North Rhine-Westphalia

A full view of Cologne Cathedral — a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The view towards the south portal highlights its grandeur. The name 'NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN' directly below establishes the connection between the building and the federal state. The mint mark — A, D, F, G or J — in the upper right of the inner circle identifies the mint; the artist's initials (Heinz Hoyer) are struck diagonally below it.

Cologne Cathedral is one of the most significant buildings of Gothic architecture in Europe. Construction began in 1248, but the work dragged on for centuries — for a long time, the unfinished tower stood as the landmark of a city that kept growing regardless. It was not until 1880 that the cathedral was completed after more than 600 years of construction, at a time when the young German Empire needed a national symbol. It has defined Cologne's skyline unmistakably ever since: at 157 metres, it was briefly the tallest building in the world upon completion. Today, Cologne Cathedral is one of the most visited sights in Germany.

As a Gothic cathedral, it uniquely combines religious function, art-historical substance and cross-regional identification. In 1996, UNESCO added the cathedral to the World Heritage List as a testament to medieval architecture and Christian tradition. For North Rhine-Westphalia, it is far more than a tourist destination: it is the architectural face of Germany's most populous federal state. In the German federal states series, through which the Federal Republic has honoured a different state on a 2-euro commemorative coin every year since 2006, North Rhine-Westphalia took centre stage in 2011 — and Cologne Cathedral, as the chosen motif, was the most obvious choice imaginable.