Welcome to Cologne
The world feels at home in Cologne, where people meet for a Kölsch, a chat or simply a laugh. Life in Cologne is vivacious.
The world feels at home in Cologne, where people meet for a Kölsch, a chat or simply a laugh. Life in Cologne is vivacious.
Take a trip through 2000 years of history and visit cultural monuments from the Roman Empire to modern times.
Cologne provides over 250 hotels with a total capacity of more than 26,000 beds.
"Drinking a Kölsch is more than just drinking a beer: it´s like drinking an entire culture." (NYT, 5/07)
Enjoy the world-famous traditional Cologne Carnival and several top events throughout the year.
Prime location in the heart of Europe and exemplary infrastructure also a multitude of highly specialised modern economy.
Cologne’s Schildergasse is the most-visited shopping street in Germany.
Cologne has got 1,027,504 inhabitants and an area of 40,517 ha . The highest buildings in cologne are the Colonius Telecommunication Tower (243 m), the Cologne Cathedral (157 m), Axa-Building (155 m), Media Park Köln Tower (148 m), LVR-Tower (103 m). The oldest building is the Ubii monument, built 4/5 AD. The highest elevation is in the Königsforst (118 m), a forest in the East of the city. Its extension is from East to West 27,6 km and from North to South 28,1 km. It has got nine great Municipal districts (Chorweiler, Ehrenfeld, Innenstadt, Kalk, Lindenthal, Mülheim, Nippes, Porz, Rodenkirchen) and 86 quarters, known as "Veedel" in Cologne dialect.
| Around 4500 BC | First indications of a permanent settlement |
| After mid-first century BC | Founding of the "Oppidum Ubiorum" by the Romans |
| 16 AD | Birth of Agrippina the Younger in the "Oppidum Ubiorum" |
| Around 17 AD | After Roman plans to conquer Greater Germania were abandoned, the Rhine was finally established as a boundary. |
| 50 AD | Upon the insistence of Agrippina, the "Oppidum Ubiorum" was made a colony by her husband, Emperor Claudius. The city was named Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis (CCAA). |
| 85 AD | Provincial capital of Germania Inferior |
| Around 310 | The Castellum Divitia fort (nowadays Deutz) is built on the right bank of the Rhine connected by a fixed bridge over the river to the Cologne side |
| Around 450 | Final collapse of Roman rule in the Rhineland, followed by the reign of the Franks |
| 795 | The Cologne Bishop Hildebold - Charlemagne's arch-chaplain—is appointed as the first Archbishop of Cologne |
| 9th century | The "Old Cathedral" is built |
| By mid-10th century | Initial expansion of the city incorporating the Rhine suburban district |
| 1074 | The first rebellion against the reign of Archbishop Anno II by citizens of Cologne is brutally put down |
| 1106 | Emperor Heinrich IV transfers military sovereignty to Cologne. The city is extended for a second time. |
| 1135 | First reference to the town hall in Cologne |
| 1164 | Transfer of the relics of the Three Kings from Milan in the aftermath of Friedrich I's crusade, in which Cologne Archbishop Rainald von Dassel was involved |
| 1179/1182 | The first Mayors are mentioned on record |
| 1180 | Third expansion of the city of Cologne, which becomes the largest city in the empire with around 40,000 inhabitants |
| 1221 | First settlements of Franciscans and Dominicans in Cologne |
| Around 1220 | Initial plans to rebuild the Cathedral are delayed due to murder of the Cologne Archbishop Engelbert I |
| 15.8.1248 | Archbishop Conrad of Hochstadt lays the foundation stone for the new Cathedral |
| Mid-13th century | First attempts are made to overthrow the Archbishop as town lord |
| 1259 | Archbishop Conrad awards Cologne the 'staple right', a trading privilege from which the people of Cologne benefited for centuries |
| 5.6.1288 | In the Battle of Worringen, the Archbishop finally loses power over the city of Cologne. The Archbishopric Cologne remains under his rule. |
| 1322 | Consecration of the Cathedral chancel |
| 1370s | First conflicts within the city between the guilds (craftsmen) and the patricians (upper class families) |
| 21.05.1388 | Founding of Cologne University by Pope Urban VI in Perugia (first city university in Germany) |
| 1396 | The first city constitution (Verbundbrief) is announced. The political corporations and the guilds assume power. |
| 1424 | Final expulsion of the Jews |
| 1475 | Emperor Friedrich III officially elevates Cologne to the rank of Free Imperial Town |
| 1531 | Anton Woensam creates a view of Cologne, one of the first monumental views of a city (besides Venice and Antwerp). |
| 25.2.1547 | The Cologne Archbishop Hermann V von Wied, who converted to Protestantism, resigns |
| 1553 | Founding of the Cologne Stock Exchange, one of the oldest in the world |
| Around 1520 | Building of the Cathedral is suspended |
| 1571 | Arnold Mercator creates a bird's eye view of the city |
| 1582 | The Cologne Archbishop Gebhard I Truchsess von Waldburg converts to Protestantism and attempts to introduce freedom of religion in the Archbishopric |
| 1582–1588 | Gebhard I Truchsess fails in the Truchsess War and abdicates |
| 1584 | Bonn falls to Ernest of Bavaria. This marks the start of the rule of the Wittelsbachers as Archbishops and Electoral Princes of Cologne |
| 1618–1648 | During the Thirty Years' War, the Cologne City Council succeeds in retaining neutrality. This means that Cologne is spared greater damage but there is a reduction in national trade as a result. |
| 1660 | A town troop is assembled and given the nickname "Funken" (sparks). By 1707, it is made up of around 380 men. The present-day carnival associations "Red Sparks" and "Blue Sparks" hark back to these roots. |
| 1680–1686 | Nikolaus Gülich, a band and manufacturing trader, revolts against the corrupt city government. After initial success he loses power and is beheaded. |
