These Gothic Cathedrals Took 500+ Years to Build

Across Europe, cityscapes are still dominated by the Gothic cathedrals and churches of the Middle Ages. Built beginning in the 12th century, these massive undertakings often pushed the limits of engineering and took generations to complete. For example, construction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris took nearly two centuries, lasting from 1163 to 1345. Yet for various reasons, ranging from economic downturns to political instability, many Gothic cathedrals were still not completed when the dawn of the Renaissance made them unfashionable. Some remain unfinished to this day, whereas others were only completed relatively recently in the 19th and even 20th centuries. Among them are two of the most iconic and ambitious works of Gothic architecture ever made, both of which took over half a millennium to build. In 1162, the city of Milan lay in ruins. With the exception of some churches, it had been almost completely destroyed by Frederick Barbarossa for rebelling against its overlord. Among the loot taken from the city were what were believed to be the bones of the three wise men. According to tradition, they'd been discovered by Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, while traveling in Palestine around 326 AD. She brought them to Constantinople, from whence they were transferred to Milan soon afterwards. Now, following the fall of the city, they were brought north of the Alps and gifted to Reynald of Dassau, the Archbishop of Cologne. The relics turned Cologne Cathedral into one of the most important pilgrimage sites in all of Christendom, and this necessitated the construction of a larger, more impressive building to house them. So, the decision was made to demolish the old cathedral, a Carolingian building dating to the 9th century, and replace it with a grand new Gothic structure instead. The foundation stone was laid on the 15th of August 1248, and over the following 200 years, construction progressed steadily. The eastern arm was consecrated in 1322, and in the mid-14th century, work commenced on the west front. But before it was completed, the project ground to a halt. In the latter half of the 1400s, progress slowed down considerably, and by 1560, work had come to a complete standstill. The arrival of the Renaissance had rendered the Gothic style outdated, and the steady flow of pilgrims needed to fund the building was interrupted by the Protestant Reformation. When work stopped, the nave and south front remained unbuilt, while one of the planned towers on the west front rose two levels above ground. On top of it, a giant 25 meter tall crane was left standing, becoming a landmark of the city. Years passed, and when the first photographs of the cathedral were taken in the 19th century, the crane was still there, providing much the same view that could have been seen in the Middle Ages. The project had laid dormant for centuries, and it seemed increasingly doubtful whether it would ever be completed. So much time had passed that locals began saying, when the cathedral is finished, the world will end. But attitudes towards Gothic were changing. Having long been despised by classically educated Germans, it began to be seen as a national style, and as something rooted in nature. Already in 1772, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe expressed his admiration of the style, likening Strasbourg Cathedral to a sublimely towering, widespread tree of God, which, with its thousand branches, millions of twigs and leaves, proclaims to the surrounding country the glory of its master, the Lord. By 1790, Georg Forster, a pioneer in publishing books on German medieval architecture, wrote specifically about Cologne Cathedral that, If the mere design, when completed in the mind's eye, can move us so mightily, how overpowering might not the actual structure have been? In the years that followed Forster's remarks, the cathedral was badly damaged under French occupation. It was requisitioned as a granary, ammunition dump, prison, quarry, and even scheduled for demolition. But at the same time, the rise of Romanticism and Nationalism led to an increase of interest in the building, and made it a veritable metaphor for the unfulfilled aspirations of German unity. As a result, more and more calls were made for its completion. The movement was spearheaded by the merchant antiquaries, Sylpice and Melchior Boisserie. Beginning in 1808, the brothers undertook an exhaustive study of the cathedral, and joined the famous architect Schinkel in planning its completion, publishing illustrations of what it could become. Although the Boisseries could not convince Napoleon to fund work on the building, they had more success with the Prussian Crown, which absorbed the Rhineland after the Emperor's defeat in 1815. King Frederick William IV committed to complete the cathedral, hoping to improve relations with his new Catholic subjects. The project was also seen as a national monument, combining a memorial to the liberation wars against Napoleon with a symbol of a future German Empire. In this sense, it superseded the previous scheme by Karl Friedrich Schinkel to construct a vast memorial church in Berlin. Designed in 1814, it proved far too expensive for