Evening star., 1948-10-15
Cathedral in Co|oqne
Is Gods Island Amid
Bubble Left by War

. COLOINE, germany, Oct. IL
(CDN.-The cathedral is still here
You see its two tall Gothic spires
on the horizon miles before you
cross the Rhine on the Patton
Bridge and drive into town through
the ruins.
Cologne Cathedral, with its Sill.
foot spires, is the largest Gothic
church north of the Alps. Wher
you see the crumbled buildings ali
around it, it seems like an act Of
divine providence that it shoulc
still be standing. Windows have
been blown out and the old gray
walls, 600 years in building, have
been Clipped and battered. But
structurally the church is intact
all the more remarkable when you
consider that prime military tar.
get, the main Bahnhof or railway
station, is directly across the street
But the Bahnhof, too. although
battered and roofless, got off much
lighter than the rest of Cologne
which was more than 10 per cent
destroyed The Bahnhcf. is func-
tioning again and there are two OF
three intact hotels open and doing
business in Cathedral Square. But
elsewhere on all sides are toppled
houses and great mounds of rubble
Churches Repaired First.
Local residents call the cathedral
standing impressively amid the
ruins, Gods Island" 1t is now
being patched up by a large gang
of German repairmen. When peace
finally came and 'the bombings
stopped, three years ago, the city
council voted to repair the churches
first. Cologne had 125 churches be-
fore the war. This decision met
with approval of most of the resi-
dents of Cologne, which is n per
cent Catholic.
The, great cathedral, begun in
1248 and finished in 1880, was one
of the first places to be visited by
American soldiers when they fought
their, way into the city on March
s, 1915, The story goes that the
G1s walked up the battered old
steps Of the church. shook hands
with, the vicar, then went back to
fighting In the, Atreets. =, =
The people here, boast that CO.
logne lis the most destroyed big
city in Germany. Observers who
have seen Hamburg are not so sure.
Population Gaining.
In any event, life has surged back
with rush. The population is
$50, 900 now compared to 10000 be-
fore the war. Eau de Cologne, for
which the city is famous, is being
made again. although two of the
perfume company's three factories
were bombed out. This toilet water
ranks among the most important
German exports.
The Ford Motors plant came
through the war practically un-
scathed. 1t and the diesel engine
factory across the river at Deutz
are important elements in the city's
industrial life. The biggest local
industry, however, is the manufac-
ture of land and sea cables.
There. are 20 thriving night clubs
in the city. 652 restaurants, 46 cafes.
Is hospitals, 20 movie theaters, Sc
hotels with 1,500 rooms and a uni
versity.
There is always a traffic Jam at
the Patton Bridge and you have to
wait your turn to cross. It's the
only auto and foot bridge connect
ing the east bank of the Rhine with
the west, on which Cologne stands.
1t was built after the war and
named after tie late Gen. Georps
S. Patton. There is also heavy traf-
flc over a railway bridge, finished
last May.
Cologne, the metropolis of the
Rhine" is under British control. as
1t was after World War I.