Cologne Cathedral's stained glass windows span seven centuries of sacred art, from the earliest surviving 13th-century glass through medieval typological programmes, Baroque restorations, 19th-century historicist cycles, and - most controversially - the 2007 abstract window by Gerhard Richter that ignited one of the most significant debates about sacred art and contemporary aesthetics in recent memory.
The cathedral itself is one of the supreme achievements of High Gothic architecture, begun in 1248 and not completed until 1880 - a project that occupied more than six centuries and became, in its completion, a symbol of German national unity. It is dedicated to the Three Kings (the Magi of Matthew 2:1-12), whose supposed relics are housed in the Shrine of the Three Kings, one of the most magnificent medieval reliquaries in existence and itself a masterpiece of sacred art.
The medieval glass is concentrated in the choir. The Kings Window (Dreikönigskapelle) dates to the early 14th century and depicts the Adoration of the Magi - Matthew 2:11, the scene to which the cathedral is dedicated - in the rich deep blues and reds characteristic of German High Gothic glazing. The Biblia Pauperum windows, which systematically pair Old Testament types with New Testament antitypes in the manner of the Canterbury windows, provided a visual theological education for the medieval congregation.
Most of the medieval glass was removed for safekeeping during the Second World War, and Cologne Cathedral itself was heavily damaged (though not destroyed) in the bombing of the city. The postwar restoration programme replaced lost glass with new designs by major German artists, including windows by Wilhelm Buschulte and Georg Meistermann.
The Richter window, installed in the south transept in 2007, consists of 11,500 small square glass panels in 72 colors arranged by computer-generated random distribution - a pixelated color field that bears no representational content whatsoever. The Archbishop of Cologne objected to the window as inappropriate for a cathedral, preferring representation of Christian saints and martyrs. The cathedral chapter's decision to install it nonetheless reflects the ongoing negotiation between sacred tradition and contemporary art that has characterized Christian visual culture since the postwar period.
Cologne Cathedral is open to visitors in the city center of Cologne, Germany, directly adjacent to the main railway station. The treasury, which houses the Shrine of the Three Kings and other medieval masterpieces, is open separately. The cathedral's position as both an active place of worship and one of Germany's most visited tourist destinations makes it a living example of sacred architecture in contemporary use.