Prussia's war-torn economy, although its spire later found an echo in a more modest memorial built of cast iron on the city's Kreuzberg hill. In 1842, a second cornerstone was laid, and work on Cologne Cathedral resumed in earnest. It was funded by a civic association known as the Central Dombauferein. Of the enormous costs needed to complete the building, equating to around a billion dollars in today's value, the organization managed to collect two-thirds from private citizens, while the remaining third was provided by the state. With the funding secured, as many as 500 stonemasons could be employed on the building site, and construction progressed quickly. The south facade stood finished in 1855, and eight years later, the nave was completed as well, allowing the partition wall, which had blocked off the choir for 560 years, to finally be dismantled. Work then continued on the west front, from which the building's two giant towers began to emerge. In large part, these additions were not 19th century inventions. The builders were actually guided by the original architectural drawings, made around 1300, which had been rediscovered shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Even in the Middle Ages, builders had not deviated from the original high gothic plan, allowing the structure to be completed with a uniquely uniform appearance. This has led some art historians to describe it as a perfect cathedral. Even so, the builders of the 19th century were not averse to using modern methods and materials. Enormous amounts of iron were used for the roof structure, which would have normally been made of wood, and steam power was used to transport stone. This allowed the cathedral's towers to be finished by 1880. The official completion of the building was celebrated that same year, although some work continued for another two decades. The celebrations were a national event for the newly unified Germany, and took place 632 years after construction had begun. Attended by Kaiser Wilhelm I, they lasted for two days, and involved a great neo-medieval pageant. A long sequence of groups and floats led from the beginning of construction in the High Middle Ages through various stages of the history of Cologne, all the way to the cathedral's completion. It ended with the representation of Germania as a patriotic symbol, and the march passed of military units from Prussia and other German states in their parade uniforms. At the time of its completion, Cologne Cathedral was the tallest building in the world, with a height of 157 meters, or 516 feet. It would keep that title for just four years, until being surpassed by the Washington Monument. But it remains the tallest twin-spired church in the world, and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. Following its destruction by Barbarossa's army, Milan would recover as a prospering center of trade, and one day embark on the construction of its own Gothic Cathedral, capable of rivaling that of Cologne. Although not nearly as tall, Milan Cathedral is the largest church in the Italian Republic, and the third largest in the entire world. Its vast interior takes up 11,000 square meters, or roughly 126,000 square feet, and is capable of holding 40,000 visitors. The walls and niches house more statuary than any other building, a staggering 3,159 images. Of them, over 2,000 can be found on the facade, which combines both Gothic and classical elements accumulated over the course of the cathedral's long and complicated history. Initiated by Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo in 1386, the cathedral replaced two smaller basilicas dating all the way back to the 4th century. The original plan called for a brick building in the local Lombard tradition, but the project was soon taken over by the Lord of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who favored a more ambitious scheme. Aiming to unify Northern Italy into a single kingdom, he wanted the cathedral to be worthy of a rising great power. And so, the building was to be faced with fine marble, and modeled on French and German Gothic, in step with the latest European trends. At Gian Galeazzo's death in 1402, almost half the building was already complete, but progress slowed down in the years that followed. In the mid-1400s, a new family rose to power in Milan, the House of Sforza. Faced with the difficult task of erecting the central cupola, they announced a competition to decide its design. Some of the greatest masters of the Renaissance took part in it, like Donato Bramante, the author behind the famous Tempietto in Rome. Even Leonardo da Vinci submitted a design, and although he later withdrew from the competition, his sketches can still be seen. Construction of the cupola was instead entrusted to the architects Amadeo and Dolce Buono, and carried out in the 1490s. A new phase of the project began under Carlo Borromeo, who served as archbishop in the late 16th century. He sought to subdue its Gothic style, which was now viewed as foreign and even associated with Protestantism, in favor of a design inspired by the churches of Papal Rome. The architect Pellegrino Tibaldi was invited to help realize this ambition. As chief engineer, he made various interventions inside the cathedral, and also drew up a