Outer Wall of Cologne Cathedral gently freed from deposits

Over the centuries, impurities have accumulated on the stone walls of Cologne Cathedral, which is why parts of the church facade were professionally cleaned.

Kärcher has freed the Outer Wall of Cologne Cathedral from deposits.
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几个世纪以来,煤炭加热系统,工厂烟囱和蒸汽机车导致了外石墙的黑色变色。

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使用低压微粒爆破技术清洁了中世纪合唱团花环的外墙和南方南方的区域。

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使用精细铝硅酸铝(40-90μm)作为爆破磨料,其溶解沉积物而不会损坏大教堂门面的有价值的原始物质。

Cleaning the Outer Wall of the Cathedral

It is over 770 years old, one of the most visited buildings in Germany, and was once the highest building in the world: Cologne Cathedral. Over the centuries, however, impurities have accumulated on the stone walls, which is why parts of the church facade were professionally cleaned. As part of its cultural sponsorship, Kärcher was making several machines available to the Cologne Cathedral Workshop.

After Kärcher's cleaning experts have created test surfaces to ensure the best possible result, gentle cleaning was the next step. The outer walls of the medieval choir chapel wreath and areas of the southern transept were cleaned of black crust deposits using the low-pressure microparticle blasting technique. For this purpose, Kärcher was providing the cathedral workshop with several low-pressure blasting guns free of charge, with which the sensitive rock was carefully cleaned.

Traces of over 770 years

A fine aluminium silicate (40-90 μm) was used as the blasting abrasive, which dissolves the deposits with a pressure of about 2 bar without damaging the valuable original substance of the cathedral facade. Thorsten Möwes, Kärcher specialist for restorative cleaning, trained the restorers and stonemasons of Cologne Cathedral in the professional use of the provided technology.

The facade of the high Gothic cathedral, whose foundation stone was laid in 1248, is heavily polluted by external influences. Over the centuries, coal heating systems, factory chimneys and steam locomotives led to the black discoloration of the outer stone walls. In addition, the facade is covered by microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, and moss, which make the stone appear very dark.

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事实一目了然

Country:Germany
City:Cologne

Soiling:Black crusts, bacteria, algae and mosses
Cleaning technique:Low-pressure microparticle blasting method with fine aluminium silicate (40-90 μm) as blasting abrasive

Execution:October 2019




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