Cologne police: Cathedral visitors must expect high security measures
She called on people to arrive early and not to bring any bags into the cathedral so that the checks do not take unnecessarily long. There are many officers on site who "would actually have had Christmas Eve off", said Baldes "But this is about the safety of the people of Cologne." It will therefore be a "very busy time" for the police.
The Cologne police had taken special protective measures for the cathedral on Saturday evening due to the danger alert and searched the cathedral with sniffer dogs into the night. The cathedral was then closed and reopened for events on Sunday.
Baldes said that the police would not publish details of the danger warning. However, it had been taken seriously. Such tips are always received and are "conscientiously evaluated", he continued. The current tip-off related to New Year's Eve, but the security measures were brought forward to the Christmas period. Everything is now being done to further clarify the tip-off, and state security is also involved.
A spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said that there is currently an increased threat situation in the area of Islamist terrorism. "The federal and state security authorities are therefore acting with the utmost vigilance and take the threat of Islamist terrorism very seriously," he emphasized. The security authorities are using all constitutional, police and intelligence resources "to identify and prevent possible attack plans".
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Source: www.stern.de
