Gothic Architecture and Cathedrals, Week Eight

The 6-8th graders for this class tried every week of the semester to magically make this class not happen in the medieval period but during the World War 2 period. I've promised them a WW2 class in the future, but made this last class into a study of the gothic architecture and cathedrals that suffered the bombings during WW2. The three cathedrals are the ones located in Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany, and St. Stephan's Dom in Vienna, Austria.

This first map shows the locations of theses three cities and the movement of troops, both Axis and Allies.

The Kölner Dom or Cologne Cathedral: The Epitome of Gothic Grandeur. It's Germany's most visited landmark with 20,000+ visitors a day. Construction began in 1248 and halted in 1473. Work was restarted in the 1800s and the cathedral was finished using the original plans, based on Amiens Cathedral,  in 1880. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe and the largest gothic facade in the world. Housing the reliquary of the Magi, it was a place of pilgrimage and worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. 14 August, 1880, the cathedral was complete and a celebration was had, attended by Kaiser Wilhelm I. The cathedral took 14 direct hits in air raids during the 2nd world war. The twin spires were recognizable and used as an aviation navigational landmark for Allied aircraft. Cologne itself suffered 262 air raids (4,711 tons of bombs dropped by the RAF), and was the site of the first "1,000 bomber raid" by the RAF, codename Operation Millennium. After the war, repairs were completed in 1956. 

Germany's Cologne Cathedral | DW

The Second World War: The Blitz on Cologne

Frankfurter Dom

The Dom in Frankfurt was not a true cathedral despite its name. It is a Kaiserdom, and Imperial Cathedral due to its importance as a former election and coronation church of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a symbol of national unity. The gothic structure was the third church building on this site. It is also called St. Bartholomew's and contains his relics. Between October 1943 and March 1944, Allied forces bombed six times. 

Frankfurter Dom 

Damage to Franfurt was extensive during the Allied Forces bombing campaigns. Here are photos and footage of the aftermath.

Stephansdom, Vienna, Austria
This is probably one of my favorite cathedrals because of the roof.
And one more Rick Steve's video of Stephansdom. 

The roof burned in one of the raids.

And to wrap up the class, a Drone video... which has quickly become a favorite video type for this class. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of this class and hope to do it again.