Cologne’s iconic cathedral will begin charging visitors an entrance fee from the second half of this year, the cathedral chapter announced on Thursday. The charge is intended to help cover rising costs of operating, maintaining and securing the historic site.
Access will remain free for churchgoers, worshippers and members of the Central Cathedral Building Association. Exactly how much tourists will have to pay has not yet been announced.
The 157‑metre (515‑foot) Gothic cathedral, whose construction began in 1248 and was completed in 1880, is one of the few buildings in Cologne to survive World War II. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts about 6.6 million visitors annually. Provost Guido Assmann said tourists account for roughly 99% of the cathedral’s visitors.
The cathedral chapter said the decision follows six consecutive years of financial losses since 2019. “We have reached a point where the reserves of Cologne Cathedral will be depleted in the foreseeable future,” Cathedral Administrator Clemens van de Ven said.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery