Cologne

Cologne, known in German as Köln and in the local Kölsch dialect as Kölle, is the fourth-most populous city of Germany and the largest city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. With nearly 1.1 million people living in the city itself and over 3.1 million in the surrounding urban region, Cologne is a significant cultural and historical center.

The city's most famous landmark is the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), which was the world's tallest building from 1880 to 1890. This impressive structure was built to house the Shrine of the Three Kings and remains one of the most visited sights in Europe. Cologne also boasts twelve Romanesque churches and is well-known for Eau de Cologne, a type of perfume that has been produced there since 1709.

Founded around the 1st century AD by the Romans as Colonia Agrippina, Cologne has a rich history. It served as an important trade hub during the Middle Ages and was a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite heavy bombing in World War II, many historic buildings were restored, and today Cologne is a major cultural, educational, and economic center in the Rhineland. It is home to well-known institutions like the University of Cologne and hosts important industries such as aerospace and chemicals.

History

Main articles: History of Cologne, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, and Colonial history of the city of Cologne

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Cologne.

Roman Cologne

The first urban settlement on the grounds of modern-day Cologne was Oppidum Ubiorum, founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, a Cisrhenian Germanic tribe. In AD 50, the Romans founded Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne) on the river Rhine, a colonia which was named after Emperor Claudius and his wife, who was born here, Agrippina the Younger. In 85, the city became the provincial capital of Germania Inferior. It was also known as Augusta Ubiorum. Considerable Roman remains can be found in present-day Cologne, especially near the wharf area, where a 1,900-year-old Roman boat was discovered in late 2007. From 260 to 271, Cologne was the capital of the Gallic Empire under Postumus, Marius, and Victorinus. In 310, under emperor Constantine I, a bridge was built over the Rhine at Cologne. Roman imperial governors resided in the city and it became one of the most important trade and production centers in the Roman Empire north of the Alps. Cologne is shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map.

Maternus, who was elected as bishop in 313, was the first known bishop of Cologne. The city was the capital of a Roman province until it was occupied by the Ripuarian Franks in 462. Parts of the original Roman sewers are preserved underneath the city, with the new sewerage system having opened in 1890.

After the destruction of the Second Temple in the Siege of Jerusalem and the associated dispersion (diaspora) of the Jews, there is evidence of a Jewish community in Cologne. In 321, Emperor Constantine approved the settlement of a Jewish community with all the freedoms of Roman citizens. It is assumed that it was located near the Marspforte within the city wall. The Edict of Constantine to the Jews is the oldest documented evidence in Germany.

Middle Ages

Early medieval Cologne was part of Austrasia within the Frankish Empire. Cunibert, made bishop of Cologne in 623, was an important advisor to the Merovingian King Dagobert I and served with domesticus Pepin of Landen as tutor to the king's son and heir Siegebert III, the future king of Austrasia. In 716, Charles Martel commanded an army for the first time and suffered the only defeat of his life when Chilperic II, King of Neustria, invaded Austrasia and the city fell to him in the Battle of Cologne. Charles fled to the Eifel mountains, rallied supporters and took the city back that same year after defeating Chilperic in the Battle of Amblève. Cologne had been the seat of a bishop since the Roman period; under Charlemagne, in 795, bishop Hildebold was promoted to archbishop. In the 843 Treaty of Verdun Cologne fell into the dominion of Lothair I's Middle Francia – later called Lotharingia (Lower Lorraine).

In 953, the archbishops of Cologne first gained noteworthy secular power when bishop Bruno was appointed as duke by his brother Otto I, King of Germany. In order to weaken the secular nobility, who threatened his power, Otto endowed Bruno and his archiepiscopal successors with the prerogatives of secular princes, thus establishing the Electorate of Cologne, formed by the temporal possessions of the archbishopric and included in the end a strip of territory along the left Bank of the Rhine east of Jülich, as well as the Duchy of Westphalia on the other side of the Rhine, beyond Berg and Mark. By the end of the 12th century, the Archbishop of Cologne was one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Emperor. Besides being prince elector, he was Archchancellor of Italy as well, technically from 1238 and permanently from 1263 until 1803.

