stayed there squeaking in creaking for three hundred years. over by i think that living with a stopgap solution to this unfinished project played an important role in shaping the mentality of the people here cologne is not a particularly beautiful city nor is it a world beater yet but it s brilliant at being second rate like that so where does that ability to live with second best come from i think it may have to do with the fact that it s most important building that was never finished but was always still functional and yet. the people of cologne didn t mind having a half finished cathedral the structure fell into disrepair under napoleon french troops occupied the city the archdiocese was dissolved in the cathedral became an ordinary parish church. for the catholics of course that was a bitter pill to swallow their church had been taken away from them it was now a military barracks and it was in a dreadful state on
indulgences were getting harder to sell gothic architecture was now well and truly passe the old building crane was left at the top of the unfinished tower and it stayed there squeaking in creaking for three hundred years. over by i think that living with a stopgap solution to this unfinished project played an important role in shaping the mentality of the people here cologne is not a particularly beautiful city nor is it a world beater yet but it s brilliant at being second rate like that so where does that ability to live with second best to come from i think it may have to do with the fact that it s most important building that was never finished but was always still functional and yet. the people of cologne didn t mind having a half finished cathedral the structure fell into disrepair under napoleon french troops occupied the city the archdiocese was dissolved in the cathedral became an ordinary parish church. for the catholics of course that was
windows. the lot people made pilgrimages to the gold shrine that held relics of the magi it didn t matter what was inside the main thing was that people came they stayed overnight did some shopping bought some presents perhaps paid a visit to a brothel and then went home. but the good thing was far from finished after the area around the altar was completed the isles and parts of the south tower built. but then construction came to a halt for hundreds of years. in that in the sixteenth century cologne was an economic decline martin luther had arrived on the scene so indulgences were getting harder to sell gothic architecture was now well and truly passe the old building crane was left at the top of the unfinished tower and it stayed there