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CologneCologne{{otheruses}} Image:Cologne_in_Germany.png|framed|Map of Germany showing Cologne Image:CologneSkylineAtNight.jpg|thumb|250px|Cologne skyline at night. The famous Cologne Cathedral is on the right. '''Cologne''' (German language|German: '''Köln''' [kœln] {{Audio|De-Köln.ogg|listen}}) is, in terms of population, the fourth largest city in Germany and largest city of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is one of the most important German inland ports, and considered the economic, cultural, and historic capital of the Rhineland. It is the Largest cities of the European Union by population|16th largest city in the European Union. At the end of 2003, Cologne's population was 965,954, using the standard method of counting only persons whose primary residence (German: Hauptwohnsitz) was the city. The city of Cologne includes those with non-primary residences (German: Nebenwohnsitz) in its official figure, raising it to 1,020,603. Its location at the intersection of the Rhine (German ''Rhein'') river with one of the major trade routes between eastern and western Europe was the foundation of Cologne's commercial importance. In the Middle Ages it also became an ecclesiastical center of significance and an important center of art and learning. Cologne was badly damaged during World War II. Cologne has one university, which has around 49,000 students (autumn semester 2004/2005) and is renowned for its economics faculty. Cologne also has a Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic archbishopric. '''Cologne cathedral''' (German ''Kölner Dom''), a gothic architecture|Gothic church, was designated a World Heritage site in 1996; it is the city's major landmark and unofficial symbol. The city is 43% Roman Catholic, 18% Protestant and 39% other religions. Until World War II and the following stream of refugees arriving from eastern Germany, Roman Catholicism had a wide majority in Cologne. Cologne has 31 museums. In addition to the university, it has 3 colleges. Fachhochschule Köln (The University of Applied Sciences of Cologne) is, with 18,000 students, the biggest college in Germany. A total of 65,000 students study in Cologne. 20% of Cologne's population is non-German. 40% of these are Turkish. Cologne is well known for its beer, called "Kölsch (beer)|Kölsch". Kölsch is also the dialect of Cologne. It is jocularly said that Kölsch is the only language you can drink. This year, Cologne will be witness to one of the largest meetings of the Catholic youth. The XX World Youth Day will take place from Monday, August 15, until Sunday, August 21. == Geography == The city covers about 1 E8 m2|405.15 square kilometre|km² (about 156 miles²), is located at {{coor dms|50|56|33|N|06|57|32|E|}}, and is between 37.5 and 118.04 metre|m above sea level. Its car registration prefix is K. image:cologne_emblem.png|framed|Coat of arms of Cologne == The Coat of Arms of Cologne == The three crowns symbolise the Magi or Three Wise Men|Three Kings whose bones are said to be kept in a golden sarcophagus in the Cathedral (see Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral). The eleven flames are a reminder of the Britannic princess St. Ursula and her legendary 11,000 virgin companions who were supposedly martyred at Cologne for their Christian faith by Attila the Hun in 383 A.D. In reality it was probably just 11 companions. == History == Image:Koeln 1945.jpg|thumb|left|Cologne devastated in 1945 image:Cologne_cathedral3.jpg|thumb|100px|Cologne cathedral ''Main article: History of Cologne'' Cologne became a city in 50 A.D, had a bishop as early as 313, and, in 785, became the seat of an archbishop. The Archbishop of Cologne was one of the seven Prince-elector|Electors of the Holy Roman Empire. He ruled a large area as a secular lord in the Middle Ages, but in 1288 he was defeated by the Cologne citizens and forced to move to Bonn. Cologne was a member of the Hanseatic League, but became a free city officially only by 1475. Cologne lost its free status, and regained its archbishopric during the French period, and, in 1815, at the Congress of Vienna was made part of the kingdom of Prussia. Cologne became an industrial city, and the Cologne cathedral|cathedral, started in 1248 but abandoned in the mid-1500s, was eventually finished in 1880. During the 19th_century|nineteenth and 20th_century|twentieth centuries, Cologne incorporated