The construction of the Cologne Cathedral began in 1248, in order to house the precious relict "Shrine of the Three

Holy Kings". It took over 600 years to complete the Cathedral, it was finished in 1880. In World War II, the city center of Cologne was leveled by bombings; the Cathedral was the only building that survived. Standing tall in an otherwise flattened city, some said it was divine intervention; a more matter-of-fact explanation is that the Cathedral of Cologne was a point of orientation for the pilots. Treasures of the Cologne Cathedral Shrine of the Three Holy Kings: The Cathedral's most precious work of art is the Shrine of the Three Kings, a golden sarcophagus studded with jewels. Dating back to the 13th century, the shrine is the largest reliquary in the Western world; it holds the crowned skulls and clothes of the Three Wise Men. Gero Cross: The Gero Cross is the oldest surviving crucifix north of the Alps; it was carved in oak in 976 and hangs in its own chapel near the sacristy.