Cologne Cathedral, a famous German monument and popular tourist attraction, will start collecting entrance fees from visitors, as church authorities struggle with the rising costs of its upkeep. TASR informs about it according to the report of the press agency DPA.
The Chapter of the Catholic Cathedral announced that will start collecting entrance fees in the second half of the year, but did not specify the exact amount. The twin-towered cathedral towers over Cologne’s main train station, next to the Rhine River, and dominates the city’s skyline. The construction of the Gothic cathedral began in 1248, the tabernacle was completed only in 1880. In 1996, the monument was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Approximately six million people visit the cathedral annually.
Inflation and rising personnel costs have led to constant increases in building maintenance prices. The cathedral plans to spend approximately 16 million euros this year. At the same time, reserves that were used to fill funding gaps in recent years have been largely depleted, partly because paid visits to the cathedral’s towers and treasury were not possible for an extended period of time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
People entering the cathedral to attend services and prayers will be exempted from the entrance fee. The dean of the cathedral, Guido Assmann, said tourists make up about 99 percent of visitors.
