Chapter XII.

Cologne.



Köln, (or Cologne), the principal town in the Rhenish Province of Prussia,
the seat of the supreme court of justice for the west bank of the Rhine,
one of the chief commercial cities in Germany, and a military stronghold
of the first class, is an old Catholic city dating its foundation from the
1st century of the Christian era. In the beginning of the present century,
it had 200 churches and chapels; it has at present 25 only, two of which
are prodestant.



The Cathedral.


The first place that the traveler naturally goes to visit is the
Cathedral, (Ger. Dom), which "is perhaps" says Bædeker, "the most
magnificent Gothic edifice in the world." This superb edifice is over an
acre and a half in extent! It is 448 feet long and 249 feet through the
transepts; the choir is 149 feet high. The magnificent south portal cost
more than $500,000.

The central portal in the west end is 93 feet high, and 31 feet wide. The
central window is 48 feet in height and 20 feet wide. The projected height