Dombauarchiv

Dombauarchiv (Building Archive of the Cologne Cathedral)

The Dombauarchiv documents the construction and restoration work carried out since the Middle Ages on one of the world's most important sacred buildings and a symbol of the city - the Cologne Cathedral. It comprises almost all the files relating to the Cathedral's construction since 1816 as well as around 20,000 plans and drawings, a comprehensive collection of historical and contemporary photographs and a large specialised library with around 25,000 volumes and 230 current publications. In addition, there is an art collection with paintings, prints and artefacts. An extensive collection of the Magi also offers pictorial evidence and scientific literature on the "Three Wise Men“. In the Cathedral's model chamber, hundreds of 19th and 20th century plaster models are kept, as well as original sculptures of the medieval St Peter's portal.

The extensive image collection of the Dombauarchiv, with around 50,000 historical and recent photographs of Cologne Cathedral, its furnishings and the work of the Cologne Cathedral Building Workshop, as well as reproductions and scans of archival documents and plans from the Dombauarchiv, is available for academic research, but also for publications on Cologne Cathedral in general. The Dombauarchiv is a scientific institution that stimulates, supervises and publishes cathedral research in many areas.
We are looking forward to hearing from applicants who would like to engage with the extraordinary diversity of the archival holdings and transfer the centuries-old tradition into a new context.

More information

Website Dombauarchiv

Please refrain from direct inquiries about the Open Call to the participating institution.
Questions can be directed to opencall@photoszene.de.