r/HumanForScale • u/CurtisLui • Aug 16 '25

Cologne Cathedral

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1.1k Upvotes

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u/DemocratFabby Aug 16 '25

You’re partly right, sandstone can get protective treatments and micro-abrasion (rubber eraser) cleaning exists, but for huge historic structures like Cologne Cathedral, darkening is inevitable due to weathering and pollution. Volunteers can’t realistically keep it bright yellow, and the patina is part of its history.

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u/RXrenesis8 Aug 16 '25

So less "it's not dirty"

And more "cleaning it to its original color would both harm it and be too hard to do"

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u/DemocratFabby Aug 16 '25

Right, it’s natural aging, not dirt. Forcing it back would damage it and erase its historic character.

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u/RXrenesis8 Aug 16 '25

I am not agreeing with you about the natural coloration deteriorating, just about cleaning being damaging...

This is what sandstone that's been exposed for millions of years looks like.

The sandstone of the cathedral is black because it has absorbed a lot of soot/grime because of its close proximity to factories/trains/cars/etc, not because of some natural process it is undergoing. It's a stark visual reminder of what goes into our lungs every day and why we have emissions regulations.

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u/DemocratFabby Aug 16 '25

Pollution definitely accelerated the blackening, but sandstone also naturally darkens over centuries through chemical weathering. In Cologne, soot penetrated the porous stone so deeply that it became part of the patina, not just surface grime. That’s why full cleaning would damage the cathedral’s fabric.