Cologne Cathedral

Image: Wikimedia Commons

On the banks of the Rhine, Cologne Cathedral was conceived as an immense stone reliquary for the relics of the Three Kings, the Magi of Bethlehem, brought from Milan in 1164 by Archbishop Rainald von Dassel. Behind the high altar shines their golden shrine, crafted around 1190-1220 in the workshop of Nicholas of Verdun, the largest goldsmith's work of the European Middle Ages. The Gothic cathedral begun in 1248 to house it was completed only in 1880, its twin spires rising 157 metres; a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has drawn pilgrims following the star of the Magi for more than 850 years.