Following the Battle of Worringen in 1288, Cologne gained its independence from the archbishops and became a Free City. Archbishop Sigfried II von Westerburg was forced to reside in Bonn. 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 justice. This included torture, the sentence for which was only allowed to be handed down by the episcopal judge known as the greve. This legal situation lasted until the French conquest of Cologne.

Besides its economic and political significance Cologne also became an important 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 had been taken from Milan). Besides the three magi Cologne preserves the relics of Saint Ursula and Albertus Magnus.

Cologne's location on the river Rhine placed it at the intersection of the major trade routes between east and west as well as the main south–north Western Europe trade route, Venice to Netherlands; even by the mid-10th century, merchants in the town were already known for their prosperity and luxurious standard of living due to the availability of trade opportunities. The intersection of these trade routes was the basis of Cologne's growth. By the end of the 12th century, Archbishop Phillip von Heinsberg enclosed the entire city with walls. By 1300 the city population was 50,000–55,000. Cologne was a member of the Hanseatic League in 1475, when Frederick III confirmed the city's imperial immediacy. Cologne was so influential in regional commerce that its systems of weights and measurements (e.g. the Cologne mark) were used throughout Europe.

Early modern history

The economic structures of medieval and early modern Cologne were characterised by the city's status as a major harbour and transport hub on the Rhine. Craftsmanship was organised by self-administering guilds, some of which were exclusive to women.

As a free imperial city, Cologne was a self-ruling state within the Holy Roman Empire, an imperial estate with seat and vote at the Imperial Diet, and as such had the right (and obligation) to contribute to the defense of the Empire and maintain its own military force. As they wore 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"). They fought in the wars of the 17th and 18th century, including the wars against revolutionary France in which the small force was almost completely wiped out 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 Imperial City of Cologne must not be confused with the Electorate of Cologne, which was a state of its own within the Holy Roman Empire. Since the second half of the 16th century, the majority of archbishops were drawn from the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty. Due to the free status of Cologne, the archbishops were usually not allowed to enter the city. Thus they took up residence in Bonn and later in Brühl on the 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 centuries, resulting in complicated affairs, which were handled by diplomatic means and propaganda as well as by the supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire.

From the 19th century until World War I

Cologne lost its status as a free city during the French period. According to the 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 had already occupied Cologne in 1794). 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 (French: Aix-la-Chapelle) as its capital. The French modernised 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 Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and then the Rhine Province.

The permanent tensions between the 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 Catholics and Protestants (Mischehenstreit). In 1874, during the Kulturkampf, Archbishop Paul Melchers was imprisoned before taking asylum 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 19th and 20th centuries, Cologne absorbed numerous surrounding towns, and by World War I had already grown to 700,000 inhabitants. Industrialisation changed the city and spurred its growth. Vehicle and engine manufacturing was especially successful, though the 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 occurred at the expense of the city's historic heritage with much being demolished (for example, the city walls or the area around the cathedral) and sometimes replaced by contemporary buildings.

Cologne was designated as one of the Fortresses of the German Confederation. It 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 remains 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 densely built-up area within the city itself.

During World War I Cologne was the target of several minor air raids but suffered no significant damage. Cologne was occupied by the British Army of the Rhine until 1926, under the terms of the Armistice and the subsequent Versailles Peace Treaty. In contrast with the harsh behaviour of the French occupation troops in Germany, the British forces were more lenient to the local population. Konrad Adenauer, the mayor of Cologne from 1917 until 1933 and later a West German chancellor, acknowledged the political impact of this approach, especially since Britain had opposed French demands for a permanent Allied occupation of the entire Rhineland.

