# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, German]() - Date: 1201-1250 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The church of St. Gereon in Cologne shows a conscious contrast of old and new. A centrally planned building dating from the 4th century had been constantly extended since the second half of the 11th century. When the church was rebuilt in the 1220s, the builders left the historic circle of niches on the ground floor alone and built a new Gothic structure there whose lower stories match those of the old structure. In this way, by having a French Gothic extension built on top of its older church, St. Gereon became increasingly modern from outside to inside, and from bottom to top. The photo shows the exterior with the ten-sided tower from 1219-27. View the <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/support/plans/zzzarchi/13c/1/gereon.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=400,height=600'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">ground plan</a> of St. Gereon, Cologne. ## Related artworks - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Baumburg Tower]() - [East view \(detail\)]() - [Exterior view \(detail\)]() - [Exterior view from the east]() - [Exterior view from the east]() - [Exterior view from the north-east]() - [Exterior view from the north-east]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()