Ĭologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit for its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. The edifice was completed to its original Medieval plan in 1880. Attempts to complete the construction began around 1814 but the project was not properly funded until the 1840s.

Ĭonstruction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 but was halted in the years around 1560, unfinished. The choir has the largest height-to-width ratio, 3.6:1, of any medieval church. The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world. It is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires. At 157 m (515 ft), the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group was also crossing the last natural barrier into the Ruhr Area.Cologne Cathedral ( German: Kölner Dom, pronounced i, officially Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus, English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. Prelude ĭuring the final weeks of March, American forces were racing into Germany, with George Patton's 3rd Army crossing the Rhine river and the 1st Army fighting for the Remagen bridgehead.

He was the highest ranking US General to be killed in action on the Western Front of World War II. Most notably the commander of the 3rd Armored Division Major General Maurice Rose was killed in an ambush outside of Paderborn on March 30. The Battle of Paderborn occurred during the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

Tank battle in cologne