In Germany, there are over two thousand cities. And each of them is interesting in its own way. Our article will tell you about one of the largest megacities in Germany - the city of Cologne (with photos and descriptions of its main attractions). When did the city arise? How is it remarkable? What is the population of Cologne? We will try to answer all these questions in the most detail.
Geography
Cologne is the third largest city in Germany. It covers an area of 406 square kilometers (for comparison: the area of Moscow is about 2500 sq. Km). Cologne is located in the western part of the country (as part of North Rhine-Westphalia) and is the unspoken "capital" of the Rhine-Ruhr region (the largest conglomerate of cities in Western Europe).
The city is divided by the Rhine into two almost equal parts. Almost all industrial enterprises are located on the right bank of the river, and on the left a multistory residential and office building prevails. To the east of Cologne is a mountainous terrain called Sauerland, in the southwest - the Eiffel, and in the southeast - the picturesque Shale Mountains.
Cologne is characterized by a moderate type of climate, with a predominance of north-westerly winds. Flurry gusts are frequent. In summer, the air warms up to + 24 ... 26 degrees. In winter, temperatures rarely drop below zero Celsius. About 800 mm of precipitation falls in the city per year.
Administratively, the city of Cologne is divided into 9 districts and 86 districts (see map).
History
The history of Cologne began back in 38 BC. It was at this time that the ancient Roman military settlement Ubiorum was founded here, which became an important outpost of the empire. In the year 50, thanks to the efforts of the local native and wife of Emperor Claudius Agrippine the Younger, Ubiorum received a number of privileges along with the status of a “colony”. Soon the city began to be called the "Claudius Colony", which subsequently transformed into "Cologne".
The population of the city is actively growing, and by the end of the 1st century it becomes the center of the province of Lower Germany. In 260, Cologne was proclaimed the capital of the Gallic Empire, but after fourteen years it returned to the fold of the Roman Empire. In 795, Charles I the Great awarded the city the honorary status of the Archbishopric. The archbishop of Cologne, by the way, was one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire.
The location of the city at the intersection of important transport routes has become the basis of its future development. The peak of Cologne's heyday came in the XV-XVI century. During this period, the city is actively being built and developed. Some of the medieval city structures have survived to our days (Ulrefort, Bayerthurm, Aigelstein Gate and others).
The 19th century brought total industrialization to Western Europe. The city of Cologne did not stand aside. In 1843, the Aachen - Cologne railway line was laid. A huge number of factories and plants are being built in the city, which has turned it into an important industrial center of Germany. Cologne survived the First World War with minimal damage. But World War II inflicted enormous destruction on the city, the consequences of which were fully managed only after several decades.
What is the population of Cologne? And what nationalities live in it today? We will tell you more about this later.
Population
In Germany, Cologne is the fourth city in terms of population. A little over one million people live here. If we add to this figure the inhabitants of all satellite cities of Cologne, the population of the agglomeration will increase to 2.1 million people. The largest of these cities are Leverkusen, Hürth, Dormagen and Troisdorf.
Representatives of 150 different nationalities live in Cologne. The most numerous of them, of course, are Germans (83%). Next come the Turks (6.6%), Italians (about 2%), Serbs and immigrants from post-Soviet countries.
The indigenous population of Cologne speaks one of the dialects of the German language - Kölsch. It is significantly different from literary German. The main features of the dialect: the absence of sound r, replacing sound g with j, swallowing endings in many words. Nevertheless, people who are fluent in German, as a rule, also understand Kelsh.
8 interesting facts about the city
- Cologne is both the warmest and wettest city in Germany.
- By the number of art galleries, the city ranks second in the world (after New York).
- Cologne has the world's largest ringing bell. Its mass is 24 tons.
- Within the city, there are 22 nature reserves.
- Cologne is officially recognized as the festival capital of Germany.
- The city still has one of the oldest perfumery factories in Europe.
- 15% of the city square is forest.
- In Cologne there is a bridge with the busiest traffic in Europe (the Hohenzollern Bridge).
