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Cologne (Köln)
Cologne Cathedral - image courtesy of Cologne Tourist Board.
* Germany's oldest city
* In the middle of Germany in north-south terms, about 65km east of the border with the Netherlands
* Biggest city in Germany until the 19th century
* Prime engine of the German economy
* Center of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany
* A center of radio, TV, music and art (about 120 galleries), and Germany’s carnival city
* Population: 1,012,000 (2004)
World Cup 2006 Matches in Cologne
Sun 11 June Angola v Portugal
Sat 17 June Czech Republic v Ghana
Tues 20 June Sweden v England
Fri 23 June Togo v France
Mon 26 June Round of 16
It was the ancient Romans who said 'If you haven't seen Cologne, you haven't seen Germany'. In 50BC the Roman empire's northern outpost, founded as Ara Ubiorum, 'Altar of the Ubians', was elevated to the status of a colony: Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, or plain 'CCAA' - in large part because it was the birthplace of Agrippina, wife of the Emperor Claudius. Today only the 'colony' part of its ancient name survives as 'Cologne'. Cologne is Germany's oldest city and, until the 19th century, the grandest - a status still reflected in the scores of spires that serrate its skyline, and its massive cathedral, or Dom. It's mercantile success began with the city's traders in London gaining special trading concessions from England's Henry II in 1157. Cologne thereby became the founding city of the mighty Hanseatic League that dominated trade in Northern Europe for several centuries. Even today it is fourth biggest city in the nation. Almost 20 percent of Cologne's one million-plus population is foreign born, meaning it is still the cosmopolitan hub it started life as. Half the households in the city are single, perhaps partly explaining why the place has such a rocking party reputation.
As a lead up to the somber Catholic season of Lent, the 40 days of fasting before Easter, Cologne goes through its so-called 'fifth season': an approximately 3-month-long carnival starting on November 11 and ending in February on Shrove Tuesday (AKA 'Mardi Gras', literally 'Fat Tuesday'), the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. It moves outside on Weiberfestnacht, the Thursday before Lent, in a climax of festivity. Colognes's reputation as Germany's party city is backed up solidly by its famous thirst for the beer that shares its name with the local dialect: Kölsch. As for places to drink it: Cologne, with its more than 4000 pubs, restaurants and ale houses, is reputed to have more drinking spots per head of population than any other town in Germany. Also, until the 1990s it had more breweries than any other city in the country. Cologne is also famous for its dedication to music and the arts, and a wealth of both are there for the taking all year round.
June-July, the time of the 2006 World Cup, should be about 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees F) during the day, and around 12 degrees (54 degrees F) at night.
The center of Cologne is Altstadt (dating from the Roman days). Three ring roads splay out from it:
-Ring: following the medieval city wall.
-Gürtel: from the 19th century.
-Kölner Ring: a six-lane autobahn.
Cologne's public transport network is made up of buses, trams and an S-Bahn and U-Bahn train system operated by Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg. For short visits, the best train deal is probably a 3-day ticket or a strip ticket with a maximum of 4 separate journeys, depending on the distance.
Before embarking on an exploration of Cologne, cross the Hohenzollern Brücke bridge, or take one of the ferries that ply the Rhine to Deutz on the right bank of the river to get a better idea of the city's overall look and layout.
Starting from the Dom we're going to follow the city clockwise in a rough circle, first going down south alongside the Rhine.
Getting to Cologne
Air
There are two international airports nearby:
-the Cologne/Bonn Konrad Adenauer Airport (CGN): connects to 87 airports, mainly in Europe, but with a few North African and Middle Eastern destinations too.
Airport bus no.170 runs regularly between the airport and Cologne, taking only 20 minutes. Buses leave from Terminal 1 Gateway A, and Terminal 2 Gateway D.
Train
Cologne is linked with London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Berlin by the following high speed trains: ICE, Thalys/Eurostar, Metropolitan and City Night Express. The Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) connects to any German city; the two smaller stations Köln Süd and Köln West serve mostly regional trains.
Bus/Road
Connexions to all parts of Germany via the autobahn. However, be warned: Cologne is a driver’s nightmare with its one-way streets, lack of signs with street names, cyclists, pedestrians who are likely to walk on the street, and expensive parking garages.
A climate-neutral World Cup
Click here for the 2006 Fifa World Cup venues
Click here for general information
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