Hildebold Cathedral

The exact start of construction remains uncertain due to sparse historical sources. One interpretation places it after the death of Archbishop Hildebold (818) and before 857; others date the beginning to around 850 under Archbishop Gunthar. Since Gunthar was excommunicated in 863, he was excluded as patron and namesake, and the church was retrospectively attributed to his predecessor Hildebold. Archbishop Willibert was buried here on 11 September 889.

The nave stretched 97.50 m, with transepts at both ends. Both the eastern and western terminations of the three-aisled basilica featured an apse with its own crypt — the Marian Choir to the east and the Choir of St Peter to the west. Before 965, Archbishop Bruno I added one aisle to each side, expanding the building to five aisles.

During a storm on 15 September 857, lightning struck the cathedral and caused severe damage, killing three people. When the Vikings ravaged the city between December 881 and January 882, the cathedral was one of the few buildings left standing.

In 1164, Archbishop Rainald of Dassel transferred the relics of the Three Kings to Cologne. At the time, the city — with nearly 50,000 inhabitants — was the most important and wealthiest city in the Holy Roman Empire, and a centre of goldsmithing and relic trade. The relics were kept in the Old Cathedral in the Shrine of the Three Kings.

With the approval of Archbishop Conrad of Hochstaden, the decision to demolish the cathedral was made on 13 April 1248. Workers undermined the eastern walls, propped them with timber, and deliberately set fire to the supports on 30 April 1248 to bring them down. Strong winds caused the fire to rage out of control, destroying the cathedral down to its remaining walls — though the Shrine of the Three Kings was saved. On 15 August 1248, Conrad of Hochstaden laid the foundation stone of the present Cologne Cathedral in the presence of the anti-king William of Holland.