Cologne

The Cisrhenian Republic (German: Cisrhenanische Republik) was a client state (sister republic) of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was proclaimed in 1797 on the Left Bank of the Rhine under French occupation.

The Schildergasse (German: [ˈʃɪldɐˌɡasə]; Kölsch: Schelderjaß [ˌʃel²dɐˈjasˑ]) is a shopping street in central Cologne, Germany. With 13,000 people passing through it every hour, it is the busiest shopping street in Europe, according to a 2008 survey by GfK. The Schildergasse is a designated pedestrian zone and stretches for about 500 meters from the Hohe Straße at its eastern end to the Neumarkt at the western end. The street dates back to Roman times, when it was the city's Decumanus Maximus. During the Middle Ages it was home to many artists who painted heraldic coats of arms, whence the street's name (Schilder means signs or escutcheons). Among today's landmarks on Schildergasse are the Atoniterkirche, the oldest Protestant church in Cologne, and Peek & Cloppenburg's Weltstadthaus, designed by Renzo Piano.

The Antoniterkirche is a Gothic church building on the Schildergasse in central Cologne, Germany, named after the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony who founded it between 1350 and 1370–1378. Now used by the Protestant Church, it is the second most-visited church in the city after Cologne Cathedral. The Resistance fighter Freya von Moltke was baptised there.It has become known throughout Germany as the venue for the 'Politisches Nachtgebet' (with the likes of Dorothee Sölle) and the site of Ernst Barlach's artwork Der Schwebende, also known as Angel, als well as Kruzifix II and Der Lehrende. Since 2016 it has been a member of the Coventry Cross of Nails.

The Weltstadthaus ("global city building"), housing a department store in Cologne, Germany, was designed by Renzo Piano and completed in 2005, following a lengthy legal battle concerning the structural engineering of the core building. It covers up a main traffic artery, the Nord-Süd-Fahrt, and faces Europe's most frequented shopping mile, the Schildergasse.

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.

St. Cecilia's Church (Cäcilienkirche, Colognian pronunciation: [tsɪnˈtsila]) is one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne’s old city, maintained by the Foundation of Romanesque Churches in Cologne. The present building, little changed since its inception, dates from 1130-60. Since 1956, the church has been the home of the Schnütgen Museum for medieval art.

4711 is a traditional German Eau de Cologne by Mäurer & Wirtz. Because it has been produced in Cologne since at least 1799, it is allowed to use the geographical indication Original Eau de Cologne. The brand has been expanded to various other perfumes and products besides the original Echt Kölnisch Wasser, which has used the same formula for more than 200 years. The original 4711 store at Glockengasse 4 in Cologne is a popular tourist attraction.

Disch-Haus is the name of an office and commercial building in the Cologne city center district, Brückenstraße 19/corner Herzogstraße 36.

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.

Schauspiel Köln is a theatre and company in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It forms together with the Cologne Opera and other houses the Bühnen der Stadt Köln (Stages of the city of Cologne). The listed building has 830 seats in the Grand House, 120 in the locksmith and 60 in the refreshment room. In addition, the listed 'Halle Kalk' has 200 seats, it was used until closing in the summer of 2015 because of the danger of collapse. Since the 2013/14 season (September 2013) Depot 1 and Depot 2 have been used as interim venues during the extensive renovation of the Schauspielhaus on the site of the former Carlswerk in Schanzenstraße in Cologne-Mülheim. Ernst Hardt was the intendant before he moved on to the Westdeutscher Rundfunk in 1927.

St. Kolumba was one of the largest parish churches in medieval Cologne, dating back to 980, and dedicated to Columba of Sens. The original Romanesque church was replaced by a Gothic church. Artworks in it included the Saint Columba Altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden, and an altar by an anonymous artist. It was almost completely destroyed by bombing in World War II. From 1947, a chapel was built on the ruins, dedicated to Mary as "Madonna of the Ruins". The chapel was called St. Kolumba from 2007, when it became part of the Kolumba, the museum of the archdiocese of Cologne.