Cologne, Ger. Köln, city (1994 pop. 962,500), North Rhine-Westphalia, W Germany, on the Rhine River. It is a commercial, financial, and industrial center, a rail and road junction, and a river port. Its manufactures include automobile engines, engineering, electronics engineering, metals, chemicals, textiles, printed materials, and eau de cologne.

Points of Interest

The famous Gothic cathedral, the largest in northern Europe, was closed from the end of the war until 1956. It contains the relics of the Wise Men of the East and the paintings of Stephen Lochner. The cathedral was begun in 1248 on the site of an older church, but the nave and the two spires (each spire 515 ft/157 m high) were built according to the original plans between 1842 and 1880.

Other historic buildings in the city include the Romanesque churches of St. Maria im Kapitol, of St. Gereon, of the Holy Apostles, and of St. Andreas (where Albertus Magnus, the 13th-century scholastic, is buried); the Gothic and Renaissance city hall; and the Gürzenich (1441-44), formerly a meeting place of the city's merchants and now a concert hall. Impressive modern structures include the opera house and the radio and television broadcasting stations.

As the center of German Catholicism, Cologne has long been famous for its impressive religious processions and for its exuberant Mardi Gras celebrations. The city figures prominently in German romantic literature. Cologne is the seat of a university (founded 1388; discontinued 1798; reestablished 1919) and numerous museums, including those of painting, ethnology, and municipal history. The European Astronaut Center also is there.

History

A Roman garrison in the 1st cent. B.C., Cologne was made a Roman colony in A.D. 50 by Emperor Claudius, who named it Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis for his wife, Agrippina. The city passed under Frankish control in the 5th cent. The episcopal see, established there in the 4th cent., was made an archdiocese under Charlemagne. Its archbishops, who later ruled a strip of land on the west bank of the Rhine as princes of the Holy Roman Empire, acquired great power and ranked third among the electors. The archbishops' constant feuds with the lay citizenry resulted in the transfer (mid-13th cent.) of their residence to nearby Brühl, then to Bonn.

Cologne was self-governing after 1288, became a free imperial city in 1475, and, as a member of the Hanseatic League, flourished as a commercial center until the 16th cent. Its decline was hastened by the expulsion of the Jews (15th cent.) and the restrictions imposed on Protestants (16th cent.). Cologne was seized by the French in 1794, and the archbishopric was officially secularized in 1801. The city passed to Prussia in 1815, and in 1821 the archdiocese was reorganized.

In the 19th cent. Cologne prospered again as an industrial center and as the main transit port and depot of NW Germany. The industrial town of Deutz (noted for the manufacture of motors), on the east bank of the Rhine, was united with Old Cologne, on the west bank. Old Cologne, with its numerous historic buildings, was severely damaged by aerial bombardment in World War II.

German Köln

City (pop., 2002 est.: city, 967,900; metro. area, 1,823,500), western Germany. Located on the Rhine River, it is one of Europe's key inland ports. First settled by Romans in the 1st century BC, its commercial importance grew out of its location on the major European trade routes. In the Middle Ages it also became an ecclesiastical centre and an important hub of art and learning. Despite its almost complete destruction in World War II, the city retains some buildings and monuments of all periods. Its cathedral, the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, is its unofficial symbol. Banking has been an important industry since the Middle Ages. Eau de cologne, first produced commercially in the 18th century, is still made there. The city is also a major media centre, with many publishing houses and production facilities for radio and television. It is famous for its pre-Lenten Carnival.

Learn more about Cologne with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Cologne (kœln; local dialect: Kölle [ˈkœɫə]) is Germany's fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38 BC. Cologne was granted the status of a Roman "city" in the year 50 AD.

Cologne lies on the River Rhine. The city's famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) is one of Europe's oldest universities.

Cologne is a major cultural center of the Rhineland and has a vibrant arts scene. Cologne is home to more than 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The city's Trade Fair Grounds are host to a number of trade shows such as the Art Cologne Fair, the International Furniture Fair (IMM) and the Photokina. Cologne is also well-known for its celebration of Cologne Carnival, the annual reggae summerjam, the largest of its kind in Europe, and the LGBT festival Christopher Street Day (CSD).

