Cologne Cathedral

Today in History 08/14 (Cologne Cathedral)

Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany (© nevereverro/Getty Images)(1880) Cologne’s colossal cathedral is finally finished
Its foundation stone laid almost exactly 632 years before, a soaring masterpiece of Gothic architecture gets its final touches and the Cologne Cathedral is officially completed. The mostly medieval structure will withstand two world wars and the foot traffic of tourists by the millions.
Cologne Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany’s most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day, and currently the tallest twin-spired church at 157 m tall.
Address: Margarethenkloster 5, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia 50667
Phone: 0221 16420
Opened: 1880
Height: 516 feet (Architectural)
Denomination: Catholic
Architectural style: Gothic architecture

Gothic Cologne Cathedral
Photos of Cologne Cathedral. From top-left going clockwise: bird’s-eye view facing west, side view facing northwest, bird’s-eye view facing northeast with the Rhine in the background, and the chancel of the cathedral.
wiki/Cologne_Cathedral
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(1880) Cologne’s colossal cathedral is finally finished.
Also on this day,

1040 | A tragedy of Shakespearean proportions in Scotland
Scotland’s king, Duncan I, is slain as he leads an expedition into his rival’s land. That rival is also his cousin, Macbeth, and when Duncan dies Macbeth takes the throne. Centuries later, this will inspire an English writer to pen an exaggerated tale, and those battling Scots will not be forgotten.
1945 | Truman announces Japan’s unconditional surrender
President Harry Truman announces Japan’s acceptance of Allied surrender terms, and celebrations erupt across the US and around the world, including in Manhattan’s Times Square where a photographer captures one very pucker-happy sailor and a nurse clad all in white.
1975 | Frank N. Furter and friends hit the silver screen
A low-budget homage to the kitschy charms of B-grade sci-fi and horror movies premieres in London, and will have its US debut a month later, but it won’t make much of a splash either critically or commercially at first. Nevertheless, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show won’t remain obscure for long, becoming a cult classic and midnight-movie mainstay.

Today in History 08/14/17

A sailor blows a horn during the V-J Day celebrations in Times Square, New York, on Aug 14, 1945 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1945) Truman announces Japan's unconditional surrender
President Harry Truman announces Japan's acceptance of Allied surrender terms, and celebrations erupt across the US and around the world, including in Manhattan's Times Square where a photographer captures one very pucker-happy sailor and a nurse clad all in white.
Victory over Japan Day is the day on which the Empire of Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect ending the war. The term has been applied to both of the days on which the initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made – to the afternoon of August 15, 1945, in Japan, and, because of time zone differences, to August 14, 1945 – as well as to September 2, 1945, when the signing of the surrender document occurred, officially ending World War II.
Surrender of Japan - USS Missouri
Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945: Japanese representatives on board USS Missouri (BB-63) during the surrender ceremonies. Standing in front are: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu (wearing top hat) and General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff. Behind them are three representatives each of the Foreign Ministry, the Army and the Navy. They include, in middle row, left to right: Major General Yatsuji Nagai, Army; Katsuo Okazaki, Foreign Ministry; Rear Admiral Tadatoshi Tomioka, Navy; Toshikazu Kase, Foreign Ministry, and Lieutenant General Suichi Miyakazi, Army. In the back row, left to right (not all are visible): Rear Admiral Ichiro Yokoyama, Navy; Saburo Ota, Foreign Ministry; Katsuo Shiba, Navy, and Kaziyi Sugita, Army. (Identities those in second and third rows are from an annotated photograph in Naval Historical Center files.)

wiki/Victory_over_Japan_Day
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