaged in WW2[0] and the stone used to construct it doesn't deal well with environmental factors (e.g. acidic rain and pigeon poop) so the cathedral has been undergoing year-round maintenance ever since (if not even before WW2). There's even a dedicated stone mason workshop beside the cathedral itself (the "Dombauhütte", which according to its website currently employs about 60 people). They have replaced a lot of the weathered parts with more resilient replicas. I'm not sure what they do when they have to replace entire statues but I've heard about smaller parts being presented as a special honour to individuals (similar to fragments of the Berlin Wall). [0]: Aerial photographs after WW2 gave rise to the urban legend that bomber pilots were instructed not to damage it and that it survived unscathed. Not only was there no such order, it would have been impossible to follow given the accuracies of bombing runs at the time. Until a decade ago there was a large piece of brick wall covering up some of the damage from WW2. In total, the Cathedral was hit by at least 70 bombs -- that its exterior didn't collapse should be attributed to its skilled architects rather than well-meaning Allied admirals or divine protection.

lukeqsee 11y ago

> allegedly it will be covered by scaffolding for all of eternity. The first time I visited, I counted myself unlucky to have visited during maintenance. The second time I visited, I considered myself extremely unlucky to have visited twice during maintenance. By the third time I saw the Kölner Dom, I just assumed it would always be covered in scaffolding. It has been a source of frustration because it seems as if I've never seen many of the great European works of architecture in their full glory.