COLOGNE, German Köln or Cöln, the chief city of Rhenish Prussia, and a fortress of the first rank, capital of a government of the same name, is situated in the form of a half circle on the left bank of the Rhine, 45 miles N.N.W. of Coblentz, in 50° 56' 29" N. lat., 6° 57' 52" E. long. It is connected with the suburb of Deutz, on the opposite side of the Rhine, by a bridge of boats nearly 1400 feet long, and by a handsome iron bridge which serves both for railway and street traffic. Although when viewed from a distance the city has a picturesque aspect, it is very irregularly built, and the older streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty. The most important squares are the Heumarkt, Neumarkt, Altmarkt, and Waidmarkt. There are two railway stations, the Central, near the cathedral, and the Pantaleon. There are also tw’o stations in Deutz. The cathedral or Dorn, the principal edifice and chief object of interest in Cologne, is one of the finest and purest monuments of Gothic architecture in Europe. It stands on the site of a cathedral commenced about the beginning of the 9th century by Hildebold, metropolitan of Cologne, and finished under Willibert in 873. This structure was ruined by the Normans, was rebuilt, but in 1248 was almost wholly destroyed by fire. The foundation of the present cathedral was then laid by Conrad of Hochstaden. The original plan of the building has been attributed to Gerhard von Rile. Iu 1322 the new choir was consecrated, and the bones of the three kings were removed to it from the place they had occupied in the former cathedral. After Conrad’s death the work of building advanced but slowly, and at the time of the Reformation it ceased entirely. In the early part of the 19th century the repairing of the cathedral was taken in hand, and in ...1842 the building of fresh portions necessary for the completion of the whole structure was commenced. The cathedral, which is in the form of a cross, has a length of 480, a breadth of 282 feet; the height of the central aisle is 154 feet; that of each of the towers, when completed, will be upwards of 500 feet. The heaviest of the six bells weighs 11 tons. In the choir the heart of Mary de’ Medici is buried; and in the adjoining side-chapels are monuments of the founder and other archbishops of Cologne, and the shrine of the three kings, which is adorned with gold and precious stones. The very numerous and richly-coloured windows, presented at various times to the cathedral, add greatly to tho imposing effect of the interior. (See A kcπitecture, vol. ii. p. 431.) Many of the churches of Cologne are of interest both for their age and for the monuments and works of art they contain. In St Peter’s are the famous altar-piece by Rubens, representing the Crucifixion of St Peter, several other works by Lucas of Leyden, and some old German glass-paintings. St Martin’s, built between the 10th and 12th centuries, has a fine bapistery, and paintings by Du Bois and Honthorst; St Gereon’s, built in the 11th century on the site of a Roman rotunda, is noted for its mosaic?
and glass and oil paintings; the Minorite church, commenced in the same year as the cathedral, contains the tomb of Duns Scotus. Besides these may be mentioned the Pantaleon church, a 12th century structure, with a monument to Theophania, wife of Otto IL,; St Cunibert, in the Byzantine-Moorish style, completed in 1248; St Maria iιn Capitol, the oldest church in Cologne, dedicated in 1049 by Pope Leo IX., noted for its crypt, organ, and paintings; St Cecilia, St Ursula, and St George. Other public buildings are the Gürzenich, the former meeting-place of the diets of the German empire, built between 1441 and 1474, the great hall of which is capable of accommodating 3000 persons; the Rathhaus, which dates from the 13th century; the Tempelhaus, built partly in the 12th century; the Museum Wallraf-Richartz, in which is a collection of paintings by old Italian and Dutch masters, together with some works by modern artists; the Zeughaus or arsenal, situated on Roman foundations; the Government buildings, erected by Bircher in 1830; the archbishop’s palace, three gymnasia, several normal and commercial schools and literary and scientific institutions, and three theatres. The university, founded in 1388, was suppressed by the French during their occupation of the country. The walls which surround the city are about seven miles in circuit. Outside the walls, to the north side, are the Zoological and the Botanical Gardens. Cologne has a considerable trade in corn, wines, hides, and rape-seed with Holland, Belgium, and other countries; and steamers ply regularly between the city and the ports on the Rhine. The principal manufactures are cotton yarn and stuffs, hosiery, woollens, silks, tobacco, sugar, soap, wax-lights, starch, malt, dyes, white-lead, porcelain, carpets, brandy and spirits, eau-de-cologne, and leathern and metal wares. In 1815 the population of Cologne was 47,000; in 1871 it amounted to 129,233, or, if that of Deutz be included, about 141,000.
Cologne occupies the site of Oppidum Ubiorum, the chief town of the Ubii, and there in 51 a.d. a Roman colony was planted by the Emperor Claudius, at the request of his wife Agrippina, who was born in the place. After her it was named Colonia Agrippina or Agrippinensis. Cologne rose to be the chief town of Germania Secunda, and had the privilege of the Jus Italicum. Both Vitellius and Trajan were at Cologne when they became emperors. Statues, sarcophagi, and other Roman remains, and portions of the old Roman walls have been found at Cologne. About 330 the city was taken by the Franks, and in 475 it became the residence of the French king Childeric. In 870 it was annexed to the empire. The bishopric was founded in 314, the archbishopric about the end of the 8th century; in the 14th century the archbishops were made electors of the German empire. The last elector, Maximilian, died in 1801. Cologne was besieged by Emperor Henry V. in 1160, and by Philip of Swabia in 1201. From 1452 to 1474, having taken part with England, it was excluded from∙the Hanseatic League, of which it was one of the most important and wealthy cities. The intolerance of its magistrates in expelling Jews and Protestants, and the closing of the Rhine navigation in the 16th century by the Dutch, contributed to its decline. This last restriction having been removed in 1837, the trade of Cologne has greatly improved. In 1794 Cologne was taken by the French; it was ceded to them by the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, and. from that time till 1814, when it was restored to the Prussians, it was the capital of the department of the Roer.
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