Cologne

Cologne ( German : Köln, Ripuarisch : Kölle) is a city district (kreisfreie Stadt) and metropolis in Germany, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , located on the Rhine , north of Bonn and south of Neuss and Düsseldorf . Cologne with 1,034,175 inhabitants [2] the fourth largest city in Germany and the largest in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the metropolitan area population of approximately 2.5 million people. Cologne is the capital city of Cologne and the unofficial capital of the Rhineland .

The history of the city dates back over 2,000 years. Cologne played from the Middle Ages an important role in church and politics. Formerly part of the electorateElectorate of Cologne .

The city is famous for its rich history, cultural and architectural heritage and a number of large and international events such as the carnival and trade fairs . Cologne also has a university, one of the oldest in Europe, and an airport , which it shares with Bonn .

Content
[ hide ]
 * 1 History
 * 2 Geography
 * 2.1 Topography
 * 2.2 Geology
 * 2.3 Stadtbezirken and -teilen
 * 2.4 Climate
 * 3 Demographics
 * 3.1 Development of the population
 * 3.2 Religion
 * 3.2.1 Christianity
 * 3.2.2 Judaism
 * 3.2.3 Islam
 * 3.3 Dialect
 * 4 Politics and government
 * 4.1 City Council
 * 4.2 Mayor
 * 4.3 Stadswapen
 * 4.4 Town twinning
 * 5 Culture
 * 5.1 Architecture
 * 5.1.1 Sights
 * 5.1.2 Rhine Bridges
 * 5.2 Museums and entertainment venues
 * 5.3 Theater
 * 5.4 Music
 * 5.5 Events
 * 5.6 Sport
 * 5.7 Beer
 * 6 Economy
 * 6.1 Fairs
 * 6.2 Media
 * 7 Education
 * 7.1 Primary and secondary schools
 * 7.2 Berufsbildende Schulen
 * 7.3 Universities and colleges
 * 8 Traffic and transport
 * 8.1 Road traffic
 * 8.2 Rail Traffic
 * 8.3 Fietsverkeer
 * 8.4 Aviation
 * 8.5 Shipping
 * 9 Birth
 * 10 See also
 * 11 External links

History [ edit ]
Reconstruction of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium

The current Cologne by people inhabited since the Paleolithic, particularly in the Rheinau Island and in the current districtsLindenthal and Woeringen . Even Celts have lived at the Cologne left bank. Lived until a few decades before Christ in the area that today is the Cologne Eburons . After Julius Caesar had defeated them, the received Ubii permission to settle here. They founded in 38 BC. a settlement on an island in the Rhine Oppidum Ubiorum. The Romans settled here also the central office and the governor of the province of Germania Inferior . Also here was the headquarters of the Roman Rhine fleet. The settlement grew into a big city. In honor of Emperor Nero 's Cologne-born mother Agrippina, the future wife of Emperor Claudius , the city was renamed Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (CCAA) and she was walled.

During the Great Migration, the city was occupied by the Franks who also established one of their main administrative centers. By all invasions and turmoil of the 4th to 6th centuries ran the population has significantly back, but Cologne still remained one of the largest cities north of the Alps .

Already in the early Middle Ages, the city began to grow again because of its location at the crossroads of major trade routes and the Rhine remained important. The bishop of Cologne remained a major figure on the political scene of the Middle Ages and also dominated for a long time the southern border of the current Netherlands . From about 953 the bishop of Cologne retained only the secular authority over a narrow strip of 150 km on the left bank of the Rhine. Still, this was enough to the main dignitaries of the Holy Roman Empire to hear, especially as elector of the so-called Adopt-Cologne .

In the battle of Worringen in 1288 fought the quota of the Cologne citizens on the side of the Duke of Brabant, the enemy of the bishop. Thanks to the defeat of the bishop of the city could rid himself of his dominion and in fact become an independent city-state amidst the rest of the electorate, which remained under the authority of the bishop. Bishop who would henceforth have his seat to Bonn . Around Cologne 1367 was 40,000 inhabitants the largest city of the Empire. In 1475 confirmed Emperor Frederick III officially the status of Cologne as a free imperial city, and that they would remain for more than three centuries.

A destroyed Cologne in 1945

During the Reformation continued to both the city and the surrounding diocese Catholic . After the Peace of Westphalia took, besides the Bavarian, also the French influence in Cologne increasing. In the peace of Luneville Cologne came with the whole left bank of the Rhine to the French Republic .

At the Congress of Vienna after the fall of Napoleon Cologne Prussian, but French law remained valid. In the modern period reduced the influence of Cologne outside theRhineland but the city still remained by far the economic, cultural and constitutional the main town until the Industrial Revolution .

The center of Cologne was in the Second World War heavily bombed. After the ravages of war were restored, the city grew rapidly into his old position of one of the major cities in Germany.

[Topography edit ]
Cologne is situated in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, about 85 kilometers from the border with the Netherlands. It's more than 1 million inhabitants, although the largest city in its state, but not the capital, which is namely Dusseldorf . Cologne lies on the Rhine, which plays an important role for the city and has contributed to the growth. The city has an important city on the Rhine.

Cologne stretches over an area of ​​405.15 km² of which 230.25 km² left of the Rhine and 174.87 km² right of the Rhine. This is the area in the fifth largest city in Germany. The highest point is at 118.04 meters in the nature König Frost, while the lowest point in the Worringer Bruch (an old Rijnarm) with a height of 37.5 meters above sea level is well below the Cologne Rhine level.