Within Germany, Cologne is known as an important media center. Several radio and television stations, including Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), RTL and VOX (TV channel), are based in the city. The city also hosts the Cologne Comedy Festival, which is considered to be the largest comedy festival in mainland Europe.

In 2005 Cologne hosted the 20th Roman Catholic World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI. It was one of the largest-ever meetings, with over a million participants.

Demographics

Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany in terms of inhabitants after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Officially, the city still has somewhat fewer than a million inhabitants (as of 31 December 2006: 989,766). However, this might change rapidly as the city's registration rules will change in the course of 2007. Cologne is the center of an urban area of around 2 million inhabitants (including the neighboring cities of Bonn, Hürth, Leverkusen, and Bergisch-Gladbach).

According to local statistics, in 2006 the population density in the city was 2,528 inhabitants per square kilometer. 31.4 percent of the population has migrated there, and 17.2 percent of Cologne's population is non-German. The largest group, comprising 6.3 percent of the total population, is Turkish. As of September 2007, there are about 120,000 Muslims living in Cologne, mostly of Turkish origin .

In the city the population was spread out with 15.5% under the age of 18, 67.0% from 18 to 64 and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95 males.

Administration

Cologne is incorporated under the Gemeindeordnung Nordrhein-Westfalen (GO NRW) (Municipality Code of North Rhine-Westphalia). The city's administration is headed by a mayor (Oberbürgermeister) and three deputy mayors. Cologne was the first city in Germany with a tax specifically for prostitution (see prostitution in Germany).

Coat of arms

The three crowns symbolize the Magi (Three Wise Men) whose bones are said to be kept in a golden sarcophagus in Cologne Cathedral (see Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral). In 1164, Rainald of Dassel, the archbishop of Cologne, brought the relics to the city, making it a major pilgrimage destination. This led to the design of the current cathedral as the predecessor was considered too small to accommodate the pilgrims.

The eleven tears are a reminder of Cologne's patron, Saint Ursula, a Britannic princess, and her legendary 11,000 virgin companions who were supposedly martyred by Attila the Hun at Cologne for their Christian faith in 383. The entourage of Ursula and the number of victims was significantly smaller; according to one source, the original legend referred to only eleven companions and the number was later inflated by relic traders.)

Culture

Cologne is well-known for its beer, called Kölsch. Kölsch is also the name of the local dialect. This has led to the common joke that Kölsch is the only language you can drink.

Cologne is also famous for Eau de Cologne (Kölnisch Wasser). At the beginning of the 18th century, Italian expatriate Johann Maria Farina (1685–1766) created a new fragrance and named it after his hometown Cologne, Eau de Cologne (Water of Cologne). In the course of the 18th century the fragrance became increasingly popular. Eventually, Cologne merchant Wilhelm Mülhens secured the name Farina, which at that time had become a household name for Eau de Cologne, under contract and opened a small factory at Cologne's Glockengasse. In later years, and under pressure from court battles, his grandson Ferdinand Mülhens chose a new name for the firm and their product. It was the house number that was given to the factory at Glockengasse during French occupation of the Rhineland in the early 19th century, number 4711. In 1994, the Mülhens family sold their company to German Wella corporation. In 2003 Procter & Gamble took over Wella. Today, original Eau de Cologne still is produced in Cologne by both the Farina family (Farina gegenüber since 1709), currently in the eighth generation, and by Mäurer & Wirtz who bought the 4711 brand in December 2006.

Carnival

Cologne carnival is one of the biggest street festivals in Europe. It is held annually; the season starts officially on 11 November at 11 minutes after 11 with the proclamation of the new Carnival Season, and continues until Ash Wednesday. But the so-called "Tolle Tage" (mad days) don't start until Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival) or, in dialect, Wieverfastelovend (Thursday before Ash Wednesday), which is the beginning of the street carnival. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to Cologne during this time. Generally around a million people are celebrating in the streets on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.

