City Tour

Our tutor from the CDC took us on a brief tour of Cologne.  I'll try to summarize the experience with the next few pictures.

     Cologne began as a Roman colony, at the wish of Agrippina- Cologne native and the wife of Emperor Claudius.  The colony was named "Colonia Claudia Ana Agrippinensis" and the abreviation CCAA can be found throughout city landmarks paying homage to the city's Roman history.  With acceptance to Rome came many stone walls for protection; the city was encircled by many walls throughout its 2000 year history (some Roman, some Franc, some German).  Above you can see a recreated section where one once stood.

     While standing in the park near this wall, we heard the story of Agrippina.  Apparently she wanted her son, Nero, to come to power, so she poisoned her husband and uncle.  Then, Agripinna was killed by her son who believed, according to our guide, she was stealing too much of his power.  He first sabotaged her boat while she was crossing a lake, but it didn't work. So, on his second try, he used his soldiers to kill her.  "Unfortunately, we have this type of family to thank for beautiful Cologne."

     After our introduction to the Romans, we headed towards the Dom.  On the way, we passed the above mural.  Our guide explained that Cologne once held a large street art festival where they designated walls for graffiti artists to come and paint.  This particular mural shows how corporations have taken control of the "cool" parts of the city and that the artists and performers are using their art to take down the establishment (Andy Warhol battering ram).  Oversimplification aside, our guide was actually gave a great analysis of the mural while tying in contemporary issues for the city.

     Along the way we also passed many Stolpersteins (Stumbling Blocks). Stolperstein is a commemorative art project by Gunter Demnig (from Cologne) for victims of the Holocaust.  The stones are located throughout Germany and Europe on sidewalks near the former homes of people who were killed or went missing as a result of the Nazi regime.  They include information about the deceased and serve as a visible reminder for how people were torn from their neighborhoods as a result of the Holocaust.

     Near the Dom I saw the tiled symbol of "Space Invader," a somewhat famous street artist.  If you have ever seen the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop about Banksy, it begins with Space Invader. Neato!

      On the plaza of the Dom we found an implanted metal map of the city during the Roman times.  To the left of the "P" in Agrippinensium you can see a silver circle.  The silver circle marks the current location of the Dom.  As indicated, the wall was very close to the Dom ...

     While excavating underneath the Dom to build a parking structure, a segment of the original Roman wall was found.  The plans for the deck were changed and the wall was preserved for the public. It is impressive to see how uniform the bricks were as well as how massive the wall was (maybe 15' thick).
     Next, we walked to the other side of the cathedral to find more Roman ruins.  Cologne, as I've mentioned before, was the most heavily bombed city during the war.  In preparation, many bomb shelters were built.  At this location, they ran into a Roman tiled floor...

      When Cologne was rebuilt, the decision was made to build a Roman History Museum at this location to capture Cologne's ancient history.  I thought it was really cool that they positioned a glass wall on the square in order to make the mosaic floor available to the public 24/7.  As we looked upon the intricate floor and nearby relics, our guide covered even more of Cologne's Roman beginnings [omitted for brevity].

Rathaus Köln

     Next, we visited Germany's oldest City Hall.  Fast take aways: it is popular for weddings, it still does official business, I didn't take a great picture, it is located on an area that was once the Jewish quarter (from way back) and they've found objects of archaeological significance which means the ground is torn up around it as the town decides what to do, ANNDDD the tower has statues of  important people for the city throughout its history.  The statues are mainly bishops and people related to the Dom (including a statue of the Archbishop who took the relics of the Three Magi/Kings from Milan).  The above photo is of the statue of Agripinna and Nero.  The statue has a spider on it symbolizing their treacherous nature.  Or, as our guide put it, it reminds us of their "poisonous blood."

      Our tour ended with a .2 liter glass of Kolsch.  Kolsch (with umlaut) is the local beer here, and pretty much the only beer you can find for sale.  It is served in small glasses because it allegedly loses its flavor within 20 minutes of being poured.  To make up for the small glasses, the waiters vigilantly walk around and swap empty glasses with fresh pours; to signal you are finished drinking, you put the drink coaster on top of the glass.  It was a great way to end our informal walking tour of downtown Cologne!

     On the way home I passed a man playing a baby grand piano on the Cathedral square.  He was playing american pop music (Pink and Fun to be exact).  It never is dull near the Dom!