城市的象征高157米的科隆大教堂有两座哥特式尖顶，它们是科隆的象征。在德国这一点几乎尽人皆知。这幢大教堂的正式名字叫圣彼得大教堂，1248年动工，1880年才竣工，这一点却是鲜为人知的。科隆大教堂是依照法国亚眠大教堂建造的，不同的是，科隆大教堂有5个殿堂，一个绕圣坛而建的带有3个偏堂的回廊。圣坛还保持着初建时的模样。当年原计划设5扇大门，结果只搞了3扇。1260年后才开始在圣坛上端和小教堂的十字形窗格上镶装了玻璃窗。圣坛两侧排列着有104个席位的坐椅，它是中世纪德国教堂中最大的圣坛。圣坛上的十字架也是欧洲大型雕塑中最古老最着名的珍品。教堂的珍宝陈列室中陈列着各个世纪留下来的法衣以及用具，属欧洲收藏甚富的教堂陈列室之一。
充满生机的中心科隆大教堂不但是大型巨石建筑物，而且是人们歇息游玩、充满着生机的中心。它是人们静思甚至举行热闹的庆祝活动的场所。若沿着教堂四周漫步引颈仰望，便能感觉到教堂尖顶之高；如果走近教堂，便可以从容不迫地观赏墓碑和雕像；或者也可以坐在广场的座椅上与人闲谈。教堂内静谧、幽暗，而教堂外却是五彩缤纷，人声鼎沸。街头画师在用彩色粉笔临摹着名画，身旁放一顶旧帽，以求几个钱币；马路乐师正在广场一角演奏。5~9月之间，每逢周末都在这里举行民俗庆典活动。每年狂欢节，巨龙般的游行队伍经过教堂，这里便成了一幅国际交流的组合画：有游客也有浪子；有学生也有修女；有听客也有观众。在大教堂面前，社会的、民族的界线统统消失了。
Cologne Cathedral (German： Klner Dom) is one of the bestknown architectural monuments in Germany and has been Cologne，s most famous landmark for centuries. The cathedral is under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne. From 1880， when its spiresspire n.尖顶 were completed， until 1884 it was the World，s tallest structure， losing its title at the completion of the Washington Monument in Washington DC. Cologne Cathedral remains the tallest Gothic structure in the world.
Construction of the gothic church began in the 13th century and took， with interruptionsinterruption n.中断， 打断， more than 600 years to complete. The two towers are 157m tall， the cathedral is 144m long and 86m wide. The cathedral is dedicated to Saints Peter and Mary.
It was built on the site of a 4th century Roman temple， a square edifice known as the “oldest cathedral” and commissioned by Maternus， the first Christian bishop of Cologne. A second church built on the site， the socalled “Old Cathedral”， was completed in 818. This burned down on April 30， 1248.
The present cathedral was built to house the relics of the Magi， taken from Milan (Italy) by Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa and given to the Archbishop of Cologne， Rainald of Dassel in 1164. The foundation stone was laid on August 15， 1248， by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden. The choir was consecrated in 1322. After this initial rapid progress， construction work gradually came to a standstill， and by the year 1560， only a torso had been built. It was only with 19th century romanticromantic adj.传奇式的， 浪漫的， 空想的， 夸大的 enthusiasm for the Middle Ages and the commitment of the Prussian Court that construction work resumed in 1824 with the addition of the towers and other substantial parts of the cathedral， mostly according to surviving medieval plans and drawings. The completion of Germany，s largest cathedral was celebrated as a national event in 1880， 632 years after construction had began. The celebration was attended by Emperor Wilhelm I.
In the end， the outer appearance remained faithful to the original medievalmedieval adj.中世纪的， 仿中世纪的， 老式的， 〈贬〉原始的 plans； however， the roof was a modern steel construction. At its completion， the Cologne cathedral was the World，s Tallest Building， having taken over from the minster of Strasbourg. In 1884， it lost the title to the Washington Monument. It features the largest church facade in the world.
Some repair and maintainance work is almost constantly being carried out in some section of the building， which is almost never completely free of scaffolding， since wind， rain， and pollution slowly eat away at the stones. The Dombauhütte， which does the repairs， is said to employ the best stonemasonsstonemason n.石工， 石匠of the Rhineland.
The most celebrated work of art in the cathedral is the Sarcophagus of the Magi， a large gilded sarcophagus dating from the 13th century， and the largest reliquaryreliquary n.圣骨匣， 遗骨匣， 圣物箱， 遗物箱 in the western world. It is thought to hold the remains of the Three Wise Men， which bones and 2000 years old clothes were discovered at the opening of the shrine in 1864.
The Gero Cross (GeroKreuz) (around 970)， near the sacristysacristy n.(天主教教堂里)圣器收藏室， 圣器安置所， is the oldest large cross north of the Alps. In the Sacrament Chapel， the “Milan Madonna” (Mailnder Madonna)， dating from around 1290， is a wooden sculpture depicting Mary and the child Jesus. In St. Mary，s Chapel (Marienkapelle) is the altar of the patron saints of Cologne with an altar piece by Stephan Lochner. Other outstanding works of art are to be found in the cathedral treasure chamber.