WIENER, Jacques: Germany, 1851, Bronze, 59 mm
Obv: Exterior view of completed cathedral DER DOM ZU KÖLN IN SEINER ZUKÜNFTIGEN VOLLENDUNG UNSERE HOFFNUNG
Exergue: GESTOCHEN VON J. WIENER. NACH DEM VOM DOMBAUMEISTER E.F. ZWIRNER ERGÄNZTEN BAUPLANE. VERLAG VON F.C. EISEN IN KÖLN.
Rev: Exterior view of the cathedral under construction JUBELFEIER AN 14 AUG. 1848 DER ERSTEN GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG DES DOMES ZU KÖLN AM 14 AUG. 1248 UNSERE FREUDE
Exergue: EINWEIHUNG DES HOHEN CHORS AM 27 SEPT: 1322. OFT UNTERBROCHENER FORTBAU BIS ETWA 1500. GÄNZLICHER STILLSTAND BIS ZUR ZWEITEN GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG AM 4 SEPT: 1842 DURCH FRIEDRICH WILHELM IV KÖNIG VON PREUSSEN. 1851
Signed: J. WIENER
The medal is in its original, circular cardboard box; RARE as such
Ref: Van Hoydonck # 78; Eidlitz 186/1102;  Reinecke 26; Weiss BW629

Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in northern Europe. It stands on the site of a church begun in the 9th century by Hildebold, metropolitan of Cologne, and finished under Willibert in 873. After a fire in 1248, rebuilding was begun by Meister Gerard. The choir was completed in 1322, and work went on until 1510 when it is said the Renaissance contempt for the Gothic style brought building to a halt. Work was not resumed until 1820 and the building was not completed, according to the original design, until 1880.

The cathedral is massive, its great twin towers rising over 500 feet above the city center. The cathedral is noted for its beautiful 14^th century stained glass windows and other art treasures. On the high alter are relics of the Magi brought to Cologne from Rome in 1164 which is preserved in a solid gold shrine, which is one of the finest medieval examples of the goldsmith’s art. The painting above the altar is the center panel of a triptych by Stephan Lochner. Painted in the early 15^th century it depicts in clear, bright colors and gold the Adoration of the Kings. At the south side of the cathedral lies a reminder of Cologne’s yet older past–the Dionysian mosaic, originally the floor of the banqueting hall of a great Roman villa which was discovered during excavations near the cathedral in 1941 (from Encyclopaedia Britannica).

This medal is one of five variations, each showing the cathedral in different stages of completion. The example shown is dated 1851 and is signed J. Wiener; the last of the series is dated 1861, when the cathedral was nearly completed and is signed by Jacques and Charles Wiener.

E.F. ZWIRNER, mentioned in the exergue of the obverse of the medal, is Ernst Friedrich Zwirner (1802-1861), who was responsible for the reconstruction of the cathedral. Zwirner also built the Synagogue at Cologne and the Apollinariskirche at Remagen. His works won him every conceivable honor and distinction. It is said that his devotion to the work of restoring the Cologne Cathedral was so great that many of his contemporaries felt his zeal had hastened his death (Eidlitz).