Finials of Cologne Cathedral

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The finials with copper reinforcements and ladders, everything with a green patina
Top of the north tower of Cologne Cathedral (1881)

The finials of Cologne Cathedral form the tops of the two towers (north and south tower) at a height of 149 to 157 meters. A copy of these finials in original size, but made of concrete, has stood below the steps in front of the west facade of the cathedral since 1991.

Shape and construction

The finials consist of a central stem, which is entwined by two different sized leaf wreaths. They come from the final stage of construction of the Cologne Cathedral in 1880. However, the plans go still Baumeister Ernst Friedrich Zwirner († 1861), who on the original medieval facade crack F assisted. In this design, the finials should have a diameter of 5.20 meters.

Zwirner's successor as master builder was Richard Voigtel , who is considered to be the master of the cathedral. He was already planning a smaller diameter of initially 5.02 meters, later 4.75 meters, for the lower leaf wreath. The decisive factor was the natural limits of the material to be extracted in the Obernkirchen quarry : the final diameter of the lower leaf ring is 4.58 meters, the height around eight meters.

In addition to the size of the stone blocks, the transport to a height of over 150 meters was a challenge in the 19th century: Not only were scaffolding and (hemp) rope hoists too weak, the steam-powered freight elevator also carried a maximum of four tons in weight. A one-piece lower leaf wreath alone would have weighed over 17 tons. This is another reason why the finials, each with around 37 cubic meters of stone, are composed of a total of 24 individual stones.

In order to stabilize the construction on the top of the tower, a system of brackets and reinforcements, mostly made of copper, was developed to counteract the risk of corrosion. The leaves of the lower leaf ring, which are joined together in the middle on a comparatively small area, protrude up to 2.30 outwards. They are therefore supported on the one hand from below by stone consoles, but on the top they are held in place by an octagonal copper band on the shaft and with metal rods.

A wrought iron rod 10 centimeters in diameter and 21 meters in length was passed through the center of the shaft for stabilization through a copper sleeve. This rod hangs down in the spire and is weighted down like a pendulum.

Copper ladders lead from an exit about 17 meters below to the tips of the finials, where a lightning rod is located.

Construction and modification

The setting of the keystone in the finial of the south tower is considered the moment of completion of Cologne Cathedral. Postage stamp of the Deutsche Bundespost for the 100th anniversary of the completion of the cathedral in 1980

The finials were made in the stonemason's workshop in the cathedral building in the winter of 1879/80; the lifting and setting began on July 16, 1880, after the elevator structure had been reinforced as a precaution. For example, the hemp ropes were replaced by steel ropes.

The finial of the north tower was completed and placed on July 23, 1880, that of the south tower on August 14, 1880 - albeit without the keystone that was used to celebrate the completion of the cathedral on October 15, 1880.

Shortly after completion, however, the population's protests increased because the finials looked too compact and bulky despite the distance. Therefore it was decided shortly afterwards to manually rework the leaf wreaths.

In the winter of 1880/81 wooden housings were installed around the finials to create a heated work space for the workers in the cold. 40 stonemasons worked until February 12, 1881 to make the leaf wreaths more filigree.

Model on the cathedral plate

Sketch for a finial sculpture, probably by master builder Richard Voigtel, around 1878

The cathedral master builder Richard Voigtel originally aimed to produce a third finial as a “monument to the completion of the cathedral”. In a sketch and a design from 1879, he envisaged a 10.5 meter high replica of the finials, which was to be set up on the southeast corner of the cathedral terrace. However, Voigtel was unable to assert himself with this idea.

1: 1 model on the Domplatte, the Domforum in the background

In 1980, the cathedral anniversary year, the sculptor Uspelkat made a plastic model based on construction drawings , which was placed in front of the cathedral on March 18, 1980. Although not entirely true to scale and original, it was still very popular until it was badly damaged in 1990 by hurricane Wiebke .

On October 11, 1991, the City of Cologne Traffic Office had a newly created model of the finial set up in front of the cathedral. ⊙ The concrete model of the southern finial on a scale of 1: 1 was 50 meters in front of the west facade of the cathedral between the road sub Fettenhennen and the dome placed. The true-to-original sculpture demonstrates the dimensions and details of its model.

In an effort to replace the model with a durable construction, the choice fell on a concrete casting due to the significantly lower costs compared to natural stone . First, the finial of the south tower was re-measured and photographed from the air. Using a plaster model on a scale of 1:10, segmentation, reinforcement , formwork and concreting processes were developed. The later formwork skin made of silicone rubber was applied to a 1: 1 raw model made of polystyrene foam blocks , which received a support made of epoxy resin for the casting . The finished construction comprised 13 prefabricated parts made of reinforced concrete colored through dark gray. Except for the massive leaf wreaths and the keystone, all parts are designed as hollow bodies with wall thicknesses between 15 and 20 centimeters in order to save weight.

The finial, which is fully assembled by means of a crane, is almost 10 meters high, 5 meters wide and weighs 35 tons, less than half of the natural stone model. It is set in a circular flowerbed and has explanatory plaques in 15 languages ​​on the base.

The model of the finial has developed into a popular meeting point in front of the cathedral and forms the starting point for numerous city tours around Cologne Cathedral.

