ThyssenKrupp Magazin

Every one of the estimated 9 million people who visit Cologne
Cathedral every year is overcome by a feeling of amazement at the
sheer unending mountain of stone that appears to be trying to virtually
touch the sky.
Admittedly humanity has rubbed throughout the ages at what
poet Heinrich Heine described in his “Stänkerreimen” (“Moaning
Rhymes”) as a “Bastille of the spirit.” He did not like the cathedral. To
him, it was a “colossal companion... it towers devilishly black / that is
Cologne Cathedral.”
Indeed, the black aspect of its exterior has not changed, nor has
the fact that the cathedral, from an architectural point of view, is and will
remain a building site. Who would know this better than Barbara
Schock-Werner, the first woman to work in the outstanding office of
cathedral master builder since Jan. 1, 1999?
Building site or not, the master builder first and foremost has clear
principles, of course: “The cathedral is a monument memorial for God.”
It is not a monument to the destruction of war or to the destructive effects
of harmful substances in the environment, nor is it a museum, but
a church, period. This is what it is and will remain.
On this irrefutable premise, it is all the easier to regard the cathedral
as a building site with the most diverse requirements. It is a wonderful
area for materials, for example steel. Schock-Werner has a clear
opinion on this: “Steel is a special product. In the higher sections, in
particular, we like to use stainless steel, since it is the only thing that can
cope with the constant battering by wind and weather.”
The ThyssenKrupp Steel segment will literally make a stabilizing
contribution to the cathedral this year by supplying stainless steel cor-
TK Magazine | 1 | 2004 |
MASTER BUILDER 43
Stainless steel for a revered church
Cologne Cathedral is Germany’s most famous attraction.
Barbara Schock-Werner is the cathedral master builder – “a really marvelous task”
By Heribert Klein | Photos Barbara Klemm
ners. The visitors’ galleries in the south tower in the airy heights of
around 100 meters, daily frequented by thousands of people, need new
steel beams. ThyssenKrupp Steel will deliver them. “The bad weather
has also destroyed these supporting corners,” says the master builder
laconically. On the other hand, the wear and tear is enormous, for the
numerous tourists willingly accept what is merely a challenge to their fitness
and trudge up to this visitors’ gallery step by step. The unrestricted
view across the broad expanse of Cologne over to the horizon, which
appears to be lost in the distance, is worth the physical effort. The
question of why only stainless steel is therefore used throughout the
cathedral, both inside and out, when supporting sections must be replaced,
directs Schock-Werner into fundamental considerations: “All of
our measures aim to make us as superfluous as possible. Or to put it
another way: the material should last as long as possible.”
THE WEATHER HAS DESTROYED SUPPORTING CORNERS
This confirms a pearl of wisdom that is as old as the cathedral itself: If
it is ever completed, then eternity has begun. That could take some
time. Therefore, one is content with its non-completion, and promptly
turns it into a theory like the one the poet Heine had developed: “It was
not completed – and that is good / For the non-completion / Makes it
into a monument to Germany’s power / And Protestant mission.”
The master builder cannot relate to this type of poetry. When she
was elected to her office a few years ago, to the surprise of many external
observers, she was immediately pigeonholed: Catholic, good
head for heights, female, vigorous, vivacious, strong-willed, a whirlwind
who wears the trousers.
The cathedral master builder
pursues a sustainable goal: the
material is supposed to last
as long as possible. A stainless
steel net offers protection to
visitors of the south tower – while
still allowing for a view of both
the interior and the outside.