The Shrine of the Three Kings

Saint Matthew tells how wise men came from the East to Jerusalem, following a star, and found the child with Mary his mother, and “falling down they adored him: and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2). Tradition came to call them kings and to name them Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

According to tradition, Saint Helena found their relics and brought them to Constantinople, from where they came to Milan. In 1164, after the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had conquered Milan, his chancellor, Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne, carried them to Cologne. Pilgrims flocked to the city, and the great Gothic cathedral, begun in 1248, was built above all to house them.

The shrine that holds them was made between about 1190 and 1225, begun by the goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun. It is shaped like a basilica, more than two metres long, of gilded silver and copper decorated with figures of prophets and apostles and set with about a thousand jewels and cameos. It is the largest reliquary in the Western world.

When the shrine was opened in 1864, it was found to contain bones and ancient cloth. The three crowns of the Magi appear on the coat of arms of Cologne to this day.

Where

Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany

When to see it

On view daily behind the high altar of the cathedral.

Map

Find it on OpenStreetMap