Travel Notes: Cologne, Germany (October 9, 2008)

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Cologne, Germany

Date Visited: October 9, 2008

How I got there: From Leuven, Belgium I took a regional train to Liege (Belgium), and from

Liege (Belgium) I took a TGV train to Cologne (Germany) via Aachen (Germany).

Interesting Sights Visited/Seen:

1. Cathedral
2. Train Station

Interesting Facts About Cologne:

Cologne is said to be the Cathedral City on the Rhine. The name and plan of Cologne still show with unusual clarity the city’s importance during Roman and medieval times. The line of the ancient town wall of the colony founded in 50 AD is evident in the present road network just as much as the extensions of the Middle Ages and the course of the great semicircular wall, with whose construction Cologne began in 1180.

The medieval course of the town wall is followed by the present ring roads Cologne which had an area of 1 sq. km. in Roman times and 4 sq. km. in the 19th century, today covers over 400 sq. km.

In the second century AD the Roman Cologne already had a population of 20,000, which was exceeded only in the High Middle Ages, when it came to 40,000. The population of Cologne remained approximately the same up to the beginning of the 19th century. Today its population is put at around one million.

In Roman times the town wall already had a length of 4 km with 19 towers and 9 gates. Even without merlons, it towers almost 8 meters up – an impressive demonstration of Roman might.

Interesting Experience:

1. Visit to the Cathedral

Website: http://www.koeln.de/

Reference: The Rhine: A Guide From Mainz to Cologne, http://www.schoening-verlag.de/
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