Overview

Cologne – Good enough to dab it on

Cologne or Koln as the Germans like to call it is the undisputed Party City of the country. The city rocks with its many party zones, bars and pubs. But that is not the only thing that attracts people to this ancient city. There is something to do everywhere you look; it is a gay hub, a carnival centre and riverside resort – all activities that can keep a tourist busy for days. Cologne claims its fame in many things – it is home to most famous tourist attraction: the vast yet exquisite Cologne Cathedral and the birthplace of that little bottle that smells like heaven – Eau de Cologne!

Once a medieval place of pilgrimage, Cologne still commands a large number of tourists who come here to visit the famous Kolner Dom. But that is only one of the reasons you would love Cologne- you would also love it for its colorful shopping street, Hohe Strasse, runs south, its narrow lanes filled to the brim with tourist-friendly taverns in the Altstadt area and its verdant patches hemmed to the sides of the Rhine.

A ring road circles the heart of town and is the hub of the city’s nightlife, ending inches away to the most famous parks of the city which host most of the city’s sports activities. The city with all its charms adds one more to its list – it is one of the most bike friendly cities in the country and you can soak in all its sights and sounds pedaling about on your path to discovering the city’s hidden gems.

Adding to Cologne Germany history are its numerous museums like the hugely popular Schokoladen Museum, dedicated solely to the process of chocolate making! In all there are enough attractions in Cologne to keep a family or single travelers or seniors groups excited about every morning. Need more reasons to visit Cologne? Read on and we will tell you!

Cologne’s History

The first people to make Cologne’s present city center their home were the Ubii – Germanic tribe, who made a pact with the Romans in 39 BC and settled on the left bank of the Rhine, calling their settlement Oppidum Ubiorum. But Cologne's history is inextricably linked with Julia Aggripina, wife of Emperor Claudius who was born in 15 AD in a garrison town in the area. In a fit of emotions, she persuaded the Emperor to rename her birthplace after her and 'Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium' was born. The name was quite a mouthful and soon got abbreviated to 'Colonia' which in turn became the German Koln and the world’s Cologne.

The city was the capital of the Gallic Empire in the 3rd century and produced its first Bishop, Maternus in 313. The city remained the capital of the Roman province till it was occupied by the Franks in 459. As the Dark Ages descended upon the continent, Cologne started its gradual incline towards becoming a powerful Catholic archbishopric. Construction on the Kolner Dom began in 1248, just 40 years before the archbishops lost power to the guilds at the battle of Worringen. Koln became a Free Imperial City and a member of the Hanseatic League in 1475 and continued to prosper because of its strategic location on the Rhine.

The construction of the cathedral was put on the backburner but the city remained staunchly Catholic. The French invaded in 1794 and - when the Congress of Vienna ended the occupation - the city got absorbed into the kingdom of Prussia. The nineteenth century saw rapid industrialization that gave impetus to the city’s industries and commerce keeping its upswing continues. That forgotten Cathedral was taken up as a task by the Prussians who completed it after five centuries.

Cologne's economy was robust enough to ride out the economic downturns between the wars, but the Allied bombings still managed to disfigure most of the city. In the decades following the conflict, enormous effort went into clearing the ruins and rebuilding the city.

Today, Cologne is powered by the automotive and pharmaceutical industries; is fourth largest city in Germany, still the birthplace of the Koln Wasser and an out-of-control fab place to visit.

When to go

Cologne surprises with its climate. As far as the winters go, you get the regular freezing temperatures, but come summer and the place becomes a wet, soggy place! So, all through June and August you should stay away from the city or pack in some tropical raingear and jump into the slush... can’t be much fun! Unless, of course you want to thank your stars for little tourist traffic and low hotel rates.

Try going to Cologne in spring when the weather is on its best behavior. The city looks like a bejeweled bride from March to May and in and autumn, from September to October and you can pack in a lot in one day – sightseeing, people watching from under the sun umbrella on a pavement café and perhaps a picnic in one of the city’s parks.