For six consecutive years of deficit, the Cologne Cathedral in Germany will start charging admission.

Cologne Cathedral in Germany will start charging visitors entrance fees from the second half of this year in order to fill the funding gap needed for the maintenance, protection, and operation of the cathedral. The cathedral's management announced the news on the 5th, but did not specify the exact fee amount. The cathedral management organization stated that in recent years, inflation and increasing labor costs have led to an increase in maintenance costs, and the income from fee-based projects is not enough to cover expenses, forcing the cathedral to use reserve funds. Now, the reserve funds have been depleted. According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports, the cathedral has been running a deficit for six consecutive years.