Economy
The richest deposits of brown coal and a favorable geographical location allowed the city to become one of the industrial centers of Europe. Today, the population of Cologne is employed in the automotive, chemical, oil refining and textile industries.
In the northern part of the city there are factories and workshops of well-known multinational companies Ford, Toyota, Siemens. The main branch of the Stolverk confectionery factory is based in the city. In addition, Cologne is considered the birthplace of a product such as cologne.
In Cologne, there are branches of a number of world-famous companies, as well as representative offices of influential international organizations. Among them are British Petroleum, Shell, Evonik Industries and others.
Transport and infrastructure. Street photos
For Germany, the city of Cologne plays the role of a major transport hub. Every minute an average of eight different trains pass through its stations. The historical mission of this city is to connect England and France with the countries of Eastern Europe. Cologne also has an international airport with a passenger flow of more than 6 million people per year.
The city is riddled with a dense network of high-quality highways. The communication of the divided coast of Cologne is provided by eight bridges (two of which are railway). The city has an excellent public transport system. There are metrotrams with a total length of lines of about 50 kilometers.
What do city streets look like? The development of the central part is mostly low-rise and rather boring. In places, it is diluted with modern high-rise buildings and the spiers of Gothic cathedrals. In the article you can see a photo of one of the central streets of Cologne (Zeughausstraße).
The outskirts of Cologne are incredibly neat and tidy. Housing estates, as a rule, are built up with houses of no more than five floors. One of the streets on the outskirts of the city (Zülpicherstraße) is presented below.
City planning
Cologne has a radial-circular street layout, which is slightly disturbed by the Rhine. As noted above, the city is divided into nine districts. Those, in turn, are divided into areas (their number varies from 5 to 14) and quarters. The districts with the highest density of residence of foreigners and refugees are Porz, Kalk and Mülheim.
The heart of the city is Town Hall Square. It has a symbolic meaning for the population of Cologne. The scale of the area is small. In its center, fragments of an ancient Roman settlement, in particular, the remains of a sewage system dating from the first century BC, are preserved. The town hall has been preserved on the square - a beautiful old building with arcades. It also houses one of Cologne's main museums - the famous Perfume Museum.
Architecture
Today's Cologne is the quintessence of the past and the present, a unique conglomeration of medieval structures, magnificent Gothic cathedrals and modern architecture made of glass and concrete. The city is very ancient and has a large number of historical buildings. True, most of them were completely or partially rebuilt in the second half of the twentieth century.
During the bombing carried out by the British Air Force in May 1942, up to 90% of city buildings were destroyed. The architectural heritage of Cologne suffered huge losses. Nevertheless, here you can still see the remains of antiquity. Among them are the famous Cologne Cathedral, St. Martin's Church, the Bayerthurm tower and others.
Cologne's modern architecture also deserves attention. The office skyscraper Kelln-Turm impresses with its size. Its height is 148 meters, the number of floors is 43. However, the most interesting example of modern architecture in Cologne is the Kranhaus ensemble of buildings located on the Rhine promenade. It was built in 2011 in the style of modernism. The complex got its name due to its resemblance to port tower cranes.
sights
Without a doubt, the attraction of the city No. 1 is the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom). It was built over six centuries - from 1248 to 1880! This is the third highest gothic cathedral in the world. Both the interior and exterior facades of the temple amaze with their severe grandeur and authentic spirit of the Middle Ages.
In addition to the cathedral, there are other interesting objects in Cologne. The following attractions are most popular among tourists:
- Temple of St. Martin.
- Apostolic Church.
- Church of St. Gereon.
- St. Mary's Church with unique 13th-century frescoes.
- City Hall with a tower.
- Ludwig Museum.
- Castle "White House".
- Garden "Stadtgarten".
Cologne is famous throughout the world for its festivals. So, an enchanting procession lasting many hours with a scattering of a huge amount of sweets and sweets is held here. No less famous is the local festival of fireworks "Cologne Lights". The city also annually hosts the largest festival of LGBT communities in Europe.