History

Roman Cologne

The first urban settlement on the grounds of what today is the center of Cologne was Oppidum Ubiorum, which was founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, a Germanic tribe. Cologne became acknowledged as a city by the Romans in 50 AD by the name of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium. Considerable Roman remains can be found in contemporary Cologne, especially near the wharf area, where a notable discovery of a 1900 year old Roman boat was made in late 2007. From 260 to 271 Cologne was the capital of the Gallic Empire under Postumus, Marius and Victorinus. In 310 under Constantine a bridge was built over the Rhine at Cologne.

Maternus, who was elected as bishop in 313 AD, was the first known bishop of Cologne. The city was the capital of a Roman province until occupied by the Franks in 459 AD. In 785A D, Cologne became the seat of an archbishopric.

Middle Ages

During the time of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages, the Archbishop of Cologne was one of the seven prince-electors and one of the three ecclesiastical electors. The archbishops had ruled large temporal domains but in 1288 Sigfried II von Westerburg was defeated in the Battle of Worringen and forced into exile at Bonn.

Cologne's location on the river Rhine placed it at the intersection of the major trade routes between east and west and was the basis of Cologne's growth. Cologne was a member of the Hanseatic League and became a Free Imperial City in 1475. Interestingly the archbishop nevertheless preserved the right of capital punishment. Thus, the municipal council (though in strict political opposition towards the archbishop) depended upon him in all matters concerning criminal jurisdiction. This included torture, which sentence was only allowed to be handed down by the episcopal judge, the so-called "Greve". This legal situation lasted until the French conquest of Cologne.

Besides its economic and political significance Cologne also became an outstanding centre of medieval pilgrimage, when Cologne's Archbishop Rainald of Dassel gave the relics of the Three Wise Men to Cologne's cathedral in 1164 (after they in fact had been captured from Milan). Besides the three magi Cologne preserves the relics of Saint Ursula and Albertus Magnus.

The economic structures of medieval and early modern Cologne were characterized by the city's status as a major harbor and transport hub upon the Rhine. Craftsmanship was organized by self-administrating guilds, some of which were exclusive to women.

As a free city Cologne was a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire and as such had the right (and obligation) of maintaining its own military force. Wearing a red uniform these troops were known as the Rote Funken (red sparks). These soldiers were part of the Army of the Holy Roman Empire ("Reichskontingent") and fought in the wars of the 17th and 18th century, including the wars against revolutionary France, when the small force almost completely perished in combat. The tradition of these troops is preserved as a military persiflage by Cologne's most outstanding carnival society, the Rote Funken.

The free city of Cologne must not be confused with the Archbishopric of Cologne which was a state of its own within the Holy Roman Empire. Since the second half of the 16th century the archbishops were taken from the Bavarian dynasty Wittelsbach. Due to the free status of Cologne, the archbishops usually were not allowed to enter the city. Thus they took residence in Bonn and later in Brühl on Rhine. As members of an influential and powerful family and supported by their outstanding status as electors, the archbishops of Cologne repeatedly challenged and threatened the free status of Cologne during the 17th and 18th century, resulting in complicated affairs, which were handled by diplomatic means and propaganda as well as by the supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire.

19th and 20th century

Cologne lost its status as a free city during the French period. According to the Peace Treaty of Lunéville (1801) all the territories of the Holy Roman Empire on the left bank of the Rhine were officially incorporated into the French Republic (which already had occupied Cologne in 1798). Thus, this region later became part of Napoleon's Empire. Cologne was part of the French Département Roer (named after the River Roer, German: Rur) with Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) as its capital. The French modernized public life, for example by introducing the Napoleonic code and removing the old elites from power. The Napoleonic code remained in use on the left bank of the Rhine until 1900, when a unified civil code (the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) was introduced in the German Empire. In 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, Cologne was made part of the Kingdom of Prussia, first in the Jülich-Cleves-Berg province and then the Rhine province.

