Cologne Cathedral - the eternal construction site

Some 100 meters up in the air, a huge crane removes scaffolding from the northern tower of the impressive Cologne Cathedral. The 25-meter scaffolding that was taken off on Monday July 22, 2013 was put up some 10 years ago after a three-meter piece of stone had fallen from the tower. For that reason, all the iron and metal parts have been replaced with stainless steel.

If the scaffolding had been disassembled while still attached to the tower, the job would have taken six months. With this 750-ton crane, however, it was taken care of in just a few of hours - and also made for quite a spectacle for hundreds of passers-by.

"We are in God's hand," Michael Hauck, the cathedral's master builder, said as his workers attach the scaffolding to the crane. It could have turned into a dangerous undertaking for both the workers and the delicate pinnacles, had the wind blown a bit stronger.

Michael Hauk took the position as the cathedral's master builder about a year ago. He is responsible for 60 craftsmen, including stonemasons, brick layers and stucco plasterers. "I can feel the Cologne Cathedral," Hauck said. He is responsible for its ever aging structure and is there to make sure it doesn't fall apart.

Some part of the cathedral is always covered by scaffolding. There are not many people in Cologne who can actually remember the building completely exposed. "It's just normal," they say, and consider it a symbol for something that's beautiful - even though it hasn’t been finished.

The Cologne Cathedral is both young and old at the same time. Construction started at the beginning of the 13th century, but it came to a halt in 1510 when money was short. The cathedral was lacking towers for some 350 years, as shown in this picture from 1853. It was not until 1880 that the twin towers were erected. They were built according to original Gothic plans from 1248.

Cologne was almost completely destroyed in World War II. The cathedral was hit by at least 70 bombs, but managed to hold out surprisingly well. It took decades to repair the building, but a few scars are still evident. Some of the stained glass has only been replaced with frosted white glass.

Renowned German artist Gerhard Richter created a stained glass window for the cathedral in 2007. Richter reinterpreted the 113-square-meter window in the southern transept that had been destroyed during the war. But not everyone in Cologne was happy about the modern piece of art.

Pigeons are one of the greatest dangers for the cathedral, since their feces damage the delicate sandstone. That's why the cathedral works have adopted a falcon that's responsible for taking care of the pigeons.

For four years, the Cologne Cathedral could boast about being the tallest building in the world, measuring 157 meters. Then in 1884, Ulm finished the Gothic tower on its cathedral. At 161.5-meter, it's the world's tallest church tower, but had to wait 300 years for completion. The trick was to wait until the cathedral in Cologne was finished, so they could make sure it was taller.

Even though it's no longer the tallest cathedral, it's still the most beautiful one for people in Cologne. For 170 years, more than half of the construction costs have been paid by the city - through a foundation that's pushing for the next construction phase. That's important, because there's a saying here that the world will end once the Cologne Cathedral has been finished.