COLOGNE CATHEDRAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LV, Issue 6205, 15 January 1881, Page 3

COLOGNE CATHEDRAL.

(From th* Tim**, Oct. 15.)

The proportions of this building seem rather mathematic than realty seslhetic. The towers —over 600 feet—-are ae high ae the cathedral is long, which is not long enough for either internal or external effect. The external height of the rdof is about equal to the width of the transepts - that it more than 280 ft. The internal height of the building is over 160 ft, which is twice the usual internal height of omr first-class cathedrals, and €oft. higher than the highest part of the interior of Westminster Abbey. Yet, at Cologne, the width of the nave and choir, without the aisles, is very little over 40ft, and in that immense interior there is positively no space clear of pillars larger than a square of 40ft. The extra width, therefore, is obtained by doable aisles, and the result is a forest of tall pillars. Tourist* with a quarter of an hour to utilise generally spend most of it in trying to see the roof, and make out some bosses of special beauty and interest ; bnt the mere distance of that vaulting from the eye interferes with its effect as a vista stretching before the spectator, as well a* above him. But there are graver faults even than these, or even than the dumpy and crowded effect of the exterior. Ingenious critics tell us that the legend has marvellously hit the character of the design, or rather that the design bears ont the legend. It wanta originality. It wants free, inventive, and creative grace. It is an endless repetition of the same identical forms—the same pillars, the same windows, the same niches, the same moulds inge, the same pinnacles, the same ornamental feature*. When you have seen a part yon have seen all—that is, so far as the details are concerned. This seems to reduce the edifice to an enormous exaggeration and multiplication, a mere feat ef ambitions arithmetic instead of a work of true art. These criticisms have been made, and they speak for themselves. It most be remembered that the variety desiderated ia oftener the result of successive additions and alterations than of one original design. Such a design there was in this instance; it was left incomplete for a gee, and therefore could not be added to; it survived by centuries the disuse of Gothic architecture Had there bees successive additions, and had fresh architects been allowed to indnlge in their own fancies, most probably we should have had the cathedral plastered over with Falladian. In fine, we moat take the cathedral as it is, and thank Heaven for it.

(From the Standard, Oct. 16.) On Aug. 14,1880, the news was telegraphed throughout Germany that the topmost flower had been affixed to the last of the two spire*, completing that greatest monument of Gothic architecture, known to Germans as the Kolner Dom, and to Englishmen generally as Cologne Cathedral. Intimations that the giant pile was well-nigh perfect had been E'ven on more than one occasion, bat were st sight of to a large extent amid the more pressing news of the day. When, however, the announcement appeared that the work which had afforded a theme for so many wits, great and small, was actually achieved, the impression on the public mind wss not unlike that produced by the news of a great and unexpected victory. Any deecription of the town of Cologne, lying, as it does, at the junction of several of the great tourist routes, would be superfluous. One of the three famous Bhenish Archbishoprics—the other two being Trier (TrSves) and Mainz (Mayence)—tbe city of Cologne was an important integer of the “ Holy Roman Empire,” as the old Empire of Germany was termed. Many were the disputes between Emperor and archbishop, whose forces a* a temporal sovereign, especially in conjunction with those of his two confriree, were a power to reckon with in those days. It is, indeed, questionable whether the united strengh of the Bhenish barons could have successfully coped with the ecclesiastical wealth. The cathedral of Cologne, in addition to its interest as a typical religious monument of the middle agee, has a special and patriotic significance as the guardian of the Rhine. It is from this point of view mainly that we must regard the celebration of its completion, which is a ceremony essentially patriotic, and probably intended to establish a species of connection between the prestige of the old Empire and the cohesive force of the new. Tbe religious element is, without doubt, entirely subordinate to the political in the present case. The site of the oldest cathedral the town possessed, is now occupied by the churches of St Peter and St Cecilia. On its partial destruction by Are, in the time of Charlemagne, t v e Emperor allotted the then Archbishop Hildebold the present elevated site in the north-east of the city for the erection of a new building, which was consecrated in the year 874. The body of this structure was divided by two row* of pillars into three naves. East and west lay the choirs, and a tower to the west served as a belfry. It was the archbishop who brought the relics of the three kings of Milan to Cologne, and erected a monument to them in the centre of the church, over which a corona of 100 lights was suspended and kept continually burning. When, at the commencement of the thirteenth century, the wealthy Engelbert ascended the archiepisoopol throne, this comparatively modest onurch was deemed inadequate to support its dignity. Cologne itself, moreover (now that cities were becoming centres of industry), had considerably increased in use, and attained a wealth and importance previously unknown. The trade of the town had given it an indeE indent status, even rivalling that of the aneeatio towns. The inhabitants were famous for their artistic tastes, and the many cloister* and churches of the city were unusually rich in paintings, sculptures, and treasures of every kind. It# beauty indeed, a proverb throughout Germany. That the idea of constructing a cathedral surpassing in splendour, if possible, all others throughout the empire, should have occurred to a wealthy ecclesiastic at the head of a wealthy population, was only natural But before the project could be put into execution, Engelbert was murdered by his brother, Count Friedrich of Isenburg. This took tlaco on the 7th of November, 1226, at Gowelsberg, near Sohwelm. Bis successor, Heinrich 1., Count of Molenatk, was too much occupied with other matters to »Ki«v of the new Minister. Conrad of Hoohstettin, who succeeded to the Government in 1237, took the first eerioue steps towards realising the scheme of Engelbert, and commencing that structure which, typical though itf eta bygone epoch, was only completed a few weeks ago. There is a legend that Albert us Magnus, wellknown to have been for a long time in the

