Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/151

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COLOGNE


117


COLOGNE


the Bold, who, in alliance with Archbishop Ruprecht, sought to bring the city again under archicpiscopal rule. It also suppressed domestic uprisings (for in- stance in 1181 and 1512). Throughout this period the city retained its place as the first city of the Ger- man Empire, in which learning, the fine arts, and the art of printing were vigorously cultivated.

In the religious upheavals of the sixteenth century, Cologne remained true to Catholic doctrine, thanks chiefly to the activity of the university, where such men as Cochlaeus, Ortwin Gratianus, Jacob of Hoog- straeten, and others taught. Under their influence, the city council held fast to Catholic tradition and en- ergetically opposed the new doctrines, which foimd many adherents among the people and the clergj-. Cologne remained a stronghold of the old beliefs, and gave active support to the Counter- Reformation (q. v.), which found earnest champions in Johannes Gropper, the Jesuits, Saint Peter Canisius, and others. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were a time of decadence for the city; its importance diminished especially after the Thirty Years War (1618—18) in which it was loyal to the emperor and the empire, and was never captured. The university eventually lost its prestige, because through over-caution it opposed the most justifiable reforms; trade was diverted to other channels ; only its ecclesiastical glory remained to the city, which was governed by a narrow-minded class of tradesmen and often suffered from the dissen- sions between council and citizens (in 1679-86 and the bloody troubles cau.sed by Nicholas Giilich). The out- break of the French Revolution found it a community with but slight power of resistance. The French entered Cologne, 26 October, 1794, and the citizens were soon severely oppressed by requisitions, forced loans, and contributions. On 27 September, 1797,theoldcitycon- stitution was finally annulled, the French administra- tive organization established, and the city made a part of the French department of the Roer of which Aix-la- Chapelle (.Vachen) was the capital. The university was discontinued in 1798; it had dragged out a mis- erable existence owing to the establishment of the University of Bonn and the confused policy of the last archbishops. After the downfall of French domina- tion in Germany, Cologne was apportioned by the Congress of Vienna to the Kingdom of Prussia. It was made neither the seat of the government of the Rhenish Province, nor the seat of the university, but it was restored to its rank of metropolitan see, and in the nineteenth century, under Prussian rule, became the third largest city of Prussia and attained unusual prosperity, economic, intellectual, and ecclesiastical.

Only brief ecclesiastical statistics can be given here. In 1907, besides the archbishop and assistant bishop, there were in Cologne 214 priests, of whom 24 were members of the cathedral chapter and 38 were parish priests, and 128 others engaged in pastoral occupations. There are 12 Dominicans and 9 Franciscans. The two deaneries of the city embrace 39 parLsh, and 3 military, churches; in addition to the 39 parish churches, there are 22 lesser churches and 26 chapels. Religious societies are numerous and powerful; among more than 400 religious societies and brother- hoods we may mention: Societies of Saint Vincent, Saint Elizabeth, and Saint Charles Borromeo, Marian congregations for young men and for young women, rosary confraternities, A.ssociations of the Holy Child- hood, Holy Family, of Christian Mothers, etc. Among the trades organizations the most powerful are the four Catholic Gcsellenvereine, with 4 hospices and IS Catholic workingniens' unions. The male religious orders and congregations are represented by Domini- cans, Franci.scans, Alexian Brothers, Brothers of Charity, and Brothers of .Saint Francis; the female orders and congregations by Sisters of Saint Benedict, the Borromean Sisterhood, the Cellites, Sisters of Saint Dominic, Sisters of Saint Francis, Sisters of


the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, the Ursulinc Sisters, and Sisters of Saint Vincent; a total of 43 religious houses with about 1140 inmates. The Alexian Brothers, the Brothers of Charity, and the Brothers of Saint Francis, as well as almost all the female religious orders, conduct numerous charitable and educational institutions.

Among the churches of Cologne, the foremost is the cathedral, the greatest monument of Gothic archi- tecture in Germany. Its corner-stone was laid by Archbishop Conrad of Hostaden, 14 August, 1248; the sanctuary was dedicated in 1322 ; the nave made ready for religious services in 1388; the southern tower was built to a height of about 180 feet in 1447; then the work of building was interrupted for almost four hundred years. During the French Revolution the cathedral was degraded to a hay barn. In the nine- teenth centurj- the work of building was resumed, thanks above all to the efforts of Sulpice Boisseree, who excited the enthusiasm of the Crown Prince, afterwards King Frederick William IV, for the com- pletion of the work. The restoration was begun in 1823 ; in 1842 the Cathedral Building Society was founded, and generous contributions from all parts of Germany resulted. The interior was finished 15 October, 1863, and opened for Divine service; and 15 October, 1880, the completion of the entire cathedral was appropriately celebrated in the pres- ence of the German emperor. The whole edifice covers an area of about 7370 square yards; it has a nave 445 feet long, five aisles, and a transept 282 feet wide with three aisles; the height of the nave is about 202 feet, that of the two towers, 515 feet. Among the niunerous works of art, the most famous are the picture ^Dombihl) painted by Stephen Loch- ner about 1450, the triptych over the high altar, the 96 choir seats of the sanctuary, and the shrine in which arc kept the relics of the Three Kings in the treasury of the sacristy. The last is considered the most remarkable medieval example of the goldsmith's art extant. Among the other churches of the city, the most noteworthy of those dating from the Roman- esque period are Saint Gereon, Saint Ursula, Saint Mary in the Capitol, Saint Pantaleon, and the church of the Apostles; from the Transition and the Gothic periods. Saint Cunibert, Saint Mary in Lyskirchen, and the church of the Minorites; from more recent times, the Jesuit church. Saint Mary Pantaleon, and Saint Mauritius. The city contains about 25 chari- table institutions under Catholic management.

The Archblshopric. — According to ancient legend a disciple of Saint Peter was the first Bishop of Cologne, but the first historically authenticated bishop was Saint Maternus, who was present in 314 at the Synod of Aries. Among the earliest bishops the most promi- nent are: Euphrates, who took part in the Council of Sardica (344) and in 346 was deposed as a heretic by a general synod of Gaul ; Saint Severinus (347-400), Saint Cunibert (623-63?), councillor of the Frankish kings Dagobert and Sigibert; Anno I (711-15), who brought the remains of Saint Lambert from Maastricht to Lifige; Saint ,\gilulfus (747-51 ) ; Hildebold (785-819), chancel- lor underCharlemagne and, in 799, first metropolitan of Cologne, whose suffragan sees were, Liege, Utrecht, Miinster, Bremen, Osnabriick, and, after 829, Minden. During the vacancy of the archicpiscopal office (842- 50) Bremen was cut off from the .\rchdiocese of Co- logne, in spite of the protests of Gunthar (850-71). Willibert (870-89) assisted Ludwig the German to overcome Charles the Bald, by which action the arch- bishopric became finally a part of the German Em- pire. Under Hermann I (890-924) Bremen was defin- itively separated from Cologne. In 954 Bruno I (953-65) was made Duke of Lorraine by his brother, the Emperor Otto the Great ; in this way the founda- tion was laid for the temporal power of the archbish- opric of Cologne. For though Bruno's successors did