I'm posting it simply because it's magnificent.
One of the great monuments of the world is the Cathedral of Cologne. Some have called it the grandest in the world. Look at the picture and you will be able to pick out nearly all the Gothic features we have described the towers with spires, the many pinnacles, including the large one marking the place where the nave and transepts cross, the pointed windows rich with tracery, the apse in the rear, and the many buttresses' and flying buttresses. Cologne Cathedral was begun in 1248 and, with many periods of inactivity, was finally finished in 1880. The exterior is rich in sculptured ornament, and the imposing interior is lighted by stained-glass windows. There is no cathedral that so entirely dominates a town as this one. You will probably never forget the day you first arrive there on the train, particularly if you are lucky enough to come in as the sun is setting behind the great mass of the cathedral. Cologne is one of the quaintest of cities and coming as it usually does before or after a Rhine journey, it always leaves pleasant memories.
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