A Picture of Heaven

DW: What is the allure of the Cologne Cathedral in your opinion?

Barbara Schock-Werner: There are two things: the first is the building itself, its size, its perfection and its beauty. But it's also the visitor-friendly management that’s behind it. For example, there's no entry fee -- it's a church and everyone's welcome. We have very long opening hours, from 6:00 am to 7:30 pm. And we make a large effort to have friendly management, group tours, not too many tours at the same time, etc.

What about the building itself attracts people?

The overwhelming space. Go in, sit down -- and your heart rises. It's something that really has an effect on your body and soul. You have imagine that the people in the Middle Ages lived in much smaller spaces and they weren't used to theaters and cinemas, which are matter-of-fact for us today. For them it must have seemed even bigger.

The purpose behind the building was less to glorify the archbishop of Cologne and much more an effort to give the Christians a picture of heaven. When you take your time, sit down and take in the building, you can experience that today as well.

Many people ask why the cathedral constantly seems to be under construction. What do you say to that?

All historical buildings have to be taken care of if they are to be preserved. The Gothic ones are unfortunately the most fragile because their surfaces are so complicated.

The cathedral building foundation and cathedral workshop, which I have overseen since 1999, are there to manage the preservation of the church. These incorporate a staff of 80 people. Thirty of these are craftspeople, including stonemasons, scaffold makers, roofers, locksmiths, carpenters, blacksmiths, electricians and painters.

The cathedral has 8,000 square meters (about 86,000 square feet) of historical glass windows and we have our own glass restoration workshop with 10 staff members. Underneath the cathedral there is an archaeological dig going on and we also have a small team of archaeologists. I'm also in charge of the treasure chamber, the library and the administrators.

What's your annual budget?

Between six and seven million euros (between eight and 9.4 million dollars) a year. That mostly goes for the staff. But the staff is the guarantee that the cathedral will be preserved. They know every crack.

Why is the Cologne Cathedral so black?

Weathering of the stone began around the middle of the 19th century when the majority of the population began heating with coal. Before that, the poor people heated with wood and nothing happened. But when everyone started heating with coal, the sulphur content in the air increased dramatically. That happened in all cities.

In Cologne, in addition, train tracks were laid in direct proximity to the cathedral and for nearly 100 years steam engines drove by the cathedral every day and blew their smoke on the building. That's why the damage to the stone is greater here than in other places. Add to that the brown coal power plants in the western part of the city.

Today, there aren't any steam engines any more, the power plants have been moved and practically no one has individual heating since the whole city uses district heating. The air today is much better and we can be sure that what we replace now will last longer.

The renowned German artist Gerhard Richter recently completed a new stained glass window for the south wing of the cathedral that will be unveiled later this month. Why was Gerhard Richter chosen for the job?

In the field of contemporary glass painting, I couldn't find a solution to the window that fit the cathedral's status. I hadn't initially thought of Richter for the project, because he's not generally associated with glass windows. But then we met at a reception and suddenly I thought, Gerhard Richter must be able to do it. He has a relationship to the Catholic Church, he lives in Cologne, and he's worked both representationally and ornamentally. He's extremely sensitive and his work is of an incredibly high quality. I asked him, he said yes and now we've been working on the project for five years. We're very pleased that it's nearly completed.

Legend has it that the cathedral wasn't destroyed during World War Two. Is this true?

No, that's one of the cathedral's pious legends. The fact is, it was hit hard 14 times and suffered heavy damages but stayed standing. That must have been an incredible symbol for the people. They came out of their basements and shelters and the cathedral was still standing, even though the rest of the city had been flattened.

What's it like to be a woman in your job?

I had the better qualifications. I am an architect and an art historian and that’s why they chose me. I'm the first woman with my special title, but I'm not the first woman doing this job. There are women in similar positions at the churches in Ulm, Freiburg, Strasbourg, Nuremberg and Magdeburg, but they have different titles.

My predecessor was quite respected in his position and I think it was easier for a woman to follow him than for a man, because we weren't in direct competition.

Click on the link below to read what visitors had to say about the Cologne Cathedral.