numerous surrounding towns, and by the time of World War I had already grown to 600,000 inhabitants. In World War II, it was repeatedly bombed, and much of the city was in ruins. It took some time to rebuild the city, but afterwards it grew again, and, in 1975, reached 1 million inhabitants for about one year. === City Partnerships === {| | valign="top" | *Liverpool (England), since 1952 *Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg|Grandduchy of Luxembourg), since 1958 *Lille (France), since 1958 *Lüttich (Belgium), since 1958 *Rotterdam (Netherlands), since 1958 *Turin (Italy), since 1958 *Kyoto (Japan), since 1963 *Tunis (Tunisia), since 1964 *Turku (Finland), since 1967 *Neukölln (Berlin), since 1967 *Klausenburg (Romania), since 1976 *Tel Aviv-Jaffa (Israel), since 1979 | valign="top" | *Barcelona (Spain), since 1984 *Peking (People?s Republic of China), since 1987 *Thessaloniki (Greece), since 1988 *Cork (Republic of Ireland|Ireland), since 1988 *Corinto / El Realejo (Nicaragua), since 1988 *Indianapolis (USA), since 1988 *Volgograd (Russia), since 1988 *Treptow-Köpenick (Berlin), since 1990 *Katowice (Poland), since 1991 *Betlehem|Bethlehem (Palestinian National Authority|Palestine), since 1996 *İstanbul (Turkey), since 1997 |} By merging in other cities and communes, Köln took over their partnerships, with the following: Benfleet/Castle Point (England), Igny (France), Diepenbeek (Belgium), Brive la Gaillarde (France), Dunstable (England), Eygelshoven (Netherlands) and Hazebrouck (France). == Buildings and places of interest in Cologne == Image:Kölnturm.JPG|thumb|The Kölnturm (150 m) * In 310 Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine builds a bridge over the Rhine at Cologne. * Cologne cathedral (''der Kölner Dom'') is the city's famous landmark. * University of Cologne * Fragrance-Museum Farina House, the birthplace of Eau de Cologne * Wallraf-Richartz Museum * Museum Ludwig * Römisch-Germanisches Museum * Ford Motor Company plants, assembling the Ford Fiesta and Ford Fusion as well as manufacturing engines and parts. * Kölnarena, a multifunctional stadium, home to the local ice hockey team, the Cologne Sharks * Kölnturm, with 150 metres in height Cologne's second tallest building, second only to the cathedral * Colonius - a telecommunication tower with an observation deck * Colonia-Hochhaus - German's tallest building, in which people live * Rheinseilbahn - an aerial tramway crossing the Rhine * Fair Tower Cologne * The ''Hohe Strasse'' (literally: "high street") is one of the main shopping areas and extends past the cathedral in an approximately southern direction. This street is particularly popular with tourists and contains many giftshops, clothing stores, fast food restaurants and electronic goods dealers / the area around Apostelnstrasse, Ehrenstrasse, and Rudolfplatz, on the other hand, is a little more on the eccentric and stylish side and far more interesting than Hohe Strasse * the 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 nightlife == Legalities == Cologne is the only city in Germany with an explicit tax on prostitution and other sex businesses. See the article on prostitution in Germany for details. == External links == {{Commons|Cologne}} * [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ln/Bildergalerie Photo Gallery] * [http://www.koeln.de Cologne], official webpage of Cologne * [http://www.panorama-cities.net/cologne/cologne.html City Panoramas] - Panoramic Views of Cologne's Highlights * [http://www.cologne-in.de Cologne-In] - alternative city guide with city maps. * [http://www.wikitravel.org/en/article/Cologne Cologne travel guide] at wikitravel.org * [http://www.wjt2005.de/index.php XX World Youth Day 2005] * [http://www.hot-maps.de/europe/germany/nrw/cologne/homeen.html Map of Cologne] ---- {{Germany districts north rhine-westphalia}} Category:Cities in Germany Category:Cologne|* <!-- The below are interlanguage links. --> bg:Кьолн ca:Colňnia (Alemanya) da:Köln de:Köln es:Colonia (Renania del Norte-Westfalia) eo:Kolonjo fr:Cologne he:קלן it:Colonia (cittŕ) la:Colonia Agrippina nl:Keulen ja:ケルン no:Köln pl:Kolonia (miasto) pt:Colônia (Alemanha) ru:Кёльн simple:Cologne fi:Köln sv:Köln zh:科隆 First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Cologne is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cologne". if you like cool drinks you may be interested in:
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