Panoramic view of the Rhine near Cologne from the Deutzer Bridge. On the far left in the distance the TV tower, the Groß St. Martin church and the Duomo, the blue roof of the theater building, bridge Hohenzollern Bridge, on the other side of the Rhine from the Messe tower, and the far right a controversial office tower (still in construction).

[Geology edit ]
Cologne is largely in the lower river terraces of the Rhine, which reach as broad steps from the river.

The surface is largely in the Tertiary and partly in the Quaternary formation and consists of several layers of river sediments . An exception is the extreme east of the city, which already at the foot of the Rhenish Massif lies.

Due to the large surface area that covers Cologne there are differences in the soil and microclimates present. Thanks to the Rhine and loess in the east the soil in the area is generally very fertile. There are heath - and forest areas in the east of the city area, where the Bergisches Land begins.

Stadtbezirken and -teilen [ edit ]
The city of Cologne has 86 districts spread over 9 Stadtbezirken :

[Demographics edit ]
Cologne is the fourth largest city in population in Germany after Berlin , Hamburg and Munich . Officially had 1,027,504 inhabitants Cologne on December 31, 2010. [4] [5] In 2011, found a new census (Zensus 2011) instead. But Cologne is also the center of an urban area - which includes the neighboring cities Bonn , Hürth , Leverkusen and Bergisch Gladbach ) - with over 2 million inhabitants.

The average age in Cologne is 42 years, 51% women are slightly in the majority. A quarter of Cologne's population is between 18 and 35 years, while 18% are aged 65 or older. In 2010, 40% of all inhabitants actually born in Cologne. In 2010 9682 new Cologne Egyptians saw the light, with the most popular names "Maximilian" and were "Marie". In the same year, 9033 people died. The average age at death was 76.5 years. Of the population is 33% migrated to Cologne and 17% are not of German origin. This last group is composed of 181 different nationalities. The largest immigrant groups are from Turkey (5.94%); this group is a third originally born in Cologne. Furthermore, 5.56% from a country belonging to the European Union. [6]

Development of the population [ edit ]
In the first century AD, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium inhabited by approximately 30,000 people. Including by looting and occupations by Franks and other Germanic peoples, the population then dropped to about 15,000, to the High Middle Ages to regain the limit of 30,000 inhabitants and grow to 40,000 residents.

When the industrialization in the nineteenth century onwards, the received Cologne, which until then but had grown steadily, due to a large population. The city had 40,000 inhabitants in 1807, in 1852 was already reached the milestone of 100,000, which was the fifth Großstadt Cologne in Germany.

Even after Cologne grew further, partly through annexations of surrounding places like Worringen and Lime . In 1937, the city reached a preliminary peak of more than 772,000. By the Second World War shrank the city to the level of the beginning of the twentieth century: in 1945 there were "only" 453,000 people. After the war the city grew further: in 1959 the population in 1939 already exceeded and in the 70s reached Cologne even the status of metropolis : as a result of the addition of Köln-Gesetzes was the number of 1 million on January 1, 1975 reaches people.

Partly because the city of Cologne Wesseling had to cede back in 1976, the population fell below the limit again. After some fluctuations, the population today again exceeded one million. However, projections indicate that the growth of the population is moderate. For example, for 2020 expects a population of 1.032 million, and between 2020 and 2025 the number (again) will remain stable or slightly to 1.0318 million will fall. Until 2035 it also predicts a stable population development, with the prognosis leads to 1.0297 million. [7]

[Religion edit ]
Historic Cologne can be regarded as a Roman Catholic city. The Archdiocese of Cologne has existed since 313. In modern Cologne however many religions are practiced.

Data from 2009 show that of the Cologne population approximately 39.1% is Catholic, 16.9% Protestant and 44% profess a different religion / worldview or non-religious. [6] Among these other religions are Islam, Judaism, Orthodox Christians, Hinduism and Buddhism represented in Cologne. [8]

In 2005 the XXth Roman Catholic World Youth Day held in Cologne. The same year also visited Pope Benedict the city while also the first pope to enter a synagogue in Germany.

Christianity [ edit ]
The Protestant Trinitatiskirche

Since the year 313 Cologne is a diocese, according to legend, the first bishop was the holy Maternus . The former Roman head temple of Cologne was used as first church building which still archaeological remains under the current dumb witnesses. First Cologne Cathedral dates back to 870. In 1164 came the Third Crusade, the bodies of thethree kings or three wise men from the east into Cologne. To the Shrine of the Three Kings to offer a stately home was in 1248 with the construction of the "new" Cologne Cathedral began. Nowadays there are in Cologne for almost a hundred Catholic churches, of which twelve Romanesque and four gothic . The Archdiocese of Cologne is still the richest diocese in the world. This is mainly due to the mandatory in Germany Kirchensteuer officially registered every Catholic must pay his diocese. Cologne is home to theSaints Caspar , Melchior , Balthasar , Maternus , Severin of Cologne , Ursula , Bruno of Cologne , Cunibert , Albertus Magnus and Heribert of Cologne ( Deutz ).

Also Protestantism is represented in Cologne. In 1525, Adolf Clarenbach as heretic burned. And yet there were in 1580, many Protestant churches. In addition to German, there were also Dutch and French speaking communities. These were to find the right bank of the Rhine (especially in the Mülheim district), while the left bank of the Rhine (the actual side of Cologne) remained Catholic. Only in 1794, after the French occupation, the Protestants in Cologne were really an important part of the Cologne city culture.

