To brighten up the dark season in more than just a symbolic way, Licht Kunst Licht developed the idea to illuminate the Star of Bethlehem on the crossing tower of Cologne Cathedral during the Christmas Season. The planning and realization of this temporary installation in cooperation with the High Cathedral of Cologne is intended as a gift to all citizens of the city of Cologne and beyond.

To make the Star of Bethlehem shine much brighter than the cathedral for the first time in the cathedral’s long history, four powerful spotlights were installed at a distance of about 70 meters, virtually invisible. Two of them are located inside the two main towers, the other two directly behind the gable wall at the level of the eaves of the northern and southern transepts.

The Star of Bethlehem, illuminated as a temporary installation, will be on display from Christmas Eve (from 7.15 p.m.) until the end of the liturgical Christmas season, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, on January 10 2021, daily from 4 p.m. until 8 a.m.
Viewpoints close to the cathedral, which offer a good view, are the Roncalliplatz, the forecourt of the cathedral station, the Heinrich-Böll-Platz, the Deutzer Brücke and the Rheinboulevard on the Deutzer Promenade.