View of Cologne (detail)
by WOENSAM, Anton von Worms, Woodcut, 592 × 3526 mm (size of the entire woodcut)
The first impression of this huge woodcut, which was designed for the house of Peter Quentel, was presented on 5th January 1531 to the Emperor Charles V and his brother Ferdinand. It depicts Cologne as it was in 1530. The cathedral, begun in 1248, is under construction, as indicated by the presence of the builders’ crane in the woodcut. The cathedral remained unfinished up to the 19th century.