| Around 1700 | Start of the production of the famous "Eau de Cologne" |
| 1723–1761 | Clemens August, important patron and building owner in the bishopric, is the last Wittelsbacher to become Archbishop. |
| 1784 | Highest known flood in Cologne. The water reaches the Alter Markt and the Heumarkt, there are 35 fatalities in the city and Mülheim suffers widespread destruction. |
| 06.10.1794 | French Revolution troops seize Cologne This signifies the end of the era for the Free Imperial Town of Cologne |
| 1801 | The people of Cologne become French citizens |
| 1802 | Christoph Winters founds the Hännesche Theatre |
| 1814 | The French withdraw after having lost the Battle of Leipzig |
| 1815 | The Rhineland is given to Prussia due to a resolution by the Congress of Vienna |
| 1818 | By royal decree, Rhenish law (Napoleonic Code) can be retained until 1899. It is considerably more advanced than the Prussian legal system |
| 20.06.1819 | Jacob (Jacques) Offenbach is born in Cologne (moves to Paris in 1833) |
| 1823 | First Rose Monday parade is organised by the new festival committee |
| 1833 | Ernst Friedrich Zwirner (employee of Schinkel) is appointed master builder of the Cathedral († 1861). |
| 1835 | The Rhineland Railways are founded |
| 1839 | Franz Stollwerck founds a company that later becomes the chocolate factory. |
| 1842 | Building work recommences on Cologne Cathedral |
| 1847 | Franz Millewitsch (later Millowitsch) founds a puppet theatre in Deutz |
| 1855–1859 | The central railway station is built on the site of the present-day main station and the predecessor to the Hohenzollern Bridge (nicknamed "mouse trap") is built. |
| 1860 | Cologne Zoo opens |
| 1876 | Nikolaus August Otto invents the four-stroke engine |
| 1877 | The "Halver Hahn" (rye bread roll with cheese) is "invented" |
| 1880 | The Cathedral is completed |
| 1881 | Work begins to demolish the city wall and extend the city |
| 1898 | The Rheinau port opens |
| 1917 | Konrad Adenauer becomes Lord Mayor |
| 1920 | Cologne's fortifications are blown up, though at Adenauer's request certain elements are retained and integrated into the new green belt. |
| 1922 | The Kölner Messegesellschaft (Cologne Trade Fair company) is founded |
| 1923 | The Müngersdorf Stadion is opened (now known as the RheinEnergieStadion) |
| 1926 | The Rhine Park is created |
| 1926 | After British withdrawal, Butzweilerhof Airport is used for civil purposes and becomes the "aviation hub of the west" |
| 1927 | Westdeutsche Rundfunk AG (predecessor to WDR) goes into operation |
| 26.10.1929 | Konrad Adenauer lays the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the university |
| 1930 | Henry Ford and Konrad Adenauer lay the foundation stone for a new car factory in Niehl |
| 1933 | After coming to power, the National Socialists remove Konrad Adenauer from his position as Lord Mayor |
| 1942–1945 | ologne is destroyed; almost 90 percent of the Old Town is destroyed and around 72 percent of the entire city area |
| 1946 | The lawyer Josef Haubrich donates his impressive collection of modern art to the city of Cologne |
| 1948 | The Deutz Bridge opens. After the war it is the first bridge to be rebuilt in Germany and the most modern bridge in Europe at that time |
| 18.05.1957 | Opening of the opera house |
| 1963 | Work starts on the construction of the underground rail network |
| 1967 | Cologne hosts the first worldwide art fair (known as "ART COLOGNE" since 1984). |
| 04.03.1974 | The Romano-Germanic Museum opens |
| 1975 | The population of Cologne exceeds one million as a result of local boundary reforms |
| 1981 | The "Colonius" telecommunications tower is opened |
| 1982–1986 | The Rhineshore Tunnel and the Rheingarten park above are completed |
| 1985 | "Year of the Romanesque Churches": the twelve Romanesque churches in the Old Town are largely rebuilt 40 years after the end of the war. |
| 06.09.1986 | Opening of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum/Museum Ludwig |
| 14.09.1986 | Opening of the Kölner Philharmonie concert hall |
| 11.06.1989 | Opening of the Museum of Applied Art |
| 31.10.1993 | Opening of the Chocolate Museum |
| 17.10.1998 | Opening of the Kölnarena (now the LANXESS Arena) |
| 1999 | Cologne hosts the Summit of the European Council and the G8 states |
| 2001 | Work begins on redesigning the Rheinau port |
| June 2002 | The Cologne–Frankfurt ICE high-speed line (177 km) is completed. |
| September 2002 | Work begins on building the North-South city underground line |
| Spring 2004 | The final section of the Media Park is completed. |
| March 2004 | The new RheinEnergieStadion is opened on the site of the old Müngersdorf Stadion. |
| June 2005 | FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 |
| August 2005 | The 20th World Youth Day takes place in Cologne. Pope Benedict XVI visits Cologne |
| June 2006 | Five matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ are played at the RheinEnergieStadion |
| January 2007 | Cologne hosts the XX Handball World Cup Championship in the Kölnarena (now the LANXESS Arena). |
| June 2007 | Over one million people participate in the 31st German Protestant Church Congress |
| November 2008 | World Cyber Games |
| 07–23.05.2010 | Ice Hockey World Championship |
| 31.07.–07.08.2010 | Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010 |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | The Clapper of the St. Peter's Bell in the Cologne Cathedrale was broken. On Decembere, 2nd a new clapper was ready. |
The historic Farina-house is situated opposite the Town Hall. In the world's oldest fragrance factory you can see where the fascinating history of Eau de Cologne and modern fragrances began. 