Romans, Romanesque, Gothic: 1,000 Years of Cologne on Foot

Our walk follows a single story told in stone. It begins at St. Maria im Kapitol, built on the site of Cologne's pagan Capitoline temple. From the old cloister garden we view the church's west front, then step inside to discover the imperial character of this Romanesque gem and study its carved 11th-century wooden doors up close. Next comes Great St. Martin, the landmark of the Old Town. Beneath it, Roman warehouses recall the city where Maternus is recorded as first bishop in 313 AD. At the cathedral, the south side reveals the leap from the fortress of faith to the temple of light: Gothic architecture, born at Saint-Denis, shaped by pilgrimage and relics, and battered but unbroken by the air raids of World War II. Inside, Gerhard Richter's window casts a play of coloured light. The tour ends at the cathedral's main portal.

St. Maria im Kapitol Meet in the cloister garden View of the westwork Inside: the carved 11th-century wooden doors and sculptures Walk through the ambulatory of the trefoil choir Outside: a walk around the church, with the trefoil choir seen from the exterior Great St. Martin The Old Town around the church, then and now Archaeological excavations: Roman remains beneath the church Inside: view into the choir and its furnishings Cologne Cathedral The south side: from Romanesque to Gothic Tickets for the interior Stained glass: the south-west windows, the Bavarian windows and Gerhard Richter's window The Shrine of the Three Kings The choir ambulatory and its medieval windows: the meaning of light and the link to Saint-Denis A walk through the interior Farewell at the main portal