Cologne’s most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an “exceptional work of human creative genius”, is its cathedral. Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete, a period of over 600 years. The cathedral is one of the world’s largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. The most celebrated work of art in the cathedral is the Shrine of the Three Kings, a large gilded sarcophagus dating from the 13th century, and the largest reliquary in the Western world.
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