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Cologne

30s BC establishments38 BCBurial sites of the PippinidsCatholic pilgrimage sitesCities in North Rhine-Westphalia
CologneColoniae (Roman)Free imperial citiesHolocaust locations in GermanyHoly citiesMembers of the Hanseatic LeaguePages with non-numeric formatnum argumentsPopulated places established in the 1st century BCPopulated places on the RhineRhinelandRoman towns and cities in Germany
Raddampfer Goethe bei Nacht001
Raddampfer Goethe bei Nacht001

Cologne (English: kə-LOHN; German: Köln [kœln] (listen); Kölsch: Kölle [ˈkœlə] (listen)) is the largest city of Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city and one of the oldest in Germany. With 3.6 million people in the urban region and 1.1 million inhabitants within its city proper, Cologne is the largest city on the river Rhine and also the most populous city of both the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region and the Rhineland. Centered on the left (west) bank of the Rhine, Cologne is about 35 km (22 mi) southeast of NRW's state capital Düsseldorf and 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Bonn. The city's medieval Catholic Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), the third-tallest church and tallest cathedral in the world, constructed to house the Shrine of the Three Kings, is a globally recognized landmark and one of the most visited sights and pilgrimage destinations in Europe. The cityscape is further shaped by the Twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne, and Cologne is famous for Eau de Cologne, that has been produced in the city since 1709, and "cologne" has since come to be a generic term. There are many institutions of higher education in the city, most notably the University of Cologne, one of Europe's oldest and largest universities; the Technical University of Cologne, Germany's largest university of applied sciences; and the German Sport University Cologne. It hosts three Max Planck science institutes and is a major research hub for the aerospace industry, with the German Aerospace Center and the European Astronaut Centre headquarters. It also has significant chemical and automobile industry. Cologne Bonn Airport is a regional hub, the main airport for the region is Düsseldorf Airport. Cologne was founded and established in Germanic Ubii territory in the 1st century CE as the Roman Colonia Agrippina, hence its name (Augusta Ubiorum was also used). "Agrippina" was later dropped (except in Latin), and "Colonia" became the name of the city in its own right, which developed into modern German as Köln. "Cologne", the French version of the city's name, has become standard in English as well. Cologne functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and as the headquarters of the Roman military in the region until occupied by the Franks in 462. During the Middle Ages the city flourished as being located on one of the most important major trade routes between east and western Europe (including the Brabant Road, Via Regia and Publica). Cologne was a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire and one of the major members of the trade union Hanseatic League. It was one of the largest European cities in medieval and renaissance times. Prior to World War II, the city had undergone occupations by the French (1794–1815) and the British (1918–1926), and was part of Prussia beginning in 1815. Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II. The bombing reduced the population by 95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire millennia-old city center. The post-war rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed cityscape, restoring only major historic landmarks like city gates and churches (31 of them being Romanesque). Cologne is a major cultural center for the Rhineland; it hosts more than 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne, Dmexco, imm Cologne, Photokina and Gamescom, a leading video games fair.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cologne (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cologne
Schildergasse, Cologne Altstadt-Nord (Innenstadt)

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N 50.936388888889 ° E 6.9527777777778 °
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Schildergasse 74-76
50667 Cologne, Altstadt-Nord (Innenstadt)
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
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Raddampfer Goethe bei Nacht001
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Schnütgen Museum
Schnütgen Museum