The permanent tensions between the Roman Catholic Rhineland and the overwhelmingly Protestant Prussian state repeatedly escalated with Cologne being in the focus of the conflict. In 1837 the archbishop of Cologne, Clemens August von Droste-Vischering, was arrested and imprisoned for two years after a dispute over the legal status of marriages between Protestants and Roman Catholics Mischehenstreit). In 1874 during the Kulturkampf, ArchbishopPaul Melchers was imprisoned before taking refuge in the Netherlands. These conflicts alienated the Catholic population from Berlin and contributed to a deeply felt anti-Prussian resentment, which was still significant after World War II, when the former mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer, became the first West German chancellor.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Cologne absorbed numerous surrounding towns, and by World War I had already grown to 700,000 inhabitants. Industrialization changed the city and spurred its growth. Vehicle and engine manufacturing were especially successful, though heavy industry was less ubiquitous than in the Ruhr area. The cathedral, started in 1248 but abandoned around 1560, was eventually finished in 1880 not just as a place of worship but also as a German national monument celebrating the newly founded German empire and the continuity of the German nation since the Middle Ages. Some of this urban growth happened at the expense of the city's historic heritage with much being demolished (e.g. the city walls or in the area around the cathedral) and sometimes replaced by contemporary constructions. On the other hand, Cologne was turned into a heavily armed fortress (opposing the French and Belgian fortresses of Verdun and Liège) with two fortified belts surrounding the city, the relics of which can be seen to this day. The military demands on what became Germany's largest fortress presented a significant obstacle to urban development, with forts, bunkers and wide defensive dugouts completely encircling the city and preventing expansion; this resulted in a very dense built-up area within the city itself.

After WWI, during which several minor air raids had targeted the city, Cologne was occupied by British Forces untile 1926 under the terms of the armistice and the subsequent Versailles Peace Treaty. In contrast to the harsh measures of French occupation troops in the Rhineland, the British acted with more tact towards the local population. The mayor of Cologne (the future West German chancellor) Konrad Adenauer acknowledged the political significance of this approach, as the British opposed French plans for a permanent Allied occupation of the Rhineland. In 1919 the University of Cologne (closed by the French in 1798) was refounded. It was meant as a substitute for the German University of Strasbourg tha had become French in 1918-19. During the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) Cologne prospered under the guidance of Mayor Adenauer, with improvements especially in public governance, housing, planning and social affairs. Large public parks were created, in particular the two Grüngürtel (green belts), which were planned on the areas of the former fortifications, which had to be dismantled as part of the de-militarization of the Rhineland imposed by the peace treaty (this project was not completed until 1933). New social housing was held up as an example for other German cities. As Cologne competed for hosting the Olympics a modern stadium was erected in Müngersdorf. By the end of the British occupation, German civil aviation was readmitted over Cologne and the airport of Butzweilerhof soon became a hub for national and international air traffic, second in Germany only to Berlin-Tempelhof. By 1939 the population had risen to 772,221. Compared to other major cities the Nazis did not gain decisive support in Cologne and the number of votes cast for the NSDAP in Reichstag elections was always below the national average.

World War II

During World War II, Köln was a Military Area Command Headquarters (Militärische Bereich Befehl Hauptsitze) for Military District (Wehrkreis) VI in Münster. Cologne was under the command of Lieutenant-General Freiherr Roeder von Diersburg, who was responsible for military operations at Bonn, Siegburg, Aachen, Jülich, Düren, and Monschau. Cologne was the Home Station for the 211th Infantry Regiment and the 26th Artillery Regiment. |

In World War II, Cologne endured exactly 262 air raids by the Western Allies, which caused approximately 20,000 civilian casualties and completely wiped out the center of the city. During the night of 31 May 1942, Cologne was the site of "Operation Millennium", the first 1,000 bomber raid by the Royal Air Force in World War II. 1,046 heavy bombers attacked their target with 1,455 tons of explosive. This raid lasted about 75 minutes, destroyed of built-up area, killed 486 civilians and made 59,000 people homeless. By the end of the war, the population of Cologne was reduced by 95%. This loss was mainly caused by a massive evacuation of the people to more rural areas. The same happened in many other German cities in the last two years of war. At the end of 1945, the population had already risen to about 500,000 again.