Since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, more and more Russian and other Eastern European immigrants came to Germany. Therefore, the Orthodox Church has more than 15 years ago, the Romanesque church of St. Pantaleon acquired. The Orthodox have a special bond with St. Pantaleon. Because Pantaleon a Greek saint 's;because this church, built in 860 on the desire of the Byzantine princess and later empress Theophanu, wife of Emperor Otto II of the Holy Roman Empire , was 980 beautifully rich, and because Theophanu since her death in 991 at Nijmegen on her own desire in a sarcophagus in St. Pantaleon rest.

In Cologne, further established the Old Catholic Church, the Apostolic Gemeinschaft , the Apostelamt Jesu Christi , the Armenian Apostolic Church , the Anglican Church , theBaptists , the Ethiopian Orthodox Church , the Evangelical Methodist Church , the Evangelical Lutheran Church , Finnish Protestants, the Free Evangelical Church , theSalvation Army , the Moravian Brethren Municipality , the Reformed Church in Hungary , the Japanese Evangelical Church, Jehovah's Witnesses , the New Apostolic Church with nine city councils, the Dutch Reformed Church , the Ukrainian Orthodox Church , and many others.

[Judaism edit ]
Synagogue on the Roonstraße

Since 321, the Jewish community of Cologne's oldest "north of the Alps". In 1056, in writing for the first time found a Jewish neighborhood in Cologne. In 1183 showed the thenarchbishop of Cologne Jews own area to around the current town hall where they could live in peace. This area was designed exclusively for Jews and was closed by gates. In fact this was the first so ghetto . The mikvah from this period can still be seen under a glass pyramid for the Rathaus Cologne. Real "live in peace" but were actually Jews throughout the Middle Ages hardly. So they were blamed for the plague epidemic of 1349 and murdered many therefore [9] . In 1933 there were 18,000 Jews in Cologne, but these were largely dissipated in the Nazi period. The synagogue in the Glockengasse Roonstraße, Mülheimer Freiheit and Deutz were during Kristallnacht fired in 1938. Later, around 8,000 Jews were murdered.

Today, the Jewish community in Cologne again over 5000 members. It has a primary school, a separate kindergarten , a library , a sports club, several kosher restaurants, a youth center, a nursing home and a representative synagogue on the historic site Roonstraße.

Islam [ edit ]
Ca. 12% of the current population of Cologne is Muslim . This is mainly due to Turkish immigrants (about 85,000) since the 60s of the 20th century. The main Turkish Islamic organizations in Germany are almost all located in Cologne. Today there are 45 mosques in Cologne, thereof in the Ehrenfeld district one of the largest in Germany. At the moment we are working on the construction of a mosque with two 55 meter highminarets in the same place.

From 1996-2000 has a self-styled " Caliph of Cologne achieved "international headlines. This caliph, Metin Kaplan, was also the Khomeini called Cologne. In 2001 was Caliphate Cologne prohibited. Kaplan has been to Turkey and extradited there to lifelong convicted.

[Dialect edit ]
Much Cologne Egyptians speak the local dialect Kölsch, derived from the Ripuarisch . Kölsch sounds in Belgian and Dutch ears like a combination of German and Limburg . There are dictionaries German Kölsch Kölsch and German. It is striking that no letter "G" exists in the Kölsch German dictionary. This is because the German "G" -sound in the Kölsch does not exist, namely, which is a "Y", "R" or "CH".

[Politics and government Edit ]
In 1999 the Cologne summit of the G8 site.

[Council edit ]
Below is shown the distribution of seats in the city council of Cologne since 1946: [10]

Mayor [ edit ]
The current mayor of Cologne Jürgen Roters. Roters represents Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD), and shall perform his duties since October 21, 2009 from. He followed the Christian Democrat Fritz Schramma on ( CDU ), who reigned from 2000 to 2009 Cologne. Roters was from 1994 to 1999 president of the police of Cologne, and he was then from 1999 to 2005 government president Cologne .

[Stadswapen edit ]
Weapon of Cologne

The coat of arms of Cologne has existed for several centuries, although it has changed several times. The colors red and white refer to the Hanseatic League . Cologne was an important Hanseatic city Hanseatic Flag therefore lies partly at the base of the coat of arms of Cologne. The three crowns refer to the Magi or the Three Kings. The relics of these three kings were in the twelfth century to the city donated by Frederick I . The eleven black drops (interpreted as flames or tears) adorn the arms since the 16th century. They refer to Saint Ursula, who according to legend, a group of eleven thousand virgin companions on the return trip was a pilgrimage to Rome, when the group fell into the hands of the Huns and was killed.

A coat of arms is often depicted a two-headed eagle with the coat of arms in the center. With his legs hold the eagle also a scepter and a sword. This variation was introduced in the 19th century by the Prussians, who after retiring from the French occupation took power over Cologne.

