History and art, like architecture, broaden Yunluo and Yan Chenyu's horizons and enrich their hearts. Every journey brings Yunluo and Yan Chenyu many unexpected gains.

It could be a new interpretation of history or a new understanding of architecture. It was time for Yunluo and Yan Chenyu to enjoy their trip with their stomachs and taste buds, and a rich dinner was naturally an indispensable enjoyment.

Maybe Yunluo's friends will not come to this place when they travel to Germany, so Yunluo wants to show this seemingly unknown place to everyone. Many details in Hanover are worthy of the pride of the people in the city, so Yunluo saw these through traveling, and this is the meaning of traveling here.

Before writing about Cologne to myself and my friends, Yunluo sat quietly in front of the window, watching the sunshine on the road and the branches of the poplars swaying in the wind. Comparing the port city of Hamburg, the fairytale town of Bremen and the ancient and modern Berlin in the previous few days, what is Cologne like?

How can Yunluo present a more real and tangible Cologne to everyone? Looking at the photos of Cologne in the album, he told himself firmly that it is the architecture. For Cologne, it is the architecture that best reflects the soul of this nation.

Thinking back to the day when they were on the train from Hanover to Cologne, Yunluo wrote down the travel notes on Longlypla. Longlypla was indeed a very helpful blue book for Yunluo and Yan Chenyu. Not only did they get a lot of travel information from it, but Yunluo also had a habit.

That is, write down the specific feelings of each place next to the corresponding introduction in the book. For example, whether the hotel and restaurant chosen by Yunluo are as satisfactory as described in the book; Yunluo's personal views on some landscapes in the city, and of course some unsatisfactory places.

Deutsche Bahn ICE854 was from Berlin to Cologne. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu boarded the train at Hannover, where it stopped. They captured the train's highest speed of 199kmh in the carriage. It was already 10pm when they arrived in Cologne.

Cologne Railway Station is in the city center and has all the modern facilities. Yunluo likes the luggage storage boxes at German railway stations, which are usually charged per hour or every few hours. It is very convenient to store luggage at the railway station for a few euros.

It just so happens that it is the group stage of the World Cup finals. The railway station is also actively creating an atmosphere for this football event, with large posters, TV boxes and large projection screens, attracting many passengers and fans to stop and appreciate and take photos.

The first thing Yunluo said when he walked out of the train station was: Where is the Cologne Cathedral? His companion replied, Look up, there is a church spire that rises into the sky and pierces into the darkness in the night. Yunluo can't see the top. Wow. It turns out that this long-awaited majestic Gothic church is at the west exit of the train station.

He unexpectedly appeared in front of Yunluo and Yan Chenyu. Back at the hotel, they spent the night in silence, hoping to get up early tomorrow morning to see the majestic Cologne Cathedral again.

Cologne Cathedral, whether in books or on the Internet, cannot be described in a few words from the perspective of architecture and history. One cannot help but feel that this church, this magnificent building, is like solidified poetry, tangible thoughts, and tangible culture. It also carries the breath of history that has not disappeared.

Archaeological discoveries show that the original site of the church was an ordinary residence during the Roman Empire occupation. From the end of the 4th century or the beginning of the 5th century AD, small-scale churches began to be built on this location.

After that, the church was continuously expanded and renovated until an old church was officially completed on September 27, 873 AD, which is the predecessor of today's Cologne Cathedral. This church was almost completely destroyed in a fire. Today's Cologne Cathedral was built in 1248. It took more than 600 years until it was completed in 1880.

If the retro style had not swept Europe in the 19th century, this Gothic classic would probably never have been completed. Because of its 157-meter-high bell tower, it is also known as the church closest to God.

In addition to its own unique value and the artistic value it contains, it also shows the strength and endurance of European Catholicism. In 1942, during World War II, the British and American joint air forces bombed Germany. Cologne is located on the banks of the Rhine River. Its downstream hinterland is a concentrated area of ​​chemical industry, and it became one of the cities most severely bombed.

At the end of the war, 90% of the old town of Cologne was destroyed. However, due to the request of the German Catholic Church through the Vatican, this ancient church was spared from bombing. Although the Cologne Cathedral was not destroyed, it was hit by more than ten bombs from the Allies, leaving some traces of damage.

Gothic architecture is an architectural style that flourished during the peak and end of the Middle Ages. It developed from Romanesque architecture and was inherited by Renaissance architecture. It originated in France in the 12th century and lasted until the 16th century. Its architectural features include pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses.