By that time, essentially all of Cologne's pre-war Jewish population of 20,000 had gone. The synagogue, originally built between 1895 and 1899 by architects Wilhelm Schreiterer and Bernhard Below, was severely damaged during the pogrom of 9 November 1938 (Kristallnacht) but ultimately destroyed by Allied bombing between 1943 and 1945. It was reconstructed in the 1950s. The Cologne synagogue was the site of an historic visit in 2005 by the German-born Pope Benedict XVI, only the second Pope to ever visit a synagogue.

Post-war Cologne

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Despite Cologne's status of being the largest city in the region, nearby Düsseldorf was chosen as the political capital of the Federal State North Rhine-Westphalia. With Bonn being chosen as the provisional capital (provisorische Bundeshauptstadt) and seat of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, Cologne benefited by being sandwiched between the two important political centers of the former West Germany. The city became home to a large number of Federal agencies and organizations. After re-unification in 1990 Berlin was made the Federal capital of Germany.

For Cologne mayors refer to the list of mayors of Cologne.

In 1945 architect and urban planner Rudolf Schwarz called Cologne the "world's greatest heap of debris". Schwarz designed the master plan of reconstruction in 1947, which called for the construction of several new thoroughfares thru the downtown area, especially the Nord-Süd-Fahrt ("North-South-Drive"). The masterplan took into consideration the fact that even shortly after the war a large increase in automobile traffic could be anticipated. Plans for new roads had already to a certain degree evolved under the Nazi administration, but the actual construction became easier in times when the majority of downtown lots were undeveloped. The destruction of famous Romanesque churches like St. Gereon, Great St. Martin, St. Maria im Capitol and about a dozen others in World War II meant a tremendous loss of cultural substance to the city. The rebuilding of those churches and other landmarks like the Gürzenich event hall was not undisputed among leading architects and art historians at that time, but in most cases, civil intention prevailed. The reconstruction lasted until the 1990s, when Romanesque church of St. Kunibert was finished.

It took some time to rebuild the city. In 1959 the city's population reached pre-war numbers again. It then grew steadily, exceeding 1 million for about one year from 1975. It has remained just below that since.

In the 1980s and 1990s Cologne's economy prospered for two main reasons. Firstly, a growth in the number of media companies, both in the private and public sectors; they are especially catered for in the newly-developed Media Park, which creates a strongly visual focal point in down-town Cologne and includes the KölnTurm, one of Cologne's most prominent high-rises. Secondly, a permanent improvement of the diverse traffic infrastructure made Cologne one of the most easily accessible metropolitan areas in Central Europe.

Due to the economic success of the Cologne Trade Fair, the city arranged a large extension to the fair site in 2005. At the same time the original buildings, which date back to the 1920s are rented out to RTL, Germany's largest private broadcaster, as their new corporate headquarters.

Landmarks

| |- | |- | |- | |} The center of Cologne was completely destroyed during World War II. The reconstruction of the city followed the style of the 1950s, while respecting the old layout and naming of the streets. Thus, the city today is characterized by simple and modest post-war buildings, with few interspersed pre-war buildings which were reconstructed due to their historical importance. Some buildings of the "Wiederaufbauzeit" (era of reconstruction), for example the opera house by Wilhelm Riphahn, are nowadays regarded as classics in modern architecture. Nevertheless, the uncompromising style of the opera house and other modern buildings has remained controversial.

• Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom) is the city's famous landmark and unofficial symbol. It is a Gothic church, started in 1248, and completed in 1880. In 1996, it was designated a World Heritage site; it houses the Shrine of the Three Holy Kings that supposedly contains the relics of the Three Magi (see also ). It is interesting to note that the residents of Cologne call the cathedral "the eternal construction site" (Dauerbaustelle). They predict that, by the time the renovation of the building has finished, the end of the world will be upon us!
• Twelve Romanesque Churches: These buildings are outstanding examples of medieval sacral architecture. The roots of some of the churches date back as far as Roman times, like St. Gereon, which originally was a chapel on a Roman graveyard. With the exception of St. Maria Lyskirchen all of these churches were very badly damaged during World War II. Reconstruction was only finished in the 1990s.
• Cologne University, with approx. 44,000 students as of 2005, is the largest university in Germany.
• Fragrance Museum Farina House, the birthplace of Eau de Cologne.
• Römisch-Germanisches Museum (English: Roman-Germanic Museum) for ancient Roman and Germanic culture.
• Wallraf-Richartz Museum for medieval art.
• Museum Ludwig for modern art.
• EL-DE Haus, the former local headquarters of the Gestapo houses a museum documenting the Nazi rule in Cologne with a special focus on the persecution of political dissenters and minorities.
• Kölner Philharmonie - the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra Building housing both the Gürzenich Orchestra and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.
• RheinEnergieStadion, the major Cologne stadium, primarily used for soccer games, seating 50,997 visitors in national games and 46,134 in international games, home to the local first division (Bundesliga) team, 1.FC Köln.
• Lanxess Arena (formerly known as Kölnarena), a multifunctional event hall, home to the local hockey team, the Kölner Haie (English: Cologne Sharks).
• Kölnturm (English: Cologne Tower), Cologne's second tallest building at in height, second only to the Colonius ().
• Colonius - a telecommunication tower with an observation deck (closed since 1992).
• Colonia Hochhaus - Germany's tallest residential building.
• Köln Triangle Tower - opposite the cathedral with a high viewing platform - in contrast to the cathedral with an elevator and a view with the cathedral over the Rhine.
• Hansa Hochhaus - designed by architect Jakob Koerfer and completed in 1925, it was at one time Europe's tallest office building.
• Rheinseilbahn - an aerial tramway crossing the Rhine.
• Messe Köln (English: Cologne Fair). Exhibition area of .
• Messeturm Köln (English: Exhibition Tower Cologne).
• Hohe Strasse (English: High Street) is one of the main shopping areas and extends past the cathedral in an approximately southerly direction. This street is particularly popular with tourists and contains many gift shops, clothing stores, fast food restaurants and electronic goods dealers.
• Ford Motor Company plants, assembling the Ford Fiesta and Ford Fusion as well as manufacturing engines and parts; headquarters for Ford of Europe.
• The Panasonic Toyota Racing Formula One team has its factory in the city.
• Schildergasse - extends the shopping area of Hohe Strasse to the west ending at Neumarkt.
• Ehrenstrasse - the shopping area around Apostelnstrasse, Ehrenstrasse, and Rudolfplatz is a little more on the eccentric and stylish side.
• Historic Ringe boulevards (such as Hohenzollernring, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring, Hansaring) with their medieval city gates (such as Hahnentorburg on Rudolfplatz) are also known for their night life.
• German Sports & Olympic Museum, with exhibitions about sports from antiquity until the present.
• Schokoladenmuseum (Chocolatemuseum) officially called Imhoff-Schokoladen-Museum.
• JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technology in Contemporary Art - collections of Internet based art, corporate part of (NewMediaArtProjectNetwork):cologne - the experimental platform for art and New Media.

Transport

Roads

Road building had been a major issue in the 1920s under the leadership of mayor Konrad Adenauer. The first German limited access road was constructed after 1929 between Cologne and Bonn. Today, this is A 555. In 1965 Cologne became the first German city to be fully encircled by a freeway belt. Roughly at the same time a downtown bypass freeway (Stadtautobahn) was planned, but only partially executed, due to opposition by environmental groups. The completed section became Bundesstraße ("Federal Road") B 55a which begins at the Zoobrücke ("Zoo Bridge") and meets with A 4 and A 3 at the interchange Cologne East. Nevertheless, it is referred to as Stadtautobahn by most locals. Fully accomplished in contrast was the Nord-Süd-Fahrt ("North-South-Drive"), a new four/six lane downtown thoroughfare, which had already been anticipated by planners like Fritz Schumacher in the 1920s. The last section south of Ebertplatz was completed in 1972.