City links [ edit ]
Cologne is twinning with the following cities:

[Sights edit ]
View of the Cologne city center at night

The Farina-Haus, the birthplace of the cologne

Südbrücke

The Deutzer Brücke

The Hohenzollernbrücke

Cologne city center was almost completely destroyed during World War II, this is the current buildings mostly modern. In rebuilding the style of the 50's was followed, while respecting the old layout, street layout and the street remained unchanged. As a result, the appearance of the city in the present characterized by the simple and modest style of the post-war buildings, with in between buildings that have been restored to the war because of their historical importance. The most famous building, the Cologne Cathedral, was indeed hit fourteen times during the war, during air raids resulting in some large holes in the nave and the towers, but was, especially compared with the rest of the surrounding buildings, relatively unscathed war due to.
 * The Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the most famous building in Cologne and an unofficial symbol of the city. The Cologne Cathedral is a Gothic church. Construction began in 1248 and was not completed until 1880. Since 1996, the building on the World Heritage List . In church matters including the Shrine of the Three Kings kept: the Saints Caspar , Melchior and Balthasar .
 * The twelve great Roman basilicas : St. Severin , St. Maria Lyskirchen , Basilica of St. Andrew , St. Aposteln , St. Gereon , St. Ursula , St. Pantaleon , St. Maria im Kapitol (St. Maria im Kapitol), Great St. Martin , St. Georg , St. Kunibert and Saint Cecilia Church . These 12 churches have been built in medieval sacral style. Some of the churches even dates back to Roman times, like St. Gereonskerk, which was originally a chapel on a Roman graveyard. With the exception of St. Mary Lyskerk all these churches are heavily damaged during World War II where sometimes only remained outside the walls; reconstruction was completed only in 1985. Then there is the St. John the Baptist Church dating back to the Middle Ages.
 * The Rhine . Besides the many bridges you can cross the river with the Rheinseilbahn, a cable car that connects the two banks at the height of the Zoobrücke. There are cruises on the Rhine.
 * The Old Town is the center of the city, located west of the Rhine comprising a northern and a southern part. Here are include Alter Markt and Heumarkt.
 * The Rathaus, the town hall of Cologne. Founded in 1135, the front, the "Spanish construction" was in 1569 founded. The tower was in the war, like the rest of Cologne severely damaged and burned almost completely.
 * Praetorium, underground Roman tempelruine under the Rathaus. Input "Small Budengasse"
 * The old city wall. The city wall has long since been demolished to a great extent, but there are still a few pieces here and there intact. The remains are best seen in the old city gate and Ulrepforte between Hansaring and Christoph Strasse.
 * Glock 4711 is the address where once the famous cologne was produced. Nowadays, a store located at this address where you can buy all kinds of perfumes. In the house where the perfume was invented, the Farina-Haus, is now a museum.
 * The neighborhoods Belgisches Viertel and "Neu-Ehrenfeld" (between Subbelrath and Nußbaumerstraße) are both built in Art Nouveau - / Gründerzeit style

[Rhine Bridges edit ]
Downstream, from south to north so:
 * Rodenkirchener Brücke, Autobahnbrücke Rodenkirchen, length 567m, suspension bridge on the outskirts of Cologne-Rodenkirchen Cologne-Poll. For the motorway A4, also for pedestrians and cyclists.  Built in 1938, destroyed in 1945, rebuilt in 1952.
 * Südbrücke, length 368m, triple arch bridge Cologne-Bayenthal to Cologne-Porz . For rail traffic, including pedestrians and cyclists.  Built in 1910, destroyed in 1945, rebuilt 1946-1950.
 * Severinsbrücke, length 691m, cable-stayed bridge in the southern center to Cologne-Poll.voor cars, tram / ​​metro, cyclists and pedestrians.  Built 1958/1959
 * Deutzer Brücke, length 437m, from the center to Köln-Deutz . Now for cars tram / metro, cyclists and pedestrians.  Roman arch bridge built 310 in the Middle Ages as ferry bridge , suspension bridge built in 1935, collapsed in 1945, new construction and girder bridge 1947/1948
 * Hohenzollernbrücke, length 409m, triple arch bridge of stupid to Köln-Deutz . For rail traffic, including cyclists and pedestrians.  Built in 1859, renovated from 1907 to 1911, damaged in 1945, rebuilt 1945-1959.
 * Zoobrücke, length 597m, beam bridge Zoo Cologne-Kalk. For the highway, including cyclists and pedestrians.  Built 1962-1966
 * Mülheimer Brücke, length 708m, suspension bridge Cologne-Riehl in Cologne-Mülheim . For cars, tram / metro, cyclists and pedestrians.  Built 1927-1929, destroyed in 1944, rebuilt 1949-1951
 * Leverkusener Brücke, length 687m, suspension bridge Cologne-Merkenich to Leverkusen . For the motorway A1, also for cyclists and pedestrians.  Built 1961-1965

[Museums and entertainment venues edit ]
Cologne has a large number of museums and leisure facilities. The three museums are the most important: There are numerous other museums.There is the Fragrance Museum in the Farina-Haus opposite the Town Hall. This museum is located in the house where the cologne its roots and that is dedicated to fragrances and perfume. The EL-DE Haus is a former headquarters of the Gestapo in the city of Cologne. In Nazi Germany, prisoners were interrogated here, tortured and executed. Now it is a museum about Nazi Germany .
 * Ludwig Museum, a museum with a collection of art from the 20th century and the present .
 * Roman-Germanic Museum, a museum founded in 1974 with archaeological ate impression of antiquity and Roman times to the Middle Ages. From the Middle Ages close the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum on the collection. In the collection of the Roman-Germanic Museum are many archaeological finds from the Roman Cologne.
 * Wallraf-Richartz Museum, a museum with paintings, visual art and design from the Middle Ages to Impressionism

Cologne also offers a number of recreational activities. The Kölner Zoo is a great zoo, especially known for its primates and elephants are large grounds. Next to the zoo is the Aquarium Cologne . One can find include a reef aquarium, Rhein Panorama (fish from the Rhine) and crocodiles. Behind the Zoo and Aquarium is freely accessible botanical garden Flora Köln find two large tropical houses. In the immediate vicinity of Cologne lies the amusement park Phantasialand .

