The Kranhaus Crane House Buildings Cologne Editorial Photo

Kranhaus `crane house`, plural Kranhuser refers to each one of the three 17-story buildings in the Rheinauhafen of Cologne, Germany. Their shape, an upside-down `L`, is reminiscent of the harbor cranes that were used to load cargo from and onto ships, two of which were left standing as monuments when the harbor was redesigned as a residential and commercial quarter in the early 2000s. Each building is about 62 m 203 ft high, 70.2 m 230 ft long, and 33.75 m 110.7 ft wide. They were designed by Aachen architect Alfons Linster and Hamburg-based Hadi Teherani of BRT Architekten. Construction began on 16 October 2006, and the first building was completed in 2008.Cologne, a 2,000-year-old city spanning the Rhine River in western Germany, is the regional cultural hub. A landmark of High Gothic architecture set amid reconstructed old town, the twin-spired Cologne Cathedral is also known for its gilded medieval reliquary and sweeping river views.