Millions of tourists and pilgrims trek to Köln every year to see the famed Dom. Construction of the present Dom took over 600 years to complete, with short breaks due to poverty and war. Despite the destruction of 90% of Köln during WWII, the Dom continued to dominate the Rhine river-front.

The construction and magnificence of the Dom has been a priority for Kölners since the 12^th century for one reason: the reliquary. The Shrine of the Three Magi took 40 years to build and in 1164 became home to relics from the three kings. Specifically, the skulls. Skeptical that these craniums could still be intact since that starry night in the manger? Schedule your personal Köln pilgrimage for January 6^th, Feast of the Epiphany, when the reliquary is open for all to see.

The Dom walls house over 10,000m² of glass! Some of the glass is original from the 13^th century, having been removed and stored before WWII, while other pieces are as new as 2007.

No visit to the Dom is complete without a 500+ step climb to the top of the spire! Somewhere around step #200-ish is the Peter Bell. This monster is the largest working bell in the world, weighing in at 24 tons!