Dominican Monastery of Cologne, designed the plan of the cathedral, but it is rejected by ail competent authorities. The utmost that can be admitted in behalf of his claim is said by the same authorities to consist in his haring possibly been instrumental in the adoption of the Gothic style of architecture recently introduced from the north of France, but in no very high favour with the Church—a circumstance which prevented iU introduction into Italy. Consi lorahle doubt hangs over the personality of the designer, a doubt which legend has naturally turned to account.

The balance of probabilities serins however, to bo in favour of Master Gerhard, of Kioht, a village near Cologne. It is certain that he occupied the post of director of the building operations in 1257. But it is most fitting that the great Rhenish minster should, like the epos, bo traceable to no individual author breathing out to us as it does, th# spirit of an age, and not of soy single man. We See in it the spirit which created the Niebelung* modified by Christian influences. 3ho foundation-stone of the present cathedral was laid in 1248. William of Holland had been crowned Emperor by Konrad in the previous year, and on his first arrival in Cologne the ceremony took place amid a pompous array of princes, barons, knights, and ecclesiastics. Though the political quarrels between the archbishop and the townspeople seriously interfered with the progress of tko undertaking, the church was ready to be consecrated in 1322. The funds did sot flow in as plentifully a* might have been expected. From 1301 to 1330 a Meister Johann was Director, after which date a slackening of activity, owing to pecuniary embarrassments, took place. Many of (he Popes exhorted the faithful of all Christendom to contribute something, however small, and emissaries were sent over Europe from the Cathedral City with the view of collecting offering*. Yet, strange to say, the financial difficulty wae never quite overcome. Notwithstanding this, in 1347, so far advanced was the work that the great bell, which had previously been kept in a shed, could be suspended in its proper place. In the year 1409 operations were still going on. The naive and aisles were probably closed in about the last-named date with a temporary roof, and the first four compartments of the northern side aisle arched over. The large stained-glass windows were inserted in 1508 and 1509. But from this time forward scarcely anything appears to have been done. The turmou or the Reformation exercised the thoughts and activity of the archbishop and chapter in other directions. The Gothic style, moreover, soon after fell into disrepute, some of the greatest architectural monuments of the medieval period being condemned by the critics of th* seventeenth century. In 1707 barbarism in connection with the cathedral reached its climax, an Italian being permitted to decorate the interior according to the prevalent taste. During the revolutionary wars the cathedra! was converted into a forage magazine for the use of the French army. The idea was entertained, too, about this time of selling the stained-glass windows as curiosities to English tourists.

At the beginning of the preecnt century (be edifice wu in danger of crumbling to pieces under the united influences of wind, weather, street urchins, and the more serious hostile attacks to which it had been exposed. Such was its condition in 1816, when the Rhenish Provinces were taken by Prussia. Bat the re-awakening taste for old German art, and the rise of Romanticism generally, which took place shortly after this event, soon led to a revived interest in the K6lner Dom. The idea of its restoration and completion began to be seriously entertained in influential circles, and Friedrich Wilhelm 111. was induced to entrust the architect, Schinkel, with the thorough investigation of its condition. In comequence of tbe favourable report of the latter, Ahlert, as architect, was in 1823 instructed to proceed with the work of building and repairing. The operations were difficult and costly, but the plan that had been discovered in a loft of the old inn Zur Traube in 1818 proved of inestimable service. Ahlert, on his death in 1833, was succeeded by Ernst Zwinter, who proved thoroughly competent to the task he was, if not to complete, at least to materially promote. When Friedrich Wilhelm IV. ascended the throne great hopes were entertained as regards the cathedral from a monarch whose devotion to Bbmaniticism and NewSchellingism were well known, and who had already been an active supporter of the undertaking. The Cathedral Building Society was accordingly formed in 1840, under the Boyai patronage and protection. This Society, composed exclusively of connoisseurs, took the work under its auspices, and it was continued with zeal. The south portal was finished in 1849, and in Hay, 1850, the northern spire was commenced. The director Zwirner, dying in 1861, was succeeded by Herr VoigteL On Oct. 15, 1863, the new portion of the interior was opened. From this time forward operations were concentrated on the spires and the vest facade, and it is the northern of the two former that has just been completed.