https://markshimazuphotography.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/cologne_cathedral_rhine_river_bridge_germany_koln_dom.jpg?w=774&h=516
This beautiful town is going to be mentioned somewhere in my novel, "Four-Ninety and Holding".
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Cologne,
Germany's fourth-largest city (after Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich), is
the largest city both in the German Federal State of North
Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.
Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine River, less than eighty
kilometres from Belgium. The city's famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner
Dom) is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University
of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) is one of Europe's oldest and largest
universities.
Cologne was founded and established in Ubii
territory in the first century AD as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara
Agrippinensium, from which it gets its name. "Cologne", the French
version of the city's name, has become standard in English as well. The
city 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 it
flourished on one of the most important major trade routes between east
and west in Europe. Cologne was one of the leading members of the
Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in
medieval and Renaissance times.
Up until World War II the city had
undergone several occupations by the French and also by the British
(1918-1926). Cologne was one of the most heavily-bombed cities in
Germany during World War II, the Royal Air Force (RAF) dropping 34,711
long tons of bombs on the city. The bombing reduced the population by
95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire city.
With the intention of restoring as many historic buildings as possible,
the successful postwar rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed and
unique cityscape.
Cologne is a major cultural centre for the
Rhineland; it hosts more than thirty 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, imm Cologne, Gamescom, and
the Photokina.
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