Cologne – 2000 years of history

Friday, 29 April 2011 - 02:52 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time:  4 minutes

Rhine Garden © Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rhine Garden © Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-3.0

Cologne 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.

Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine River. The city’s famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) is one of Europe’s oldest universities. The city is host to 72,000 students. Green areas account for over a quarter of Cologne which is approximately 75 m² of public green space for every citizen of the city.

Cologne is a major cultural centre 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 Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne, imm Cologne International Furniture Fair and the Photokina. Cologne is also well-known for its celebration of Cologne Carnival, the annual reggae summerjam, and Cologne Gay Pride.

Town Hall © Politikaner Rheinauhafen - Crane House South © Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-3.0 Old Market Square © Thomas Robbin Old Hey Market © ZH2010 New Market Square © Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-3.0 Glockengasse4711 © VollwertBIT Cologne Cathedral © Thomas Wolf City Museum © VollwertBIT Belgian Quarter © 27292 Rhine Garden © Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-3.0
<
>
Rheinauhafen - Crane House South © Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-3.0
Within Germany, Cologne is known as an important media center. Several radio and television stations, including Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), RTL and VOX, have their headquarters in the city. Both Pro7 and Sat.1 produce TV shows in Cologne as well. Further, the city hosts the Cologne Comedy Festival, which is considered to be the largest comedy festival in mainland Europe.

The inner city 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 Cologne Opera house and other modern buildings has remained controversial.

Cologne carnival is one of the biggest street festivals in Europe. In Cologne, the carnival season officially starts on 11 November at 11 minutes past 11 a.m. with the proclamation of the new Carnival Season, and continues until Ash Wednesday. But the so-called “Tolle Tage” (great 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.

Cologne had 4.31 million nights accommodation booked and 2.38 million arrivals in 2008. The city also has the most pubs per capita in Germany. The city has 70 clubs and other party spots. The city has “countless” bars, restaurants and brewhouses.

To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facepage pages/Twitter accounts. Read more on City of Cologne, Cologne Tourism, Cologne Panorama, Wikitravel Cologne and Wikipedia Cologne. Learn more about the use of photos.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Sligo, the center of the Irish Border Region

Sligo, the center of the Irish Border Region

[caption id="attachment_161102" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Bridge over the Garavogue River © geograph.org.uk - Kenneth Allen/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Sligo is the county town and the most populous urban area in County Sligo. With a population of 19,500 in 2011, it is the second-largest urban centre in the province of Connacht. Sligo is a major economic, educational, administrative and cultural centre of Ireland's Border Region, a region of over 500,000 people which comprises the counties of Sligo, Do...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Bhutan

Theme Week Bhutan

[caption id="attachment_221249" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Rice terraces - Eli Shany/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bhutan, officially known as the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas. It is bordered by Tibet to the north and India to the south. Nepal and Bangladesh are located in proximity to Bhutan but do not share a land border. The country has a population of over 754,000 and a territory of 38,394 square kilometers (14,824 sq mi) which ranks 133rd in terms of land area, and 160th...

[ read more ]

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich

[caption id="attachment_162015" align="aligncenter" width="590"] National Maritime Museum © ChrisO/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Greenwich in London, is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings form part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, and it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, and 17th-century Queen's House. In 2012, Her Majesty The Queen formally approved Royal Museums Gree...

[ read more ]

Mountain Railways of India

Mountain Railways of India

[caption id="attachment_223262" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Darjeeling Himalayan Railway diesel locomotive © Subhrajyoti07/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Mountain railways of India are the narrow-gauge railway lines that were built in the mountains of India. Three of them, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and the Kalka–Shimla Railway, are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Mountain Railways of India". The fourth railway, the Matheran Hill Rai...

[ read more ]

The Westhafen Tower in Frankfurt

The Westhafen Tower in Frankfurt

[caption id="attachment_153843" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Westhafen © Fafner/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Westhafen Tower is a 109.9 m (361 ft) 30-storey skyscraper in the Gutleutviertel district of Frankfurt. The building was designed by the architects Schneider & Schumacher and was completed in 2004. The tower, whose name literally means "West Port Tower", is one of the first buildings at the former West Port. [gallery size="medium" gss="1" ids="180180,180184,180183,180182,180181,153843"]From the outsid...

[ read more ]

Puerto Banús, Europe's largest marina

Puerto Banús, Europe's largest marina

[caption id="attachment_150749" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Maximo88/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Puerto José Banús, more commonly known as Puerto Banús is a marina located in the area of Nueva Andalucía, to the southwest of Marbella on the Costa del Sol. It was built in May 1970 by José Banús, a local property developer, as a luxury marina and shopping complex. It has since become one of the largest entertainment centres in the Costa del Sol, with 5 million annual visitors, and is popular with internatio...

[ read more ]

The Zeughaus in Berlin

The Zeughaus in Berlin

[caption id="attachment_26624" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Avda/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Zeughaus (old Arsenal) in Berlin is the oldest structure at Unter den Linden. It was built by the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III between 1695 and 1730 in the baroque style, to be used as an artillery arsenal for the display of cannons from Brandenburg and Prussia. The first building master was Johann Arnold Nering. After his death in 1695, he was followed by Martin Grünberg, then Andreas Schlüter and fi...

[ read more ]

Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

[caption id="attachment_228310" align="aligncenter" width="458"] Abraham Lincoln © Alexander Gardner[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. It is one of the best-known speeches in American history. ...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Lapland - Kemijärvi

Theme Week Lapland - Kemijärvi

[caption id="attachment_229264" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Lake Kemijärvi © Paasikivi/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Kemijärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of 7,100 and covers an area of 3,930.91 square kilometres (1,517.73 sq mi) of which 425.84 km ...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Ireland - Mullingar

Theme Week Ireland - Mullingar

[caption id="attachment_171184" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Market House © Ultrafighter/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Mullingar (Irish: An Muileann gCearr, meaning "the left-handed mill") is the county town of County Westmeath in Leinster province. It is the 3rd most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of 21,000. Mullingar is famous for the neighbouring lakes, Lough Owel, Lough Ennell and Lough Derravaragh, which attract many anglers, and Belvedere House and Gardens which is heavily promoted for...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
The North Station © Felivet
Valencia, party capital of Spain

Valencia is the most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with...

Old town of Dubrovnik © gari.baldi
Dubrovnik, pearl of the Adriatic

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik....

© erih.net
European Route of Industrial Heritage

The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a network (theme route) of the most important industrial heritage sites in...

Schließen