On Christmas Eve, the police were on duty with a large contingent at Cologne Cathedral because of possible attack plans. Visitors were checked. It remained quiet, they say now.
After indications of possible plans to attack Cologne Cathedral, there were no incidents when checking visitors to the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The extensive checks on the people in the cathedral went unnoticed, a police spokeswoman said on Monday morning. Things also remained quiet in the area around the cathedral, where the police had increased their presence.
Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki thanked those attending the service right at the beginning for “not allowing themselves to be frightened and frightened, but for coming here courageously” despite the situation. His special thanks go to the police forces “who have turned the cathedral upside down, so to speak, so that we can celebrate church service and Christmas here in complete safety this evening.” Woelki also thanked the Swiss cathedral residents and the security service employees.
According to dpa information, the security authorities had received information about a possible attack plan by an Islamist group on the cathedral and a church in Vienna. According to the Cologne police, the information related to New Year’s Eve. In view of the holidays, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) encouraged people not to be deterred from attending church because the protection provided by the authorities was working.
Source: Stern
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