Cathedrals and churches of the Rhine . itects of to-day do not build with thesame simplicity and grace that they did ofold, and these little out-of-the-way gems ofarchitecture are far more satisfying than aresimilar erections of to-day. 231 XXV COLOGNE AND ITS CATHEDRAL No Stranger ever yet entered Cologne with-out going straight to see its mighty Gothiccathedral. Three things come to him forcibly,— the fact that it was only completed in recentyears, the great and undecided question as towho may have been its architect, and the Legend of the Builder, as the story isknown. There are two legends
Cathedrals and churches of the Rhine . itects of to-day do not build with thesame simplicity and grace that they did ofold, and these little out-of-the-way gems ofarchitecture are far more satisfying than aresimilar erections of to-day. 231 XXV COLOGNE AND ITS CATHEDRAL No Stranger ever yet entered Cologne with-out going straight to see its mighty Gothiccathedral. Three things come to him forcibly,— the fact that it was only completed in recentyears, the great and undecided question as towho may have been its architect, and the Legend of the Builder, as the story isknown. There are two legends of the cathedral andits builders which no visitor will ever forget. The Architect of Cologne Mighty was Archbishop Conrad de Hoch-steden, for he was lord over the chief cityof the Rhine, the city of Cologne; but histhoughts were troubled, and his heart washeavy, for, though his churches were richbeyond compare in relics, yet other towns nothalf so large or powerful as his had cathedralswhose fame extended over Europe, and whose 232. .^ w o oo Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine beauty brought pilgrims to their shrines, profitto the ecclesiastics, and business to the towns-people. After many sleepless nights, there-fore, he determined to add to his city the onlything wanting to complete it, and, sending forthe most famous architect of the time, he com-missioned him to draw the plans for a cathe-dral of Cologne. Now the architect was a clever man, buthe was more vain than clever. He had avague idea of the magnificence which he de-sired to achieve without a clear conceptionof how he was to do it, or without the willto make the necessary sacrifices of labour, care,and perseverance. He received the commis-sion with great gladness, and gloated for somedays upon the fame which would be his asthe builder of the structure which the arch-bishop desired; but when, after this vision ofglory, he took his crayons to sketch out thedesign, he was thrown into the deepest de-spondency. He dr
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