so what is acceptable and what isn't outside cologne cathedral the debate about that is probably as old as the building itself and it continues today fuelled by the immediate proximity of the city's main railway station. to pick i know no other european city has a cathedral right next to a railway station you almost stumble into the cathedral when you leave the station the cathedral's north door used to be open and on a rainy morning commuters used to take a. short cut through the church so the cathedral board had the door locked and. it was the prussians who wanted the main railway station built right next to the cathedral the idea was to create an impression of progress and modernity. steel bracing the cathedral also has an iron roof truss despite opposition from