Cathedral plate

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View of a large part of the Domplatte and the main portal of the cathedral (2013)
Outside stairs to the Domplatte from the station forecourt (2009)

Domplatte is the slang term for the 7000 m² pedestrian platform that has been around Cologne Cathedral since 1970. It is located in Cologne 's Altstadt-Nord district and can be reached with the Cologne tram through the Dom / Hauptbahnhof underground station ; From Cologne Central Station , access is via the station forecourt and a flight of stairs or a lift . The streets leading to the Domplatte are Trankgasse in the north , Kardinal-Höffner- Platz in the west, Burgmauer and Unter Fettenhennen, and Wallrafplatz in the southas well as the cathedral monastery and in the east Am Domhof. The dome is an area for pedestrians, "with the Domumgebung completely re-invented" because it has raised the city at the height of the dome.

Building history

Construction of the cathedral plate

The results of an international competition launched in February 1956 to redesign the area around the cathedral were not realized, but provided the templates for the basic decision to raise the floor level around the cathedral exactly to that of the entrance portals. Instead, the city administration selected individual planning objects and began with their own concepts. In May 1964, construction work began on the Cologne underground tram in Trankgasse / Komödienstraße. The construction of the underground tram made it easier to reorganize the area around the cathedral, especially since the tramway above ground was no longer available. In 1967, construction work began on the Roman-Germanic Museum (opening: March 4, 1974), which closed the last vacant lot on the Domplatte - albeit by reducing the size of the originally horticultural Roncalliplatz. The two-storey underground car park for 613 vehicles, which began in 1969, had already been completed in 1971 (below the western and southern Domplatte).

The competition for the development of the cathedral plate took place in 1964. The winner Fritz Schaller began the construction work in 1968, for him it meant “integrating the cathedral into the urban fabric and liberating it from spatial isolation”. He designed an elevation of the pedestrian area to the level of the cathedral portals, which until then were only accessible by stairs. This meant that the historic cathedral hill had to be omitted. The concreted platform covered with multi-colored granite pavement surrounds the entire cathedral, so that the stairs now - at a greater distance from the cathedral - lead on the west side to the tourist office or on the north side to the station forecourt. A difficult problem was the design of the cathedral plate facing the main train station. Here it bridges the Trankgasse, one of the most important roads for motor traffic, which, as an east-west axis, handles through traffic to the banks of the Rhine. A sculptural staircase led to the station forecourt and bridged the height difference. The first part of the Domplatte was opened to pedestrians on July 7, 1970, and the entire Domplatte was handed over in October 1970.

Later development

In 1988 competitions resulted in a partial renovation of the cathedral plate. In September 2009, the Cologne City Council decided to develop an overall urban planning concept for the area around the cathedral, with the aim of creating easily legible spatial situations with just a few, precisely defined interventions, with a pleasant atmosphere at all levels and in all areas. This should make the Domplatte the central point of contact in the city. In April 2003, the city entrusted Christian Schaller (* 1937), Fritz Schaller's son, with the redesign of the 70 meter wide and 5 meter high staircase to the station forecourt, which was handed over on August 10, 2005. It largely corresponded to an alternative design by his father from the year 1964, which was rejected by the city at the time. In August 2013, work began on redesigning the eastern area of ​​the cathedral between the cathedral, the Roman-Germanic Museum, the Ludwig Museum and the main train station. The entire upper level around the Canon Cemetery and the street level below between Trankgasse and Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz will be redesigned in terms of urban planning with wide paths for pedestrians, a new lighting concept, spacious, straight stairwells and the demolition of part of the Trankgassentunnel.

Meaning and criticism

A Spider-Man actor as a living statue on the Domplatte (2009)

“There is always something going on on the Domplatte and Roncalliplatz. ... For skaters and roller-skaters, acrobats, street musicians and pavement painters, the areas in the shadow of the venerable cathedral become a private open-air stage. ”Together with Roncalliplatz, the Domplatte is the most frequented pedestrian zone in Cologne. When the Japanese Emperor Hirohito visited Cologne on October 13, 1970 , the Domplatte proved to be an ideal stage for visitors. Since then, events have taken place on it, and especially on Roncalliplatz, such as the largest Cologne Christmas market or open-air concerts, for example by Frank Sinatra (farewell concert on June 6, 1993), Liza Minnelli (June 15, 1997), the Bläck Fööss (for the 40th time) -year anniversary, September 5, 2010), BAP (on the 35th anniversary, May 27, 2011) and in memory of Trude Herr (summer 1995). A strict set of rules allows a maximum of six major events per year, with the exception of church services. The controversial Cologne Wailing Wall was in May 1997 by the Cologne Court prohibited since September 2011, the stewards may Skateboarding on the cathedral square as did not allow special use with caution money punish.

The Domplatte and cathedral were voted the most popular place in Germany in the broadcast on September 22, 2006 in the ZDF series “ Our Best ”. The “massive concrete belt around the cathedral” was also repeatedly criticized and even referred to as “Cologne's biggest eyesore”. Although the cathedral plate freed the cathedral from its island location, surrounded by traffic, the concreting created barren landscapes, brought bad smelling corners (due to the wild pee ) and created meeting places for social fringe groups. The cathedral was "stolen" with the cathedral plate.

See also

Portal: Cologne Cathedral  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the subject of Cologne Cathedral

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Uta Winterhager: The transformation of the plate, in: Bauwelt 15.2017, p. 16
  2. ↑ Emanuel Gebauer: Fritz Schaller. The architect and his contribution to sacred buildings in the 20th century . In: Stadt Köln, Stadtkonservator (Hrsg.): Stadtspuren (=  Stadtspuren . Volume 28 ). tape 28 . Bachem, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-7616-1355-5 , p. 201-207 .
  3. ↑ Peter Fuchs (Ed.): Chronik zur Geschichte der Stadt Köln , Volume 2, 1991, p. 306; Detailed planning and construction history of the Domplatte, cf. Emanuel Gebauer:. In: City of Cologne, City Conservator (Ed.):. Volume 28. Bachem, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-7616-1355-5 , pp. 201-207, 328-338.
  4. ^ Willehad Paul Eckert: Cologne city guide. 1990, p. 75.
  5. ^ Gerhard Dietrich: Museum of Applied Arts Cologne: Chronicle 1888–1988. 1988, p. 189.
  6. ↑ Jürgen Müllenberg: Skaters on the Domplatte are now threatened with fines. The new “Kap 686” skater facility in Rheinauhafen has been well received. City of Cologne, Office for Press and Public Relations, September 23, 2011, accessed on September 23, 2011 .
  7. ^ Christian Hümmeler: The architect of the reconstruction. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, May 29, 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  8. ^ Gerhard Curdes, Markus Ulrich: The development of the Cologne urban area. 1997, p. 7.

Web links

Commons : Domplatte  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 26.9 ″  N , 6 ° 57 ′ 25.2 ″  E