Germany · North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne Cathedral

North Rhine-Westphalia emerged after the Second World War. In 1946, the British military government united the northern part of the former Prussian Rhine Province (Rheinprovinz) with the Province of Westphalia (Provinz Westfalen); the state of Lippe was added in 1947. Düsseldorf became the state capital, while Köln is the most populous city in the federal state. The combination of Rhenish, Westphalian and Lippe regions characterizes the state’s federal structure.

Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Cologne (Erzbistum Köln). Construction began in 1248 on the site of older churches. One reason for the new construction was the safekeeping of the relics of the Three Kings, which Archbishop Rainald von Dassel had brought from Milan to Köln in 1164. The Shrine of the Three Kings (Dreikönigenschrein), which is located in the choir of the church, was created for them. As a result, Köln developed into a much-visited pilgrimage site.

After several centuries, construction work largely came to a standstill. It was not resumed until the 19th century, taking into account surviving medieval plans. In 1880, the cathedral was considered complete. At the time, its completion was also understood as a national event in the German Empire (Deutsches Reich), founded in 1871. During the Second World War, the building suffered damage, but remained standing despite the extensive destruction of central Köln. Since 1996, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The issue was not primarily connected with a single cathedral anniversary. It was part of the German 2-euro series “Bundesländer”, which had begun in 2006. In this series, each of the 16 federal states is represented by a building or landmark. The order was generally based on the rotating presidency of the Bundesrat, the representation of the federal states at the national level. Nordrhein-Westfalen held the Bundesrat presidency during the period in which the issue appeared. The choice of the cathedral thus linked the federal representation of the state with a building closely associated with the history of Köln, Catholic Rhineland and German architectural history.