Discussion of the location of the finial replica

In 2012, the “urban congress” made clear the tension between the finial replica and the pigeon fountain with temporary interventions.

The “Urban Congress” project commissioned by the City of Cologne, which dealt with the conscious handling of art in the public urban space of Cologne, presented a number of recommendations for action in 2012, including the removal of the finial replica in front of the cathedral The aim is to calm down or “clear out” the area in front of the cathedral and to help the actual art monument at this point, the pigeon fountain by Ewald Mataré , to gain new visibility.

In December 2014, the inner city district council decided to move and commissioned the city administration to look for an alternative location, which, however, was not found even months later. As alternative locations , the castle wall in the western line of sight of the cathedral , the Stammheim castle park or the location of the former concrete mushrooms on the Domplatte were discussed; the district council finally decided on the Deutz side of the Rhine near the Hohenzollern Bridge, i.e. the right-hand Rhine line of sight to the cathedral . In the recommendations for action of the Urban Congress, the cathedral building hut in front of the cathedral choir is considered typologically sensible, but the terrace of the Café Reichard opposite is also considered.

Already Barbara Schock-Werner had criticized the object at this point in her tenure as cathedral architect, as it will be charged in the middle of the line of sight of the cathedral, with a meaning that it did not. City dean Robert Kleine also supported the decision, as did the then cathedral provost Norbert Feldhoff , the architect Amandus Sattler commissioned with the cathedral plate renovation and Marcus Trier from the Roman-Germanic Museum. Overall, in public and private discussions at the “Urban Congress”, the “majority of interlocutors” considered the current location “unsuitable for both the pigeon fountain and the perspective of the main portal of the cathedral”. After the plans were published, there were dissenting votes in letters to the editor and comments in the daily press, as well as in an online petition that found almost 2,900 supporters. In politics, the Greens, Die Linke, your friends and pirates advocated the demolition at the district level; in the city council the SPD was against it, the CDU advocated a move to the castle wall, although both parliamentary groups fundamentally questioned the decision-making authority of the district council on this point. A dialogue commissioned by the city council at the end of 2015 between the new mayor Henriette Reker and district mayor Andreas Hupke led to the compromise that the finial would remain in place until the planned renovation of the western cathedral area.

literature

  • 70th cathedral report by Richard Voigtel in: Kölner Domblatt : official communications from the Central-Dombau-Verein , No. 325, April 14, 1882, p. 19
  • Thomas Schumacher: Large construction site Cologne Cathedral. Technology of the 19th century for the completion of a Gothic cathedral Verlag Kölner Dom, Cologne 1991, ISBN 978-3-922442-20-2 , p. 359ff
  • Arnold Wolff: A concrete finial in front of the west facade of the cathedral. In: Kölner Domblatt, Jahrbuch des Zentral-Dombauverein, Vol. 57, Verlag Kölner Dom, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-92244-215-3 , pp. 331–332

Web links

Commons : Kreuzblumen des Kölner Domes  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heiko Steuer: Technology at the Cathedral ; in: Hugo Borger (ed.): The Cologne cathedral building in the century of its completion. Catalog for the exhibition of the historical museums in the Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle Cologne. Volume 1, Cologne 1980, p. 85
  2. ^ Judith Breuer, Hiltrud Kier : The cathedral environment ; in: Hugo Borger (ed.): The Cologne cathedral building in the century of its completion. Catalog for the exhibition of the historical museums in the Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle Cologne. Volume 1, Cologne 1980, p. 121
  3. ^ Werner Schäfke : Das neue Köln 1945–1995, exhibition catalog, 1995, ISBN 3927396621 , p. 219
  4. ^ A b Rolf Kampen, Arnold Wolff , Wilhelm Zehe: Kreuzblume aus Beton für Kölner Domplatte , in: Zeitschrift Beton 4/92, pp. 200–203, online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was created automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 486 kB)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.belz.onlinebauhandwerk.de  
  5. ↑ a b Schäfke, p. 249
  6. ↑ a b A new structure plan for the grid square. A project by Markus Ambach and Kay von Keitz as part of the Cologne City Laboratory on behalf of the City of Cologne. In: The urban congress. 2012, p. 64 , accessed on January 8, 2017 (January 1 to June 30, 2012).
  7. ↑ Martin Boldt: Replica should move. The finial at Cologne Cathedral separates the spirits. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger ksta.de. August 10, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Martin Boldt: Höffner-Platz Kreuzblume in front of the Cologne Cathedral should disappear. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger ksta.de. December 15, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 .
  9. ↑ The finial model moves to Deutz. In: domradio.de. October 6, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Markus Ambach, Kay von Keitz: City Laboratory for Art in Public Space / The Urban Congress (Phase 2). Project status. May 21, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Jan S. Weber: Finial must stay in front of the cathedral! In: openpetition.de. November 25, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Tim Attenberger, Andreas Damm: Debate about Kreuzblume in Cologne. What to do with the artificial cathedral spire? In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger ksta.de. December 4, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Susanne Happe: Location issue solved. The finial in front of Cologne Cathedral is allowed to stay. In: Kölnische Rundschau rundschau-online.de. December 22, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 28.1 ″  N , 6 ° 57 ′ 25.9 ″  E