proposal for the facade, which would completely transform the building's appearance along Roman lines. This idea was quite controversial, and by the time of Borromeo's death in 1585, it had still not been implemented. Some work was eventually carried out in the early 1600s, but was interrupted due to technical and financial problems. With the abandonment of Tibaldi's scheme, the discussion regarding the facade of the cathedral would drag out for almost 200 years. During that time, numerous proposals were put forward. In the 1630s, the new chief architect Carlo Buzzi made a compromise, reverting to a Gothic design, while incorporating the already finished classical elements. His plan included two large bell towers, which would have further accentuated the verticality of the entire building. Another approach was offered by Francesco Castelli, who maintained the general shape of Tibaldi's late Renaissance facade, while translating all the individual components into a unique interpretation of Gothic. This trend of creatively adapting and modernizing Gothic would continue in the 18th century. In the lavish decoration and flowing lines of Bernardo Vittone's design from 1766, we can sense the influence of Rococo, whereas Luigi Cagnola's scheme from 20 years later goes to the opposite extreme, and removes all unnecessary ornament in the spirit of 18th century rationalism. Out of all the proposals put forward, none of them had been fully implemented by the end of the 1700s. The front was still a mishmash of exposed brick, Baroque portals and half-finished pillars, and would remain that way until the arrival of Napoleon. In May of 1805, he was crowned King of Italy in the building, and in the euphoria leading up to the event, he ordered the completion of the facade, assuring the Milanese that all expenses would fall to the French treasurer. These payments never arrived, but work got underway, and within just seven years, the cathedral had been transformed, receiving more or less its current appearance. The design largely follows Buzzi's compromise scheme from the 1600s, and was implemented by the architects Carlo Amati and Giuseppe Zanoia. As the century progressed, most of the missing arches and spires were constructed. The statues on the southern wall were also finished, and new stained-glass windows replaced the old ones. But even now, as the building neared its completion, the design was put into question. In 1884, a competition was announced to reconstruct the facade in a purer Gothic style. The winning submission was made by a young Milanese architect called Giuseppe Brentano, who had travelled extensively through Europe to study similar Gothic buildings and refine his project. The jury was generous with its praise, stating that the design was not only better than all the others, but also worthy of being implemented. Orders had been placed for marble, and the scaffolding had been put up, when Brentano suddenly passed away in 1889. His death and the cooling of the initial enthusiasm soon led the undertaking to be abandoned. Work continued on the older plan, and the final details were finished in the 20th century. The inauguration in 1965 of the last bronze portal is considered to mark the end of a process which had proceeded for generations. Made by the sculptor Luciano Minguzzi, the door documents the long history of the cathedral. A product of many centuries of evolution, this building has been both condemned and praised for its aesthetic appearance. John Ruskin remarked that it steals from every style in the world, and that every style is spoiled by it. By contrast, Mark Twain was more favorable, writing What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath. They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to St. Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands. The Gothic cathedrals of Cologne and Milan are by no means alone and haven't been completed long after the Middle Ages. Begun in 1344, St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague was left unfinished when the Hussite Wars broke out in the first half of the 15th century. It was only completed in 1929, with much of the current structure dating from the 19th century. Another noteworthy example is the Ulm Minster in southern Germany. Although not technically a cathedral, it is of a scale worthy of the title. Begun in 1377, it was made to accommodate 20,000 people, greatly exceeding Ulm's entire population at the time. Although most of the church was already complete when work ceased in the 16th century, the towers still remain to be built. When they were added in the 1800s, the main steeple was made 10 meters taller than originally intended, reaching a height of 161 meters or 530 feet. In this way, the Ulm Minster became even taller than Cologne Cathedral, and ever since its completion in 1890, it has been the tallest church in the world. Although not entirely built in the Middle Ages, these cathedrals and churches reflect the spirit and vision of their medieval founders. The sheer scale of these projects could have led them to remain unfinished forever, but thanks to the efforts of generations of engineers, skilled craftspeople and powerful patrons, we today can experience these great works of architecture in their full glory.