Wednesday June 4
Cologne
This was a sleep in morning as the ship didn’t sail
till 8:45 so we weren’t disturbed by any noise or movement. About an hour after sailing we passed the
remains of the Bridge at Remagen. This
bridge was built during WW I to aid the movement of supplies and troops to the
Western Front.
Early in 1945 the Germans tried to destroy the
bridge to prevent the allied troops crossing the Rhine. In March the US forces captured the bridge
but 10 days later it collapsed killing 23 troops. It is thought that the capture of the bridge
speeded up the end of the war by as much as 6 months. A little later we sailed past Bonn, the old
capital of Western Germany
Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine
River. The city's famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the
Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln)
is one of Europe's oldest and largest universities.
Cologne was founded and established in the first
century AD, as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in Ubii territory. It was the capital of the Roman province of
Germania Inferior and the headquarters of the military in the region until
occupied by the Franks in 462. During the Middle Ages it flourished as one of
the most important major trade routes between east and west in Europe. Cologne
was one of the leading members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest
cities north of the Alps in medieval and renaissance times.
Up until World War II the city had undergone
several other occupations by the French and also the British. Cologne was one
of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II and the
bombing reduced the population by 95% and destroyed almost the entire city.
With the intention of restoring as many historic buildings as possible, the
rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed and unique cityscape.
Cologne is a major cultural centre of the
Rhineland; it is home to more than thirty museums and hundreds of galleries.
Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archaeological sites to contemporary
graphics and sculpture.
Shortly
after lunch the ship docked and we left for a short walking tour starting along
the river front passed many old houses and hotels and a Romanesque church. Apart from the church all the buildings were
rebuilt after the war when the decision was made to replace the destroyed
buildings in the old part of the city with replicas of those destroyed and
using salvaged materials.
We
wandered in several small lanes before coming to the old town hall which
survived with light damage. Near the town
hall there are extensive excavations taking place for it is in this area the
old Jewish Quarter was situated as well as many Roman buildings. Most of the Jewish population were killed
during the plague in the Middle Ages when they were blamed by the other
residents of Cologne for causing and spreading the disease.
On a
corner by the Jewish excavations is the shop of the perfume maker Farini, this
family owned business was the first to make perfume using multi fragrances with
an alcohol base, this technique has been copied by all other perfume makers and
Farini still sell the original perfume blend.
Our
guide took us through several small lanes and market squares before arriving at
the Cathedral, building started in the 1300s and it took 600 years to
complete. When the spires were completed
it was the highest building in the world at that time.
 |
| East end of Cathedral |
Our
guide left us at this point, to enable us wander around the cathedral and other
parts of town, as we have visited the cathedral at least twice on previous
visits we didn’t spend much time inside but walked around inside admiring the
stained glass windows and religious paintings which had been removed during the
war. The cathedral only suffered minor
damage during the war as the allied bombers made every effort not to hit it;
this is in spite of the railway station being only metres away.
In the pride
of place in the cathedral in jewel encrusted gold coffin supposedly containing
the skeletons of the Three Wise Men which were taken from Milan in the 1200s
and given to the Bishop of Cologne as a reward for his support in the war
against that city.
Leaving
the cathedral we walked over to the museum and were able to view through a
window, an 1,800 year old perfectly preserved mosaic floor from a Roman villa,
containing over one million pieces. From
the square beside the cathedral we walked down to the railway bridge across the
Rhine, since our visit in 2008 the fence separating the lines from the footpath
has had hundreds of thousands of padlocks, engraved with couple’s names fixed
to it, there wouldn’t be a square centimetre of space left.
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