Cologne Cathedral Interior: South Aisle

This exquisitely composed photograph was taken in the interior of Cologne Cathedral in Germany, one of the tallest churches and most visited landmarks in Europe. Construction on the elaborate cathedral began in the mid-13th century but halted 300 years later. It was not completed until 1880, when Theodor Creifelds took this photograph. While intimate in scale, the photograph captures the immensity of the interior space with its rows of soaring piers. In its early decades, architectural photography was largely confined to the exteriors of buildings because of the long exposure times needed in low-light conditions.