As part of the demilitarisation of the Rhineland, the city's fortifications had to be dismantled. This was an opportunity to create two green belts (Grüngürtel) around the city by converting the fortifications and their fields of fire into large public parks. This was not completed until 1933. In 1919 the University of Cologne, closed by the French in 1798, was reopened. This was considered to be a replacement for the loss of the University of Strasbourg on the west bank of the Rhine, which reverted to France with the rest of Alsace. Cologne prospered during the Weimar Republic (1919–33), and progress was made especially in public governance, city planning, housing and social affairs. Social housing projects were considered exemplary and were copied by other German cities. Cologne competed to host the Olympics, and a modern sports stadium was erected at Müngersdorf. When the British occupation ended, the prohibition of civil aviation was lifted and Cologne Butzweilerhof Airport soon became a hub for national and international air traffic, second in Germany only to Berlin Tempelhof Airport.

The democratic parties lost the local elections in Cologne in March 1933 to the Nazi Party and other extreme-right parties. The Nazis then arrested the Communist and Social Democrats members of the city assembly, and Mayor Adenauer was dismissed. Compared to some other major cities, however, the Nazis never gained decisive support in Cologne. (Significantly, the number of votes cast for the Nazi Party in Reichstag elections had always been the national average.) By 1939, the population had risen to 772,221 inhabitants.

World War II

During World War II, Cologne was a Military Area Command Headquarters (Militärbereichshauptkommandoquartier) for Wehrkreis VI (headquartered at Münster). Cologne was under the command of Lieutenant-General Freiherr Roeder von Diersburg, who was responsible for military operations in Bonn, Siegburg, Aachen, Jülich, Düren, and Monschau. Cologne was home to the 211th Infantry Regiment and the 26th Artillery Regiment.

The Allies dropped 44,923.2 tons of bombs on the city during World War II, destroying 61% of its built-up area. During the Bombing of Cologne in World War II, Cologne endured 262 air raids by the Western Allies, which caused approximately 20,000 civilian casualties and almost completely wiped out the central part of the city. During the night of 31 May 1942, Cologne was the target 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 explosives, approximately two-thirds of which were incendiary. This raid lasted about 75 minutes, destroyed 600 acres (243 ha) of built-up area (61%), killed 486 civilians and made 59,000 people homeless. The devastation was recorded by Hermann Claasen from 1942 until the end of the war, and presented in his exhibition and book of 1947 Singing in the furnace. Cologne – Remains of an old city.

Cologne was taken by the American First Army in early March 1945 during the Invasion of Germany after a battle. By the end of the war, the population of Cologne had been 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. By the end of 1945, however, the population had already recovered to approximately 450,000. By the end of the war, essentially all of Cologne's pre-war Jewish population of 11,000 had been deported or killed by the Nazis. The six synagogues of the city were destroyed. The synagogue on Roonstraße was rebuilt in 1959.

Post-war and Cold War eras

Despite Cologne's status as the largest city in the region, nearby Düsseldorf was chosen as the political capital of the federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia. With Bonn being chosen as the provisional federal capital (provisorische Bundeshauptstadt) and seat of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany (then informally West Germany), Cologne benefited by being sandwiched between two important political centres. The city became–and still is–home to a number of federal agencies and organizations. After reunification in 1990, Berlin was made the capital of Germany.

In 1945 architect and urban planner Rudolf Schwarz called Cologne the "world's greatest heap of rubble". Schwarz designed the master plan for reconstruction in 1947, which included the construction of several new thoroughfares through the city centre, especially the Nord-Süd-Fahrt ("North-South-Drive"). The master plan 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 when most of the city centre was in ruins.

The destruction of 95% of the city centre, including the famous Twelve Romanesque churches such as St. Gereon, Great St. Martin, St. Maria im Kapitol and several other monuments in World War II, meant a tremendous loss of cultural treasures. The rebuilding of those churches and other landmarks such as 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 the Romanesque church of St. Kunibert was finished.

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 remained just below that until mid-2010, when it exceeded 1 million again.

Post-reunification

In the 1980s and 1990s Cologne's economy prospered for two main reasons. The first was the 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 strong visual focal point in Cologne's city centre and includes the KölnTurm, one of Cologne's most prominent high-rise buildings. The second was the permanent improvement of the diverse traffic infrastructure, which 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, were rented out to RTL, Germany's largest private broadcaster, as their new corporate headquarters.