Theater [ edit ]
Cologne tradition of theater. There are many theaters, large theaters and small family theaters, children's theaters, music theaters, puppet theaters and even theaters in the Kölsch .

The largest theater in Cologne is the Kölner Schauspielhaus . Other large and well-known theaters are: There are also some smaller theaters, the Arkadas Theatre, Studio Theatre, Cassiopeia Bühne, Eifelturm, Freies Werkstatt Theater, Horizont Theater, Inteata, I Pagliacci Theater, Kabarett Theater Klingelpütz, Lapislazuli Puppentheater, Monteure, Musiktheater Work Schutz, NN Theatre - Neue Volksbühne Köln, Ommes und Oimel, Orangerie - Theater im Volksgarten, Piccolo Theatre, Studio Bühne, Theater im Hof, Theatre Michoels (first Jewish theater in Germany) Pusteblume Theatre, Theatre Tiefrot, and Theaterpädagogisches Zentrum.
 * Halle Kalk
 * Schlosserei
 * Hänneschen , puppet theater in the Kölsch
 * Theater am Dom, boulevard theater
 * Senftöpfchen Theatre , Comedy and cabaret
 * Volkstheater Millowitsch, really popular theater in the Kölsch
 * Theater am Sachsenring, game, (German) language, cabaret and cabaret
 * Theater der Keller , avant-garde, but also small contemporary interpretations of classics
 * Theater im Bauturm, literary contemporary
 * Comedia Colonia , children , young people and cabaret
 * Scala Theater Cologne, Cologne sometimes primal and often flat
 * Artheater , musical theater and modern stage
 * Casamax, occasional artistic

[Music edit ]
Opera Oper Koln

Concert and Banquet Gürzenich

Cologne is home to a large number of symphony and chamber orchestras . The Gürzenichorkest is a large orchestra that was founded in 1857 and in 1888, owned by the city.The name refers to the same concert hall. Known leaders were Conradin Kreutzer , Hermann Abendroth , Günter Wand , Marek Janowski and James Conlon . Today, the orchestra conducted by Markus Stenz . The second major orchestra is the WDR Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1947. Besides the mentioned two major symphony orchestras are also several chamber orchestras, such as Capella Coloni Seis, Collegium Aureum (1964), Concerto Köln (1985) and Musica Antiqua Köln (1973).The WDR Big Band Cologne is an internationally acclaimed jazz big band . Almost twenty professional choirs are connected to the "Arbeitskreis Kölner Chöre" as the Philharmonic Chor Köln, Kartäuserkantorei Köln, Cologne Chamber Choir, Bach-Verein Köln, Cologne Domchor, Kölner Männer-Gesang-Verein.

Additionally, some well-known bands coming from Cologne. So was the avant-garde rock band Can in the years 60/70 of the twentieth century, a well-known group. The band is built around the bass guitarist and sound engineer Holger Czukay and vocalist Damo Suzuki .

Even today, there are several large and smaller bands, including many Kölschtalige. One is the socially critical rock band BAP, around the singer and songwriter Wolfgang Niedecken . In the Netherlands, their song " Kristallnaach "in the 80's a hit . This song is the terrible events surrounding the Kristallnacht, the pogrom on November 9, 1938 sung. Also Bläck Fööss sing in dialect and is a band with roots as The Beatles - cover band, later extraordinary musical and highly successful carnival band . And continue working in different genres. In the Netherlands, their Dutch translation and a cappella version "Men" by Herbert Grönemeyers song "Men" known. Another very successfulcarnival band - who again sings in Kölsch - is Höhner, the "number two" in the city after the Bläck Foos. They decades the club songs first. FC Köln . In the Netherlands, their 2004 hit "Viva Colonia" recently translated into " Viva Hollandia ". Finally, there are the bands Brings Kölschtalige and Zeltinger Band and the a cappella group Wise Guys .

Events [ edit ]

 * Karneval - from Thursday to Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter . Start every year 11-11 in the previous year, on the scale and Alter Markt in the historic center outside and inside. From November 11 start "within carnival", and in the above 40 days before Easter week again "on all the streets" of the city. Particularly here Thursday (the first day), Weiberfastnacht. Traditionally this is the day of the women, who all the women "allowed" is to men with a pair of scissors to cut the ties. Highlights include Saturday, Sunday and Monday especially "Rose Monday" with the big parade. On Tuesday night at midnight (or sometimes slightly earlier) the carnival ends with the ritual burning of a straw man under great noise. The "Nubbel", a straw man, is the personification of the carnival and sin. By burning it and after 40 days to go fast, the Catholic natives of Cologne carnival bursts them "forgiven."
 * Christmas Markets - in the first weeks of December are annual traditional cherry market place in Cologne. Some of his most famous markets Am Dom -on the south side of the dip, Alter Markt and Heumarkt -in the historic city center, next to the Rathaus-, Neumarkt and Rudolfplatz - a smaller Christmas for the ancient city gate, Christmas Avenue - specifically aimed at homosexuals.
 * Musik Triennale Köln - scale international three annual classical music festival.
 * Organ Recitals - international organ concerts in the Cathedral - every year from June / September, every Tuesday, 20 hours.
 * c / o pop (Cologne On Pop) - festival for electronic pop music - 15 t / m August 17th.
 * Summerjam - Europe's largest reggae festival during the first weekend of July at the Fühlinger See-Insel
 * Internationales Köln Comedy Festival - taking place in October, two-week comedy - and cabaret event in various large and small theaters in the city.
 * Christopher Street Day (CSD), the largest gay parade (" Gay Pride ") of Europe.
 * Kölner Lichter - big annual fireworks on the Rhine . All spectators are asked to bring a candle or torch, so that on both banks of the Rhine and on all 8 Rhine Bridges also hinted hundreds of thousands of lights.