The Schnütgen Museum (Museum Schnütgen in German) in Cologne is devoted to Christian religious art, mainly medieval, but some parts of the collection, such as its textiles and prints, extend from antiquity to the modern period. In 1906, the collection of Alexander Schnütgen was donated to the city, and the collection has continued to expand, so that until the opening of a new building in 2010, only about 10% of its 13,000 items could be displayed. Now some 2,000 objects are on display in 1900 sq. metres of gallery space, with an additional 1300 sq. metres for special exhibitions. Schnütgen (1843–1918) was a Catholic priest and theologian; according to the museum website "Up to now people tell stories about his zealous and sometimes crafty collection tactics".Since 1956, the museum has occupied the large Romanesque church of St. Cäcilien, founded in 881 for noble canonesses, with the present building dating from 1130–60, with murals from about 1300. An annex built by architect Karl Band was added in the 1950s, and new buildings (part of the Kulturquartier, “Culture quarter“) opened in 2010. Highlights of the collection include a Romanesque tympanum from St Cecilia's itself, several large wooden crucifixes, including the 11th century Cross of St George's, as well as a large collection of early bronze ones, including the only other work generally attributed to Rainer of Huy apart from his Liège baptismal font. The museum has a late Carolingian evangeliary of 860–880, and a single leaf from the English St Albans Psalter. The "Comb of St Heribert" is a 9th-century ivory liturgical comb, and the "Harrach Diptych" a Carolingian ivory of about 810 (on loan from the Ludwig collection). Ivories, stained glass, textiles including vestments, metalwork and paintings are all well represented.Alexander Schnütgen had organised influential exhibitions of his collection while it was still private, and from the 1970s the museum (using extra exhibition spaces) organized a series of landmark exhibitions of medieval art: Rhein und Maas (1972, Mosan art) Monumenta Annonis – Köln und Siegburg. Weltbild und Kunst im hohen Mittelalter (1975) Die Parler und der schöne Stil 1350–1400, Europäische Kunst unter den Luxemburgern (1978) Ornamenta Ecclesia – Kunst und Künstler der Romanik (1985, Romanesque metalwork and other church art) Himmelslicht. Europäische Glasmalerei im Jahrhundert des Kölner Dombaus (1248–1349) (1998, stained glass).The enormous catalogues for these exhibitions, some running to three volumes, remain important works of reference. Catalogues of the permanent collection of the museum are being published in several volumes. A touring exhibition in America of objects from the museum in 2000 also produced a catalogue in English.

Cologne Opera

Glockengasse Synagogue
Glockengasse Synagogue

The Synagogue in Glockengasse was a synagogue in Cologne built to the plans of the architect of the Cologne Cathedral, Ernst Friedrich Zwirner. It was built on the previous Monastery of St. Clarissa, where a modest hall of prayer had been erected in the years of the French occupation and had been closed in 1853 because it was unsafe.On June 10, 1856, after much discussion in the Jewish communal executive board about whether it was better to build a synagogue in the same or a different spot, Abraham Oppenheim, son of Salomon Oppenheim, Jr., announced his readiness to erect a synagogue worthy of the Glockengasse at his own cost as a gift to the community. Drucker-Emden, a member of the Jewish communal administration, supported the decision. The cornerstone was laid on June 23, 1857. On August 29, 1861, there was a procession from the provisional synagogue on St. Apernstrasse along Breitestrasse and Kolumbastrasse to the new synagogue. The synagogue was dedicated to Rabbi Israel Schwarz. A memorial tablet dedicated to the donor was placed inside and a medal of silver and bronze was struck.In June 1867, fire damaged the building. In the same year Albert, the son of Simon Oppenheim, Abraham’s brother, and his wife sold a piece of land on the south side of the synagogue and a strip on the east to the Jewish community, making it possible to enlarge the synagogue, erect a smaller synagogue for week-day services, and leave room for a court.The fiftieth anniversary of the synagogue was celebrated in 1911. During World War I, the large cupola, as well as the smaller ones, were stripped of their original copper covering. The cupolas had been regarded as among the most beautiful in Cologne because of the patinated copper. In consequence of the removal, the four towers on the outside pillars were dismantled and only restored in 1925, while the replacement of the copper covering was postponed for financial reasons. The synagogue was destroyed during the Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938 together with the other synagogues in Cologne. The modernist Cologne Opera House now occupies the site. A bronze plaque on its façade on Offenbachplatz commemorates the synagogue. The synagogue has been recreated in virtual form.