Cologne was the focus of the 2015-16 New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany, with over 500 women reporting that they were sexually assaulted by persons of African and Arab appearance.

Geography

The city of Cologne covers an area of over 405 square kilometres and is located at a point with coordinates of 50° 56' 33 latitude and 6° 57' 32 longitude. The highest point in the city is 118 metres above sea level, while the lowest point is 37.5 metres above sea level. Cologne is part of the Cologne Lowland, an area between Bonn, Aachen, and Düsseldorf.

Cologne has a temperate oceanic climate, which means it has cool winters and warm summers. It is one of the warmest and cloudiest cities in Germany, with an average yearly temperature of 10.7 °C. The city experiences changes in temperature throughout the year, with January being the coldest month and July the warmest. Rainfall occurs fairly evenly, with a slight increase during the summer months.

Cologne is often affected by flooding from the Rhine River. The city has built an extensive flood control system to protect buildings and manage water levels, including flood walls, monitoring systems, and special areas for floodwater. This system was updated after a major flood in 1993.

Innenstadt (Stadtbezirk 1) Altstadt-Nord, Altstadt-Süd, Neustadt-Nord, Neustadt-Süd, Deutz Rodenkirchen (Stadtbezirk 2) Bayenthal, Godorf, Hahnwald, Immendorf, Marienburg, Meschenich, Raderberg, Raderthal, Rodenkirchen, Rondorf, Sürth, Weiß, Zollstock Lindenthal (Stadtbezirk 3) Braunsfeld, Junkersdorf, Klettenberg, Lindenthal, Lövenich, Müngersdorf, Sülz, Weiden, Widdersdorf Ehrenfeld (Stadtbezirk 4) Bickendorf, Bocklemünd/Mengenich, Ehrenfeld, Neuehrenfeld, Ossendorf, Vogelsang Nippes (Stadtbezirk 5) Bilderstöckchen, Longerich, Mauenheim, Niehl, Nippes, Riehl, Weidenpesch

Chorweiler (Stadtbezirk 6) Blumenberg, Chorweiler, Esch/Auweiler, Fühlingen, Heimersdorf, Lindweiler, Merkenich, Pesch, Roggendorf/Thenhoven, Seeberg, Volkhoven/Weiler, Worringen Porz (Stadtbezirk 7) Eil, Elsdorf, Ensen, Finkenberg, Gremberghoven, Grengel, Langel, Libur, Lind, Poll, Porz, Urbach, Wahn, Wahnheide, Westhoven, Zündorf Kalk (Stadtbezirk 8) Brück, Höhenberg, Humboldt/Gremberg, Kalk, Merheim, Neubrück, Ostheim, Rath/Heumar, Vingst Mülheim (Stadtbezirk 9) Buchforst, Buchheim, Dellbrück, Dünnwald, Flittard, Höhenhaus, Holweide, Mülheim, Stammheim

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city. As of 2021, about 1.1 million people lived in the city, and over 3.5 million lived in the wider Cologne Bonn Region. This area is part of the big Rhine-Ruhr region with more than 11 million people.

In 2021, Cologne had slightly more women than men. About 16% of people were younger than 18, and almost 18% were older than 65. Many people in Cologne have roots in other countries, with around 40% having a migrant background. The city is also known for its Turkish community and its special local language, Kölsch.

See also: Colognian dialect

As of 2015, many people in Cologne were Catholic, making up over a third of the population, with around 15% being Protestant. There are also Muslim, Orthodox Christian, and Jewish communities in the city. In 2021, Cologne allowed its mosques to call the Adhan, a prayer call, on Fridays.

See also: History of the Jews in Cologne

Largest groups of foreign residents

From country	Population (2022)
Turkey	57,135
Italy	21,351
Ukraine	12,634
Poland	9,766
Iraq	8,631
Syria	8,074
Bulgaria	7,916
Greece	5,841
Iran	4,910
Serbia	4,837
Romania	4,786
Russia	4,651
Spain	3,954
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,830
Croatia	3,539
Portugal	3,263
France	3,043
Kosovo	2,586
Netherlands	2,523
Morocco	2,418
Austria	2,394
China	2,328
United Kingdom	2,287

Government and politics

See also: Cologne City Hall

The city of Cologne is led by a mayor and three deputy mayors. Cologne has a unique political atmosphere shaped by its history as a free imperial city and its mix of Catholic traditions. This has created a network of relationships among different groups, sometimes leading to unusual outcomes in city government.