[Sports edit ]
Entrance RheinEnergieStadion

In the early days of German football, there were many clubs in Cologne, however, were no match for other clubs in the neighborhood. In February 1948 came the two biggest clubs in the city after a merger between Kölner BC 01 and SpVgg Sülz 07 to 1. FC Köln and Victoria in 1911 with two smaller clubs to SC Fortuna Köln . In 1957 came a third club in, SC Viktoria Köln after a merger between Rapid Cologne and SC Preussen Dellbrück . Of the three biggest clubs 1. FC was by far the most successful.

Cologne has the RheinEnergieStadion a large stadium that seats about 50,000 people. The stadium is the home arena of 1. FC Köln and was also the home of the now defunct American football club Cologne Centurions . Moreover, played five matches in June 2006 for the World Cup 2006 at the Rhein Energie Stadium.

In addition to 1. FC Köln, the ice hockey team Kölner Haie, the handball team VfL Gummersbach and basketball Köln 99ers also at the highest national level. These two teams play their home games at the other major stadium of Cologne: the Lanxess Arena (formerly Kölnarena), the largest event hall in Germany with 20,000 places. Lanxess Arena is used for concerts, but there are also held many sporting events. As well as being home to the aforementioned teams, the Lanxess Arena already hosted the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2001 and the World Handball Championship in 2006.

Finally, Cologne has a number of sporting events such as the marathon of Cologne and the Tour of Cologne, a one-day bike race and one of the oldest cycling races in Germany.

Beer [ edit ]
Glass Kölschbier

Kölsch is a dialect beside the name of the special Cologne beer . Kölsch is of high fermentation and is the only type of beer by the EU protected: It should only be called if the Kölsch is brewed in Cologne (or environment). This is the same legal protection as for example Champagne or Cognac . Kölsch beer is fermented, light taste, has a golden color and contains 4.8% alcohol. It is brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516, but the Cologne brewing tradition goes back to the year 873.

High fermentation beer has a higher ambient temperature (15-20 ° C) required than bottom-fermented beer, such as Pilsner . This makes it more vulnerable to contaminants in the brewing process by other bacteria. Supposedly, the tradition of top-fermenting it to that in the Middle Ages existed no cooling techniques. Kölsch in its present form is only brewed for over 100 years, this one brewed in Cologne especially Wiess (Kölsch for white / white), a wheat beer with a high fermentation that can be described as basically unfiltered Kölsch. Not until after the Second World War was Kölsch as popular as it is in Cologne. This was probably due to logistical problems but mainly because they sought distinction of German lager .

There are about 32 brands Kölsch. The most famous are "Reissdorf" - "Früh" - and "Gaff" -Kölsch.

Economy [ edit ]
The main economic sectors of Cologne, the food industry, the automotive industry including Ford with a very large complex in Niehl, the chemical industry and the media. However, the service sector is also of economic importance to the city, including administrative services, grants, insurance companies, banks and corporate offices of several large industrial companies. Finally, tourism is a source of income and employment.

Fairs [ edit ]
Entrance to the Koelnmesse

The fair of Cologne Koelnmesse is located on the right bank of the Rhine in Deutz and is one of the most important European sites for annual and biennial exhibitions. The major fairs are:
 * Anuga ( Allgemeine und Nahrungs- Genussmittel-Ausstellung ) biennial international trade fair for food
 * Art Cologne, the oldest fair in the world for art , internationally.
 * Gamescom, promo annual exhibition for the computer game industry .
 * Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung und Fahrrad-, an annual bike - and car trade
 * Photokina, biennial trade fair for photography and film

Media [ edit ]
The KölnTurm at the Media Park, the tallest office building in Cologne

Cologne is 30000-40000 employees one of the leading media locations in Germany.

The West Deutscher Rundfunk - a public broadcaster in the region of West Germany with several regional and national stations - work has its headquarters in Cologne and provided to about 3500 people. The radio station Deutschlandfunk, the only national radio station of Germany, is located in Cologne and in 2003 the same was true forDeutsche Welle , an international station that German and foreign informative television programs all over the world broadcasts (within Germany). The latter, however, has moved to Bonn. Besides these major broadcasters Cologne is also represented by the local station Radio Cologne. Also on television Cologne has its own transmitter, Center.TV.

A large group of channels of the RTL Group - RTL , Super RTL , VOX and n-tv - have their joint headquarters in Cologne. There are film and television studios located at theWDR , RTL , Coloneum ( MMC film studios) Nobeo (film and television studios Hurth) and CBC ( Cologne Broadcasting studios).