In 2005 the first stretch of an eight-lane freeway in North Rhine-Westphalia was opened to traffic on Bundesautobahn 3, part of the eastern section of the freeway belt between the interchanges Cologne East and Heumar.

Public transport

| |- | |- | |- | |} Cologne has a railway service with Deutsche Bahn Intercity and ICE-trains stopping at Köln Hauptbahnhof (Cologne Central Station), Köln-Deutz station and at Cologne Bonn Airport (Konrad-Adenauer-Flughafen). ICE and Thalys high-speed trains link Cologne with Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. There are frequent ICE trains to other German cities, including Frankfurt am Main and Berlin.

The Cologne city railway operated by Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) is an extensive light rail system that is partially underground (referred to as U-Bahn) and serves Cologne and a number of neighboring cities. Nearby Bonn is linked by both the city railway and Deutsche Bahn trains, and occasional recreational boats on the Rhine. Düsseldorf is also linked by S-Bahn trains which are operated by Deutsche Bahn.

There are also frequent buses covering most of the city and surrounding suburbs, and Eurolines coaches to London via Brussels.

Cycling

Like most German cities, Cologne has a traffic layout designed to be bicycle-friendly. There is an extensive cycle network, featuring pavement-edge cycle lanes linked by cycle priority crossings. In many of the narrow one-way centeral streets, cyclists are explicitly allowed to cycle both ways.

Air transport

Cologne's international airport is Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN). It is also called Konrad Adenauer Airport after Germany's post-war Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, who was born in Cologne and was mayor of the city from 1917 until 1933. The airport is shared with the neighboring city of Bonn. Most destinations are located in Europe, however, there are two proper intercontinental services: a daily flight to Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) and Iran Air flights to Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport 4 times a week. More intercontinental flights are offered at nearby Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS).

Sport

A 2006 FIFA World Cup venue, The RheinEnergieStadion, hosts both the city's soccer team "1. FC Köln" which competes in the Bundesliga, and the American football Cologne Centurions who played in the now defunct NFL Europa.

The city is also home of the hockey team Kölner Haie (Cologne Sharks), in the highest hockey league in Germany, the DEL. They are based at the Lanxess Arena. Cologne's basketball team "Köln 99ers" competes in the Basketball Bundesliga.

An annual Cologne Marathon was started in 1997.

Twinned cities

Cologne is twinned" with the following cities:

- Liverpool, England, since 1952 - Lille, France, since 1958 - Liège, Belgium, since 1958 - Rotterdam, Netherlands, since 1958 - Turin, Italy, since 1958 - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, since 1958 - Kyoto, Japan, since 1963 - Tunis, Tunisia, since 1964 - Turku, Finland, since 1967 - Neukölln, Berlin, since 1967 - Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, since 1979 - Barcelona, Spain, since 1984 - Beijing, China, since 1987 - Cork, Ireland, since 1988 - Thessaloniki, Greece, since 1988

- Corinto / El Realejo, Nicaragua, since 1988 - Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, since 1988 - Volgograd, Russia, since 1988 - Treptow-Köpenick, Berlin, since 1990 - Katowice, Poland, since 1991 - Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories, since 1996 - Istanbul, Turkey, since 1997 - Cluj-Napoca, Romania, since 1999 - Dunstable, England (only borough of Porz) - Benfleet, England (only borough of Rodenkirchen) - Igny, France - Brive-la-Gaillarde, France - Hazebrouck, France - Eygelshoven, Netherlands

Born in Cologne

Notable people whose roots can be found in Cologne:

