Crossing Tower of Cologne Cathedral
The crossing tower is the third tower of Cologne Cathedral, built in 1860 as a wrought-iron structure above the crossing. Between 1965 and 1973 it received its present, Art Déco-inspired form featuring eight angel figures.
Above the crossing of Cologne Cathedral – where nave and transept meet – rises an often-overlooked third tower. Unlike the famous west towers, it was not based on medieval plans but built only in 1860 as a delicate iron structure, later re-clad in a modern style during the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Location
- above the crossing, where nave and transept intersect
- Height
- about 110 metres above the church floor
- Built
- erected in 1860, completed in spring 1861
- Design
- cathedral architect Ernst Friedrich Zwirner, plans by Richard Voigtel
- Structure
- wrought-iron frame made of 214 tonnes of iron
- Redesign
- re-clad 1965–1973 in an Art Déco style
- Special feature
- a gilded star instead of a cross at its tip
From Ridge Turret to Crossing Tower
As early as the late Middle Ages, the choir roof – completed in 1322 – carried a ridge turret. For a true crossing tower, however, no medieval building plans existed, unlike for most other parts of the cathedral. In 1744 the turret was rebuilt in Baroque style and held two bells. But the timber became worm-eaten, a load-bearing beam broke, and the structure increasingly leaned to the south-west. A commission examined the damage in 1811, and in 1812 the French prefect ordered its demolition.
Sulpiz Boisserée, an early champion of completing the cathedral, was convinced that the medieval builders had already envisaged a solid central tower. In his 1821 work he presented an "ideal view" of the finished cathedral crowned by an octagonal stone tower. This vision proved impossible to realise: the crossing piers were only lightly built and could not have borne the weight of a stone tower.
A Structure Made of Iron
When construction resumed from 1842, the question of the crossing tower arose anew. In 1853 Zwirner submitted four designs to the Prussian supervisory authority. Three called for massive stone towers and were rejected as too heavy – there were fears the eastern crossing piers could collapse. Only the fourth, a lighter metal structure, won approval thanks to its lower weight, better fire protection, greater durability and lower cost. A royal cabinet order sanctioned construction in 1855.
Richard Voigtel drew up the plans and structural calculations in 1858/59. A strict limit on the load placed on the old piers required a design of rolled sheet plates and profiled iron rather than heavy cast iron. Like the iron roof truss of the nave, the tower was built and assembled by the Cölnische Maschinenbau-Actien-Gesellschaft of Cologne-Bayenthal. On 15 October 1860 Zwirner placed the gilded star on the top; by spring 1861 the tower was clad and complete.
A Star Instead of a Cross
At the tower's tip sits a copper finial – but it is crowned not by a cross but by a gilded star, a symbol of the Nativity and of the Three Kings, whose relics are kept in the cathedral. Shaped as an icosahedral star, it measures about 1.80 metres and has a gilded surface of roughly 3.25 square metres. A document was placed inside the finial when the tower was completed in 1861.
War Damage and Modern Redesign
The Second World War badly damaged the neo-Gothic zinc-cast decoration, while the iron core survived almost unscathed. Investigations in the late 1950s found the iron structure remarkably sound. For the new cladding, the decision in 1958 was to move away from 19th-century historicism toward a modern design inspired by Art Déco. Rich ornament was abandoned, and the roof surfaces were given dormers instead.
The most striking element of the redesign is a set of eight large angel figures that replace the former pinnacle-gables at the base of the spire. They consist of a larchwood core clad in lead and go back to a design by cathedral sculptor Erlefried Hoppe; Hubert Bruhs made the wooden cores in 1964/65. The angels were installed in 1967. Because ever more urgent sealing work elsewhere on the cathedral kept intervening, the works dragged on until 26 January 1973.
Good to Know
- The drum houses a wooden bell frame with the cathedral's choir peal, including the Angelus, Consecration and Matins bells. The Angelus and Consecration bells already rang together in the Middle Ages and are considered the oldest fully preserved peal in Europe.
- The platform holds Cologne's highest trigonometric point, established in 1867 as part of the European Arc Measurement.
- A twelve-metre aluminium ladder leads into the spire; it can be raised and lowered by a radio-controlled electric winch and, when retracted, seals the entry opening.
- Not everyone is a fan: Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect of Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral, called the modern tower a foreign body and compared it to a "wart".
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-08-25
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