Also, some print media is concerned, an important city of Cologne. In and around Cologne appear several newspapers and magazines. The big publisher M. DuMont Schauberg gives both the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger as the Cologne Rundschau out, which together have a range that extends beyond Cologne far into the Eifel . From the same publisher also appears the tabloid Express, which also has a large distribution and in Düsseldorf appears. The big German tabloid Bild-Zeitung also has a local edition, and the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger also a tabloid: the Direct-Zeitung

All daily newspapers are free a few years ago Faillet gone after major newspapers all have issued their own local free newspaper with the pure purpose to prevent free newspapers themselves would persevere. Within a month after all were free newspapers stopped commercial newspapers are also immediately it stopped giving out free newspapers.

Furthermore, in Cologne also appear scientific journals Capital and Impulse. Of local importance are the monthlies and Kölner Stadt Revue. The book publisher Taschen was founded in Cologne. With also the companies Kiepenheuer & Witsch and DuMont Cologne offers a number of important literary publishers.

Education [ Edit ]
Given the population of about 1 million, and interest in Germany and Europe's in Cologne a large number of schools, colleges and other educational establishments:

Primary and secondary schools [ edit ]
There are 271 primary schools in Cologne and in the nearby suburbs that fall just outside the city limits. Most are public schools, but there are also Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic primary schools in Cologne.

At secondary level, there are 23 pre-vocational secondary schools ("Hauptschulen"), 18 havo Schools ("Realschulen"), 14 high schools and eight schools ("Gesamtschulen")

Berufsbildende Schulen [ edit ]
Berufsbildende Schulen are similar to the Dutch MBO's . Cologne has 19 public and nine commercial vocational schools.

Universities and colleges [ edit ]
Main building of the University of Cologne

Today there are 15 colleges in Cologne. The largest is the Albertus Magnus University of Cologne, with 43,000 students. Founded in 1388, the University of Cologne, one of the oldest universities in Europe. Among the famous (former) teachers are Nobel Prize winners Kurt Alder and Peter Grünberg . In addition, the President of Greece Károlos Papúlias studied here.

Another great university is the Fachhochschule Köln . This is similar to a technical college and university has approximately 16,000 students. Then there is the Deutsche Sporthochschule Cologne, the only official sports academy in Germany. Even today still have any football coach a Bundesliga team wants to coach in Cologne earn a diploma.Dutch celebrities who have done this Rinus Michels and Guus Hiddink . The Hochschule für Musik Köln is now with about 1,000 students the largest conservatory in Europe. To the famous (former) students and teachers belong Walter Braunfels , Engelbert Humperdinck , Karlheinz Stockhausen , Jiggs Whigham , Bernd Alois Zimmermann , Mauricio Kagel , Paul Zelm , András Adorján , Globokar , Hans Werner Henze and Eberhard Werdin .

Finally, there are the Academy of Media Arts - the only German audio-visual academy - the Katholische Fachhochschule NRW - a pedagogical academy - and theFachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung that senior officials training.

Traffic and transport [ edit ]
Cologne has been around since Roman times, a major hub for all types of traffic.

Car [ edit ]
Map of the road network in and around Cologne

Since Roman times assume some major streets in the city: The Aachenerstraße to Aachen, Venloer Straße to Venlo , the Neusser Straße in Neuss (and Xanten ), the Deutzer Freiheit and Kalker Hauptstraße to the former Germania , the Frankfurter Straße to the southern former Germania and the later evolved Frankfurt , the Bonnerstraße to Bonn(and through the Alps on to Rome ), the Luxemburger Straße in Trier (in Luxembourg ) and more. These streets are still very important. There is an interstate highway ( Autobahn ):

The Autobahnring Cologne is one of the busiest roads in Germany. The following roads have a connection to or are part of that ring: A1 Baltic - Saarbrücken (- France ) ( E22 ,E31 , E37 , E47 ) A3 ( Austria -) Passau - Oberhausen / Zevenaar (Dutch A12 ) ( E34 , E35 , E41 , E42 , E45 , E56 ), A4 ( Cracow in Poland, Polish A4 -) Dresden - Heerlen(Dutch A76 ) and on to Brussels ( E40 ) A57 Cologne Center - Nijmegen / Goch parallel along the Rhine to Rotterdam Dutch A77 ( E31 ) A59 Duisburg - Bad Honnef (further as Rheinuferstraße B42) A555 Cologne - Bonn, was in 1932 the first Autobahn in Germany. A559 Cologne South (right bank of the Rhine) - Dreieck Heumar (connection A59) Cologne Airport (CGN)

Rail [ edit ]
Dom from the platform of Köln Hbf

Cologne Hbf station at night

A tram of the Stadtbahn arrives on station Wiener Platz

Terminal 1 Cologne-Bonn Airport

Cologne has three international railway stations: In addition to these three major stations there are eight other stations in the city area, 29 S-Bahn stations, 52 underground stations and nearly 200 trams - and rail stops .
 * Köln Hauptbahnhof on the left bank of the Rhine next to the cathedral. 1230 trains per day and 250,000 passengers per day Köln Hbf one of the largest stations in Germany and one of the main stations of Europe. There are direct international trains Köln Hbf has two metro stations, "Dom / Hbf" and "Breslauer Platz / Hbf", which are provided by the tram, metro and bus company KVB, and an international bus station. The station has its own concert and events "Alter Wartesaal" the old waiting room.
 * Köln Messe / Deutz station on the right bank of the Rhine, next to the trade fair "Koelnmesse". This drive has a metro station ("Bf. Deutz / Messe"), a Stadtbahn station and several bus stops.
 * Cologne / Bonn Flughafen - Cologne Airport. This underground airport station has an integrated S-Bahn drive.

