. The long Hohe-strasse of the old town
is the chief business street.

The cathedral or Dom, the principal edifice and chief object of interest
in Cologne, is one of the finest and purest monuments of Gothic
architecture in Europe (for plan, &c. see ARCHITECTURE: _Romanesque and
Gothic in Germany_). It stands on the site of a cathedral begun about
the beginning of the 9th century by Hildebold, metropolitan of Cologne,
and finished under Willibert in 873. This structure was ruined by the
Normans, was rebuilt, but in 1248 was almost wholly destroyed by fire.
The foundation of the present cathedral was then laid by Conrad of
Hochstaden (archbishop from 1238 to 1261). The original plan of the
building has been attributed to Gerhard von Rile (d. c. 1295). In 1322
the new choir was consecrated, and the bones of the Three Kings were
removed to it from the place they had occupied in the former cathedral.
After Conrad's death the work of building advanced but slowly, and at
the time of the Reformation it ceased entirely. In the early part of the
19th century the repairing of the cathedral was taken in hand, in 1842
the building of fresh portions necessary for the completion of the whole
structure was begun, and on the 15th of October 1880 the edifice,
finally finished, was opened in the presence of the emperor William I.
and all the reigning German princes. The cathedral, which is in the form
of a cross, has a length of 480, and a breadth of 282 ft.; the height of
the central aisle is 154 ft.; that of each of the towers 511 ft. The
heaviest of the seven bells (_Kaiserglocke_), cast in 1874 from the
metal of French guns, weighs 543 cwt., and is the largest and heaviest
bell that is rung. In the choir the heart of Marie de' Medici is buried;
and in the adjoining side-chapels are monuments of the founder and other
archbishops of Cologne, and the shrine of the Three Kings, which is
adorned with gold and precious stones. The three kings of Cologne
(Kaspar, Melchior and Balthazar) were supposed to be the three wise men
who came from the East to pay adoration to the infant Christ; according
to the legend, the emperor Frederick I. Barbarossa brought their bones
from Milan in 1162, and had them buried in Cologne cathedral, and
miraculous powers of healing were attributed to these relics. The very
numerous and richly-coloured windows, presented at various times to the
cathedral, add greatly to the imposing effect of the interior. The view