• Adenauer, Konrad (5 January 1876 - 19 April 1967), politician, mayor of Cologne (1917 - 1933, 1945) and German Chancellor (1949 - 1963)
• Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius (1486 - 1535), alchemist, occultist, and author of Three Books of Occult Philosophy
• Agrippina the Younger (6 November 15 - between 19 March and 23 March 59), Roman Empress (wife of Emperor Claudius) and mother of Emperor Nero
• Bach, Dirk (born 23 April 1961), actor and comedian
• Birnbaum, Heinrich (1403 - 1473), a Catholic monk
• Blum, Robert (10 November 1807 - 9 November 1848), politician and martyr of the 19th century democratic movement in Germany
• Böll, Heinrich (21 December 1917 - 16 July 1985), writer and winner of the Nobel prize for literature in 1972
• Bruch, Max (6 January 1838 - 2 October 1920) composer
• Calatrava, Alex (born 14 June 1973), Spanish professional tennis player
• Donnersmarck, Florian Henckel von (born 2 May 1973), Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter
• Ernst, Max (2 April 1891 - 1 April 1976), artist
• Gossow, Angela (born 5 November 1974), vocalist for Melodic death metal band Arch enemy
• Heidemann, Britta (born 22 December 1982), épée fencer and Olympic medalist
• Trude Herr (4 May 1927 - 16 March 1991), actress and singer
• Kier, Udo (born 14 October 1944), actor
• Klemperer, Werner (22 March 1920 - 6 December 2000), Emmy Award-winning comedy actor
• Hildegard Krekel (born 2 June 1952), actress
• Lotti Krekel (born 23 August 1941), actress and singer
• Krupp, Uwe (born 24 June 1965), professional (ice) hockey player
• Kühn, Heinz (18 February 1912 –12 March 1992), Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia 1966-1978
• Lauterbach, Heiner (born 10 April 1953), actor
• Liebert, Ottmar (born 1 February 1961), musician
• Millowitsch, Willy (8 January 1909 - 20 September 1999), actor and playwright
• Wolfgang Niedecken (born 30 March 1951), singer, musician, artist and bandleader of BAP
• Neuhoff, Theodor von (25 August 1694 - 11 December 1756), briefly King Theodore of Corsica
• Offenbach, Jacques (20 June 1819 - 5 October 1880), composer
• Willi Ostermann (1 October 1876 - 6 August 1936) composer
• Prausnitz, Frederik William (26 August 1920 - 12 November 2004), American conductor and teacher
• Päffgen, Christa aka Nico (16 October 1938 - 18 July 1988), model, actress, singer and songwriter (see Velvet Underground) and Warhol Superstar
• Raab, Stefan Konrad (born 20 October 1966), entertainer and comedian
• Tina Ruland (born 9 October 1966), actress
• Rüttgers, Jürgen (born 26 June 1951), Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2005
• Stockhausen, Markus (born 2 May 1957), musician and composer
• Vondel, Joost van den (17 November 1587 - 5 February 1679), Dutch poet and playwright
• Weimar, Robert (born 13 May 1932), legal scientist and psychologist

References

External links

• Colonipedia, the city-wiki of Cologne

Official information

• City of Cologne, official City of Cologne page
• Cologne, Cologne information portal
• Kölner Dom, Cologne Cathedral's official website
• University of Cologne
• Churches of Cologne
• Cologne Museums
• Cologne Philharmonics
• Cologne Zoo

Tourism and travel

• Cologne Tourist Board
• Cologne Traffic Information
• Cologne Airport
• KVB - Cologne Public Transport
• Eau de Cologne Museum
• 20th World Youth Day 2005
• Official Cologne City Map with Buses, Subways and Trains
• Cologne Zoo at Zoo-Infos.de (in English)
• Dom WebCam
• 250 pictures with guide of Cologne's places of interest
• Site with photos from Cologne

Culture and history

• Academy for the Language of Cologne
• Rote Funken
• The Prussian fortress Cologne
• Soundmap of Cologne
• Livius.org: Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Köln)
• Roman Cologne in 3D