Currently, the Lord Mayor of Cologne is Torsten Burmester of the SPD. The city council works with the mayor to govern Cologne for five-year terms. Cologne also has representatives in the state parliament and the federal parliament in Germany.

Cityscape

The inner city of Cologne was mostly destroyed during World War II, but it was rebuilt in the 1950s. Today, the city center has modern buildings, though some important older structures were rebuilt. Some of these modern buildings, like the Cologne Opera, are famous but also debated.

Outside the center, many buildings date from the 19th and 20th centuries. Green spaces cover over a quarter of the city, providing about 75 m² of park area for each person. Notable areas include the old town of Junkersdorf, an Art Nouveau villa on Bayenthal-gürtel, a Gründerzeit building in Ehrenfeld, Cologne, and the Hansahochhaus, an example of Brick Expressionism.

Wildlife

Cologne is home to many kinds of animals, including insects, small rodents, and birds. Pigeons are very common, but you can also see exotic birds like rose-ringed parakeets. These birds are able to stay in the city because the climate is mild enough, even in winter.

In parks and green areas, you might spot hedgehogs, rabbits, and squirrels. In the outer parts of the city, foxes and wild boar can sometimes be seen during the day.

Tourism

Cologne is a popular city for visitors, with millions of people staying overnight and arriving each year. The city has many famous places to see and explore.

Landmarks

Churches

Cologne Cathedral is the city's most famous landmark. This large Gothic church began construction in 1248 and was finished in 1880. It was named a World Heritage Site in 1996. The cathedral holds special treasures called the Shrine of the Three Kings, which are believed to contain important ancient items known as relics.

There are also twelve important old churches called Romanesque churches. Some of these churches date back to Roman times. For example, St. Gereon was built on the site of an old Roman building, and St. Maria im Kapitol was built where a Roman temple once stood. Many of these churches were damaged during World War II but have been repaired.

• Cologne Cathedral
• St. Gereon's Basilica
• St. Maria im Kapitol
• Great St. Martin Church
• Basilica of St. Severin
• Church of the Assumption
• Trinity Church

Medieval houses

The Cologne City Hall is the oldest city hall in Germany that is still used today. It was founded in the 12th century, and later parts were added in the 15th century.

• Cologne City Hall
• Gürzenich
• Overstolzenhaus

Medieval city gates

Only a few of the old city gates still remain. These include the Eigelsteintor, Hahnentor, and Severinstor.

• Eigelsteintor
• Hahnentor
• Severinstor

Streets

Main article: Streets in Cologne

The Cologne Ring boulevards are famous for their night life and historic gates. Hohe Straße is a main shopping area filled with shops and restaurants. Schildergasse is known as one of the busiest shopping streets in Europe.

Bridges

Several bridges cross the Rhine River in Cologne, including the Rodenkirchen Bridge, South Bridge, Severin Bridge, Deutz Bridge, Hohenzollern Bridge, Zoo Bridge, and Mülheim Bridge. The Hohenzollern Bridge is especially well-known. There is also a Cologne Cable Car that travels between the Cologne Zoological Garden and Rheinpark.

High-rise structures

The tallest structure in Cologne is the Colonius telecommunication tower, which stands 266 meters tall. Other tall buildings include the Hansahochhaus and the Messeturm Köln.

