The most beautiful building in Cologne is Groß St Martin ,a great looking cathedral I always look forward to visiting on any holiday I take to Cologne.
Built on the site of the ruins of a Roman chapel, parts of the foundations of Groß St Martin date from 960 ,the majority of the church was constructed between 1150-1250 in an architectural style called trefoil which is basically 3 apses ,there are several churches n Cologne that are constructed in the Trefoil style of architecture, looking at the church now its hard to believe that this church was once on an island in the River Rhine but with the narrowing of the river at this section of Cologne its now way inland .
During World War Two this church suffered badly, on the 30th January 1942 the tower and nave were destroyed, a year later the Chapel Of St Benedict was destroyed, a further air raid in January of 1945 saw the church receive more damage and in the final throes of the war in March of 1945 saw the biggest and most devastating air rad when 95% of the Altstadt ( Old Town ) obliterated and this church almost reduced to rubble.
Post war with the massive rebuilding project of city's such as Cologne this church was rebuilt from original designs ,work commenced till 1985 to leave us with this stunning church ,in my opinion externally it's more beautiful than the Dom ,internally its more asture which I love ,if you're planning a holiday to Cologne its a church to most definitely check out and easy to locate on Am Groß St Martin along Frankenwerft, the beautiful promenade along the majestic River Rhine.