Cologne Cathedral Cultural Foundation
The Kulturstiftung Kölner Dom is a legally responsible church foundation under civil law with its seat in Cologne . It was founded in October 2011 by the Metropolitan Chapter of the High Cathedral in Cologne to ensure the preservation and maintenance of the world cultural heritage entrusted to it.
Mission and tasks
The purpose of the foundation is the comprehensive promotion of the world cultural heritage Cologne Cathedral and the associated promotion of art and culture.
The Cologne Cathedral costs around 12 million euros a year. Of this, 5 million will be used for running costs and 7 million for construction work of all kinds. In order to maintain the Cologne Cathedral as a living place of faith in its religious, spiritual and cultural function, considerable financial resources are necessary. The focus of the Kulturstiftung Kölner Dom is thus on the financing of the extensive cultural, art and church history as well as spiritual offers of the Cologne Cathedral. These include, for example:
- Support of the cathedral music
- Acquisition or repurchase of works of art
- Restoration of works of art
- Support for the construction work on the cathedral building
- Expansion of the diverse and qualified management offer
- Promotion of science and research
financing
The foundation is financed exclusively through donations, endowments and bequests. When it was set up, the foundation had basic assets of 250,000 euros. Due to the extensive donations, the foundation's assets have grown steadily in the first four years and amounted to around 1.6 million euros at the end of 2017.
The generation project
The generational project “11,000 stars for Cologne Cathedral” was launched by the Cologne Cathedral Cultural Foundation in order to secure the financing for the preservation of the building for generations. With this project, the foundation honors the commitment of the donors and benefactors and places small and large stars in front of Cologne Cathedral, which gradually result in a large carpet of stars. From a donation of 5,000 euros, a small star, from 11,000 euros a large star, is set into the floor in front of Cologne Cathedral as a permanent installation. At the request of the donors and benefactors, the stars will be given a corresponding inscription. The design of the “star carpet” comes from the employees of Dombauhütte Cologne , who were inspired by the medieval floor pattern of one of the cathedral's chapels.
Board
The board of directors decides on all matters in accordance with the statutes on its own responsibility and manages the ongoing business of the foundation. The board of the Kulturstiftung Kölner Dom consists of three members, with one member to be determined by the Metropolitan Chapter. The board (as of August 2016) consists of the chairman Helmut Heinen (publisher of the Kölnische Rundschau ), the deputy chairman Alexander Wüerst and cathedral provost Prelate Gerd Bachner .
Board of Trustees
The chairman of the board of trustees is Franz Xaver Ohnesorg , founding director of the Cologne Philharmonic. The Board of Trustees advises, supports and monitors the Board of Directors within the framework of the Foundation Act in order to fulfill the foundation's purpose as effectively as possible. The board of trustees consists of at least six and max. ten members. Of these, three members name the metropolitan chapter. Honorary chairman of the board of trustees is Dompropst em. Norbert Feldhoff , who as the "founding father" played a key role in the creation of the foundation.