Overview
- Monsignor Robert Kleine said Sunday the new tourist charge will include reduced and free tickets, with prices and a start date still to come.
- Worshippers and people attending services will continue to enter at no cost, as will members of the Central Cathedral Building Association.
- He cited rising bills for maintenance, security, energy and cleaning driven by visitor behavior, including chewing gum stuck to an 1880 mosaic at the Shrine of the Three Kings.
- Earlier measures fell short, with higher fees for the tower and treasury and a clear donation box that sometimes collected about €700 on days with roughly 20,000 visitors.
- The cathedral welcomes about six million visitors each year, and Kleine said the fee is meant to fund conservation and could also reduce how often staff must wet-clean the floors.