ClIAP. IV.

POINTED.
249
of tlie new fabric was laid with great solemnity on the 14tli of August, being the eve
of the Assutnption of the Blessed Virgin. Collections were made tliroughout Europe for
carrvin"- on the works, and the wealth of Cologne itself seems to have favoured the hope
I hat' its founder liad exjiressed of their continuation. The misfortimes of the times soon,
however, began to bHiii^h tlie fla;tering expectation, that tlie works would be lontimud to
the com| letion of the building. The arehbishoiis of Cologne dissipated their treasures in
unprofitable wars, and idtimately abandoned tiie city allogaher, fur a residence at Bonn.
The works do not, however, appear to have been interrupted, though they proceeded but
slowly. On the '-!7tli of September, in tlie year 13'i2, seventy-four years after the first
stone liad been laid, the choir was consecrated. Tlie works were not long continued with
activity, for about 1370 the zeal of the faitliful was very much damped by finding th:it
Teat abuses liid crept intc tne dispcsal of the funds. The nave and southern tower
continued rising, thougli ilowly. In 14:37, the Litter had been raised to the third
story, and the bells vere moved to it. In the beginning of the Ifitb century, thf;
nave wns brouiiht up to the height of tlie capitals of the aisles, aiid the vaulting
of the north aisle was commenced; the northern tower was carried on to the cor-
responding height ; and everything seemed to indicate a steady jjroseeution of the work,
though the age was fast approaching in which the style was to l;e forgotten. The windon-s
in tlie north aisle were decorated, thougli not in strict accordance with the style, yet with
some of the finest specimens of painted glass that Europe can boast, a work executed under
the patronage of the archbishop Hermann von Hesse, of the chapter, of the city, and of many
noble families wlio are, by their armorial bearings, recorded in these windows. But with
these works the further progress of the building was entirely stopped, about 1509. Fig.
'251 exhibits the sjiith elevation of the cathedral, in which the darker parts show tli^j
executed work. If the reader reflect on the dimensions of this church, whose length is
upwards of 500 ft., and width with the aisles 'iSO ft.
;
the length of whose transepts is 290
ft. and more ;
that the roofs are more than 200 ft. high, and the towers when tinished would
have been more than 500 ft. on bases 100 ft. wide
; he may easily imagine, that, notwith-
standing all the industry and activity of a very large number of workmen, the works of a
structure planned on so gigantic a scale, could not proceed otherwise than slowly, especially
as the stone is all wrought. The stone of which It is built is from two places on the Rhine,
Koeni"-swinter and Unckel-Bruch, opposite the Seven Mountains, from boih of which the
"transport was facilitated by t!ie water carriage afforded by the Rhine. The foundations of
the .southern tower are known to be laid at least 4 4 ft. below the surface
574. To King Frederick "William III. is due tlie merit of rescuing It from the state of a
ruined fragment. During his reign nearly 50,000/. were laid out upon It, chiefly in repairs
;
and in that of his successor, Frederick William IV., 225,000/., more than halt' of which was
contributed by the King, the rest by public subscription. In 184i he laid the foundatior.
of the transept. The choir is now finished. The late architect, Zwlrner, estimated the
cost of completing the whole at 7.">0,000/. In Septeniljer, 148, the nave, aisles, and tran-
S3pts were consecrated and thrown open
;
the mag.-.ificent south portal was finished 1859, at
a cost of 100,000/. The north portal, more simple in detail, is also completed
;
both are fioni
Zwirner's designs. The iron central spire and iron roof of the nave were added 186'0-62,
and the whole, except the towers, nearly finished 1865. The faulty stone, from the Dra-
chenfels, on the exterior, has been replaced by another of a .sounder texture, of \olcanic
origin, brcnight from Andernach and Treves.
The height of the towers when finished will be
5:i J ft., equal to the length of the church, whose
breadth, 2:51 ft., corresponds with that of the
gable at the west end. The ch.oir is 161 ft. high.
5~5. The cathedral at Ulm
(.
258.) is
another of the many celebrated cathedrals ol'
Germany : it was commenced in 1:577, and
continued, the tower excepted, to 1494. It is
about 416 ft. long, lO'O" ft. wide, and, including
the thickness of the vaulting. 141 ft. Idgh.
The piety of the citizens of Ulm moved them
to the erection of this structure, towards which
they would not accept any contribution from
foreign princes or cities; neither would they
accept any remission of taxes nor indulgences
from tlie pojie. The whole height of the tower
is .SI 6 ft. in.
;
it was stopped 14 92 because
(he two pillars under it, on the side next the
liody of the church, gave way. Had It been finished according to the original design (.still
in existence), it would have been 491 ft. The exterior length is 455 ft.
;
interior, .39 1 ft.
The nave and choir arc partlv built of brick. The na\c i-, 1)0'
ft. high, and has twelve