Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1852-11-05
From the New York Tribune.
The Cathedral at Cologne.

We gather from recent German papers some
account OF the progress of this mighty work which
VIII doubtless he OF interest to many of our rca-
dcrS. More than six centuries have rolled away
since the cornerstone of this noble cdicc was laid
with all the imposing ceremonies of the Catholic
Church. For several generations the work pro-
ccedcd, until the lofty choir was finished This
was dedicated, kings and princes being present
and then the work ceased, and for four hundred
years remained untouched even for the repair of
the injuries which time and the clements had
wrought upon it.
In lSl4-l5, the Rhine provinces became defn-
itcly attached TO the crown of Prussia and the
attention of the Government was called to this no.
blcSt monument of tcudal art, and the necessity
of grants of funds, if not TO 90 on with the work
az least TO keep it from entire destruction So
soon as the effects of the long continued wars with
the French were i'll some degree Oblitcratcd and
the prusSian treasury was in a condition to spare
money for such a purpose grant was made to
begin the work of repair. This was in IS25.-
Grants of some S55, 900 annually were made hv
King Frederick William Ill. as long as he lived
until lS40-which WAS no more than sufficient
TO put in nearly complete restoration the finished
part. His successor, the present king, continued
the grant and it was finally determined after the
completion of the repairs, to go on with the work
and complete the cdfcc.
Ofthc whole building, 800 feet long by $50 wide
the transcpt projecting 80 feet on each side, only
the choir, above stated, some | 50 feet of the
rear extremity was finished. The wall of the
north aisle was up, and the magnificent painted
windows in one of the twin towers destined 70
rise 500 feet from the earth, was carried up. per-
hapS 200 feet, the other some 20 only OF the
rest of the cditicc it was found, upon examination
that not even the foundation had been laid But
where should the architect be found of such won
drOuS genius that he could carry out the original
design, with no data but those furnished by the
splendid fragmcnt-the magnificent monument of
one whose name was forgotten Who could sup
pose that the original designs, the very drawings
meant to guide the master workman, might be
still i'll existence Yet ii was so. And, though
no trace can be discovered of the history and char
actcr-ot the name even, of the original master
the plans, through all those long years had sur
vivcd accident and vandalism and were ready at
hand
In 1892 the King of Prussia amid all the pomp
and circumstances of royal and ecclesiastical state
assisted in laying the corner stone of the new work
and from that day to this, amid all the dStrac-
tons of political excitement and revolution stone
after stone has reached its destined place and the
majestic cdifcc with every day has given new
earnest of its destined grandeur and beauty
Those, for instance, who, i'll the last few years,
have had the good fortune to see the work from
time to time, have felt that the day will come
must come, for the full and complete realization
ed them, began the work, and leaving no name
behind, died six hundred years ago!
One of the latest numbers of the Kolnische lei
tung which we have received, contains the follow
inc description of the work:
"The nave of the Cattle dral is fast drawing to-
ward Its completion, and everything makes it
probable that this giant work, whose completion Il
few years since considered impossible, will
stand in its perfection i'll the course Of the nest
roof thrown over the nave some years since, has
suffered so much from the weather that it NAV be
Il cause of injury to the cdificc or even fall in
has had the effect of pushing forward the work
men. After springing the vaulting of the nave
the first arch of which received its last stone few
days since from the hand of the King of Prussia
and the completion of the roof on which the car
pentcrs are already at work, all that will remain
incomplete is the two great towers, of which one
stands already carried up nearly to two-thrds of
the intended height. During the progress of the
work, without and within, the architect has also
made it special object to remove the various
buildings which were crowded around the church
and hid it from view. The prisons and torture
i'll which the inquiSition, under the no.
toriOus Hoogstraten, inclOScd its victims and so
to speak, buried them alive, are already torn a
way; the sacriStv may soon follow since the plan
is already marked out in the northern transept of
a new room to take its place, after the fashion of
tne SacrlstES III ScNerdI Otllcf large CHurCncS-tIc
Minister of Altenberg, for instance. If hereafter !
the parsonage should follow the sacriSty, this mag
nifccnt specimen of architecture would stand forth
free every side approachable from all quarters,
and thus at length be, as it should be, exhibited
to the whole world"
Another number of the same journal gives the
following picture of the activity prevailing about
the Cathedral:
''The progress making in the work is more than
L Z = L |
NJ to those who for some time have not seen the
building. That the work will continue to be pros
ecuted with vigoris evident from the mass Of ma
erials and stones of all dimensions, which have
been brought hithcr within the last few weeks
We have never seen the spaces about the work
shops so crowded with materials since the work
vas resumed. The progress of this noble peerless
work must induce all its friends, and especially
he people of Cologne, TO prove by their active
that their ardOr has not cooed-an ar I
Tor which has its noblest monument in the Won
lrousy beautiful temple itself"