Particularly noteworthy are the towering spires and the huge colorful glass paintings on the windows. In addition to the Cologne Cathedral, the most famous Gothic buildings in the world include the Cathedral of Our Lady in Russia, the Milan Cathedral in Italy, the Westminster Abbey in the UK, and the Notre Dame de Paris in France.

Cologne Cathedral is so large that it covers an area of ​​8,000 square meters, with a construction area of ​​about 6,000 square meters. It is 144.55 meters long from east to west and 86.25 meters wide from north to south, which is equivalent to the area of ​​a football field. It is composed of two tallest towers as the main gates, and a cross-shaped plane as the main building complex inside, which is generally a long corridor of a church.

Most cathedrals have three east-west corridors, which intersect with the north-south corridors at the altar to form a cross. However, Cologne Cathedral is a rare five-courtyard building, with a high and wide interior space, and a high tower that draws people's sight to the sky. Its sky symbolizes people's desire to communicate with God. It was built from 1864 when Cologne issued lottery tickets to raise funds until it was completed in 1880.

It was constantly raised and widened, and the building was made entirely of polished stones. A total of 160,000 tons of stone were used to build it like a stalagmite, and the entire project consumed a total of 400,000 tons of stone.

But every towering small and exquisite spire, graceful lines, and gorgeous ceilings, the lines are so beautiful that it is difficult to describe. The beauty of architecture is described as graceful.

It is indeed a little unrealistic, but in Yunluo's eyes, one stroke more is not enough, one stroke less is not enough, and the softness can exude an immeasurable power. It is probably difficult to use a general word like masterpiece to praise such a grand architectural scene.

There are also several stone reliefs in the church, depicting the story of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Cologne Cathedral houses many precious works of art and cultural relics, including thousands of design drawings of the cathedral at that time. The sheepskin drawings used by the first architect Hard when designing the church are still preserved.

It provides important data for the study of 13th century architecture and decorative art. There are also the remains of the Three Holy Kings from the East who came to worship the newborn Jesus, which are placed in a large golden box on the altar. There is also the oldest giant Bible, a larger-than-life crucifix of Jesus, and countless exquisite stone sculptures inside and outside the church.

There is also a wood sculpture of "Christ on the Cross" from the 11th century Ottonian dynasty in Germany in the church. It became the forerunner of Gothic art and had a significant impact on later sculptures.

The total area of ​​windows on the four walls of the church is more than 10,000 square meters, all of which are filled with stained glass depicting biblical characters, known as the French flame style, which makes the church look more solemn. It is said that these pictures are so beautiful, but only four colors are used, and they are very particular: gold-represents that mankind has a shared heaven.

It means light and eternity; red represents love; blue represents faith; green represents hope and the future. I don't know if this is true, but under the reflection of the sun, these glasses are shining with golden light and colorful, which is indeed a unique landscape in the church.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Every pillar and window is filled with the changes of more than 600 years of history, and every sculpture records the most profound and profound essence of Christian doctrine. In the extremely pure and sacred music, the originally impetuous mood suddenly became as calm as water.

Yunluo and Yan Chenyu walked through this renovated corridor and climbed the bell tower from the church basement. The church bell tower has 509 steps, where you can see the world's largest church bell and enjoy the view of the Rhine River and the magnificent city of Cologne. Interestingly, since the completion of the church.

The Cologne City Government stipulated that all buildings in the city must not be taller than churches, resulting in the unusual phenomenon that many buildings in Cologne have only seven or eight floors above ground, but as many as four or five floors underground.

We climbed up the spiral staircase to the bell tower. The walls were covered with graffiti, mostly in various languages, about visitors' visits.

Walk to the part of the church, where there is a large observation deck. Looking down, you can see the whole Cologne. Of course, the most beautiful thing is the Rhine River, the bridge, and the buildings near the river bank.

Walking out of the church, I found that the whole church was gray-brown, and half of the left tower (north tower) was silver-white. Under the sunlight, one was bright and white, and the other was gray and dusty, which made them very different. It turned out that Cologne was the most important industrial base in Europe and the largest lignite production base in Germany.

The acidic air corrodes every stone of the church, so the cathedral was built only 160 years ago, but due to long-term pollution and corrosion from industrial waste gas and acid rain, the twin towers turned from their original silver-white to dark brown.

In order to restore the original architectural style of the church, the local cultural relics department used the water of the Rhine River to bathe the 157-meter-high twin towers. Although it cannot restore the original brightness and brightness, it is much fresher than before. Later, the Cologne City Council learned about it and decided to keep the twin towers in the polluted dark brown color to draw the world's attention to environmental protection work and enhance people's environmental awareness. (To be continued...)

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