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Cologne (/ k ə ˈ l oʊ n / ⓘ kə-LOHN; German: Köln ⓘ; Kölsch: Kölle ⓘ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urban region.
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Cologne, fourth largest city in Germany and largest city of the Land (state) of North Rhine–Westphalia. One of the key inland ports of Europe, it is the historic, cultural, and economic capital of the Rhineland.
Cologne’s commercial importance grew out of its position at the point where the huge traffic artery of the Rhine (German: Rhein) River intersected one of the major land routes for trade between western and eastern Europe. In the Middle Ages it also became an ecclesiastical centre of significance and an important centre of art and learning. This rich and varied heritage is still much in evidence in present-day Cologne, despite the almost complete destruction of the Inner City (Innenstadt) during World War II. Cologne is the seat of a university and the see of a Roman Catholic archbishop. Its cathedral, the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996; it is the city’s major landmark and unofficial symbol. Area 156 square miles (405 square km). Pop. (2011) 1,005,775; (2021 est.) 1,073,096.
Cologne is situated about 21 miles (34 km) northwest of Bonn and 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Düsseldorf. It lies 210 feet (65 metres) above sea level, just below where the Rhine enters the fertile North German Plain. The river at this point is navigable to seagoing vessels. The immediate surroundings of Cologne are varied. The picturesque hills of the Bergisches Land lie to the east, while on the west is another group of hills forming a chain called the Ville. The North German Plain stretches away to the north and northwest, and the Rhine Valley winds to the southeast toward Bonn.
The greatest distance across the city from west to east is about 17 miles (27 km) and from north to south about the same. There are 85 districts, divided into nine Bezirke (city areas). Most of the city lies on the left (west) bank of the river, but it also incorporates a cluster of suburbs on the right bank, some of which were annexed in 1975. The climate of the region is temperate but humid. Average temperatures in the Cologne area are 36 °F (2 °C) in January and 64 °F (18 °C) in July.
The semicircular shape of the Inner City was originally determined by a defensive wall, 4 miles (6 km) long, that was completed in about 1200. The wall enclosed several formerly separate parishes and afforded protection for some 35,000 to 40,000 people. (At that time Cologne was bigger than Paris.) The flat side of the semicircle was formed by the Rhine. In the 1880s the medieval fortifications were demolished and replaced by a chain of ring roads, called the Ringstrassen.
Although Cologne has spread far beyond the confines of the Ringstrassen, its focal point is still within this area, the Inner City. There are found the main shopping and business streets—such as the Hohe Strasse (north-south) and Schildergasse (west-east), both of which have been closed to motor vehicles—as well as the city’s historic buildings. Several bridges span the river at Cologne; five of them were rebuilt after World War II, and the rest were postwar additions.
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- It took 632 years to build the Cologne Cathedral. It’s the third-tallest cathedral in the world.
- People of Cologne and nearby have their own language. They call it Kölsch. During carnival time it even appears on nationwide broadcasts.
- Cologne has 31 museums.
- Cologne has 22 nature reserves, and 15% of its territory is covered in forests.
- Cologne Cathedral. An international pilgrimage site, Cologne Cathedral has held the reliquary of the Three Kings since 1164. In 1248 work started on a new Gothic home for these precious remains, and it was inspired by the ethereal cathedrals of Northern France.
- Ludwig Museum. Exhibiting art from after 1900, the Ludwig Museum was set up in the 1980s in the modern, purpose-built complex near the cathedral. The attraction came about during the 1970s after the Ludwigs, Peter and Irene, donated a multi-million-dollar collection of 20th-century art.
- Romano-Germanic Museum. In the war a Roman villa was uncovered next to the cathedral when a bomb shelter was being built. This was fully excavated later, and rather than try to move the centrepiece, beautiful Dionysus mosaic, an entire museum was built around the site in the 1970s.
- Wallraf-Richartz Museum. The Wallraf-Richartz Museum was born in 1824 when Franz Ferdinand Wallraf bequeathed a tremendous assortment of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Impressionist art to the city.
Cologne (German: Köln, Ripuarian: Kölle) is a city on the Rhine river in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the fourth largest city in Germany with around 1.1 million residents (2020). It is one of the nation's media, tourism and business hotspots, and is considered one of the most liberal cities in Germany.
Cologne is the largest city in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. It’s known for its unique architecture, with the Cologne Cathedral being the most important landmark and distinct feature of the city’s skyline.
Cologne (German: Köln, Kölsch: Kölle) is a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is on the Rhine River . About 1,060,000 people live there, making Cologne the biggest city in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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