The subway Cologne is actually one with the 285 km long light rail network, the Cologne Stadtbahn . The unit is operated by the urban traffic company Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe, which also provides more than 50 bus lines. There the same charges and strip maps for trams , local trains , S-Bahn , bus and subway in the Cologne region.

Cologne has two major freight stations on both banks of the Rhine: Eifeltor (left) and Gremberg (right). Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe also has a cargo department: HGK ( Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln ). This includes 264 km own rail network and transports annually over 12 million tonnes of cargo internationally, including to the Port of Rotterdam, both through the old train route Mönchengladbach - Viersen - Venlo - Eindhoven - Tilburg - Breda - Dordrecht as well as via the new Betuweroute along Poor Rhine Waal , Merwedeand the New Waterway .

Bicycle [ edit ]
Cologne has a network of bike paths and bike trails. This Cologne won at the end of the last century the price as a bicycle-friendly city in Germany.

Aviation [ edit ]
The intercontinental airport Cologne-Bonn Airport (CGN) annually transports 10 million passengers and 700,000 tons of freight (2007). There is an international underground train station with an integrated S-Bahn -station to the center of Cologne.

At Cologne airport is also the German Space Agency DLR established part of European ESA . Although DLR is located at the airport of Cologne mainly focuses on the theoretical functions of space, calculate routes and training of astronauts. From Cologne, however, has never been a flight to the universe. There have been only tests and visits in 1983 as a landing of the space shuttle prototype Enterprise at the back of a NASA Boeing 747 . Cologne airport is also one of the 19 non-US "official emergency landing sites" of NASA .

Shipping [ edit ]
Cologne is 10.4 million tonnes of cargo annually the second largest port city in Germany. Only in Duisburg is more freight transported on the Rhine . The bulk of the water movement and through Cologne is via the Netherlands on the Rhine Armen Haringvliet , IJssel , Lek , Merwede , Pannerdensch Canal , Lower Rhine , Nieuwe Maas , New Waterway and Waal to the North Sea . Also, there is pressure upstream traffic to the German industrial areas Mannheim / Ludwigshafen, to France and to Switzerland(especially Basel ).

Born [ edit ]

 * Agrippina the Younger (15 November 6-59), Roman empress, mother of Nero
 * Bruno of Cologne (ca. 1032), saint, founder of the Order of Carthusians
 * Rupert of Deutz (ca. 1075), also Rupertus Spout Ensis, exegete and mystic
 * Johan van Keulen (ca. 1410), also Juan de Colonia, gothic architect, builder of the cathedral of Burgos, father of Simon of Cologne
 * Heinrich Sudermann (August 31, 1520), first syndic of the Hanseatic League
 * Joost van den Vondel (November 17, 1587 - February 5, 1679), Dutch poet and playwright
 * Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819 - October 5, 1880), composer (such as " Can-Can "and" Barcarolle ")
 * Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg (October 18, 1837 - FEB 6 1919), sculptor
 * Max Bruch (January 6, 1838 - OCTOBER 2, 1920), composer (including the operetta " Scherz, List und Rache "to text from Goethe )
 * Konrad Adenauer (January 5, 1876 - April 19 1967), politician, mayor of Cologne and the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949-1963)
 * Rudolf Amelunxen (30 June 1888-21 April 1969), politician
 * Willy Richartz (1900-1972), composer and conductor
 * Titus Leeser (1903-1996), Dutch sculptor
 * Willy Millowitsch (8 January 1909-20 September 1999), Cologne comedian, actor, theater director and playwright
 * Raoul Ubac (1910-1985), painter, sculptor, engraver and photographer
 * Werner Wolf Glaser (14 April 1910-29 March 2006), Swedish composer, conductor, art historian and psychologist
 * Kindel Joseph (1912-1948), assistant Sicherheitsdienst in Groningen
 * Heinrich Böll (21 December 1917-16 July 1985), author (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 1972)
 * Werner Klemperer (1920-2000), actor
 * Dry Bernard (1921-2009), actor
 * Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1927-2013), writer and scriptwriter
 * Wolfgang von Trips (May 4, 1928 - SEPTEMBER 10, 1961), Formula 1 driver
 * Otto Pfister (24 November 1937), football player and coach
 * Christa Päffgen (16 October 1938-18 July 1988), known as Nico, model, singer and songwriter of The Velvet Underground and " Warhol Superstar "
 * Jack White (2 September 1940), football player and music producer
 * Udo Kier ( October 14 1944 ), actor
 * Wolfgang Niedecken (30 March 1951), musician and artist. Bandleader of BAP (eg " Kristallnaach ")
 * Markus Stockhausen (May 2, 1957) trumpeter and composer, son of the Cologne composer Karlheinz Stockhausen
 * Dirk Bach (1961-2012), actor
 * Alexander Lambsdorff (1966), politician
 * Marietta Slomka (1969), reporter and TV presenter
 * Rudi Istenič (1971), Slovenian footballer
 * Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (1973), film director and screenwriter
 * Angela Gossow (1974), journalist, songwriter and singer deathmetal
 * Alexander Voigt (13 April 1978), football player
 * Thomas Kessler (20 January 1986), football player
 * Jens Hegeler (22 January 1988), football player
 * Marco Höger (16 September 1989), football player
 * Christian Clemens (August 4, 1991), football player
 * Elias Kachunga (April 22, 1992), football player
 * Timo Horn (12 July 1993), football player
 * Niklas Lomb (28 July 1993), football player