Skyscraper	Image	Height in metres	Floors	Year	Address
KölnTurm		148.5	43	2001	MediaPark 8, Neustadt-Nord
Colonia-Hochhaus		147	45	1973	An der Schanz 2, Riehl
Rheintower		138	34	1980	Raderberggürtel, Marienburg
Uni-Center		133	45	1973	Luxemburger Straße, Sülz
TÜV Rheinland		112	22	1974	Am Grauen Stein, Poll
Ringturm		109	26	1973	Ebertplatz, Neustadt-Nord
Justizzentrum Köln		105	25	1981	Luxemburger Straße, Sülz
KölnTriangle		103	29	2006	Ottoplatz 1, Deutz
Herkules-Hochhaus		102	31	1969	Graeffstraße 1, Ehrenfeld

Culture

Main article: History of theatre in Cologne

Cologne is a city rich in culture, with many museums and music venues. The Roman-Germanic Museum shows art and architecture from ancient times, while the Museum Ludwig has an important collection of modern art, including works by Picasso. The city has many music venues and several famous orchestras, such as the Gürzenich Orchestra and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.

Cologne is also known for its Carnival, one of the largest street festivals in Europe, and for its special type of beer called Kölsch. The city has a long tradition of food, with dishes like herring salad and mussels in Rhenish style. Cologne is the home of Eau de Cologne, a famous perfume created over 300 years ago.

Main article: Rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf

Main article: List of museums in Cologne

Economy

Cologne is a major city in Germany with a strong economy. It is especially known for its insurance and media industries. Big media companies like Westdeutscher Rundfunk, RTL Television, and Deutschlandradio have their offices there. The city is also home to important insurance companies.

Cologne is a key location for businesses and trade. It has big ports along the Rhine River and a major airport, Cologne Bonn Airport, that handles lots of cargo. The city hosts many trade fairs and events, making it a busy place for commerce and travel.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Cologne

Cologne has many ways to get around, including roads, railways, buses, and airports. In the 1920s, Cologne built its first limited-access road, and later became the first German city to have a motorway ring around it. Today, Cologne has an extensive light rail system called the Cologne Stadtbahn, which connects the city to nearby places like Bonn and Düsseldorf.

The city also has many bus routes and an international airport called Cologne/Bonn Airport, named after Konrad Adenauer, a former mayor of Cologne and Germany's first post-war Chancellor. The airport is shared with the nearby city of Bonn.

Education

Cologne has many universities and colleges, with about 72,000 students. The University of Cologne, founded in 1388, is the largest university in Germany. The Cologne University of Applied Sciences is the largest university of Applied Sciences in the country, and the Cologne University of Music and Dance is the largest conservatory in Europe. There are also places where people who are not from Germany can learn the German language.

A Jewish school named Lauder Morijah School once closed but reopened in 2002 after more people from Russia moved to the area and increased the Jewish population.

Media

Cologne is one of Germany’s largest centers for media, with around 30,000 to 40,000 people working in this sector. The city is well known for producing many TV shows, especially crime stories, and hosts important broadcasting companies like Westdeutscher Rundfunk and RTL Deutschland. It also has many radio stations, music labels, and publishing houses.

The MediaPark in Cologne is a major hub for media companies, offering lots of office space for about 250 businesses. The city is also home to schools for film and comedy, and it has big studios where TV shows are made.

Sports

Cologne is a city with many sports teams and events. The football club 1. FC Köln plays in the Bundesliga, the top league in Germany, and their home games are at RheinEnergieStadion. This stadium was also used for some matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The city has other sports teams too, like the ice hockey team Kölner Haie, which plays in Germany’s top ice hockey league. Cologne also hosts many sports events, including marathons, cycling races, and rowing competitions. It has been the venue for big international tournaments such as the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, and the 2024 FIFA European Championship.

Notable people

Cologne has been home to many famous people across different fields. Jacques Offenbach was a well-known composer, while Heinrich Böll won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972. Other notable figures include Udo Kier, an actor, and Leon Draisaitl, a professional ice hockey player.

More recently, Marie Reim and Justin Diehl have also gained recognition as a singer and a professional footballer, respectively. These individuals have contributed to Cologne's rich cultural and athletic heritage.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Cologne has many friendship agreements with cities around the world. These partnerships began in different years, showing Cologne’s connections with places like Barcelona in Spain, Beijing in China, and Liverpool in England.

Some past partnerships, like with Volgograd in Russia, are no longer active.