Cologne is History

Cologne is Culture

Romano-Germanic Museum

With more than 40 buildings, the Cologne museum landscape offers a unique variety of the most diverse collections from all epochs of art. In addition, there are countless galleries and ateliers. Cologne has also an extremely lively theatre and literary scene. The staging of opera and plays as well as the many free theatres are highly esteemed in the German speaking area. Music plays an important role in Cologne. The variety of styles and forms of presentation hardly know any bounds. Main address is the Kölner Philharmonie. However, the friends of rock and pop also get value in many Cologne clubs. World famous bands and stars make regular stopovers in Cologne while on Tour. Besides the citizens of are particularly proud of Cologne’s local music scene.

Cologne is Economy

Cologne is a turntable for trade, production and services. With three ICE Terminals – among which the main station alone counts more than 1300 trains a day – Cologne is Europe’s central railway hub. Numerous television and radio stations such as the Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR) or RTL, production companies and publishing houses are at home in the city. Cologne in now considered the leading medial location in Germany. The city also proves to be markedly attractive as a commercial centre. Hohe Straße and Schildergasse number among the busiest shopping streets in Germany. The Koelnmesse (Cologne Trade Fair) is also a magnet for visitors. More than 60 trade fairs, including internationally leading exhibitions such as the Photokina, the Anuga or the Art Cologne in addition to 2000 congresses are included in the programme of the world’s fourth largest trade fair site.

Cologne is Science and Research

Science and research always was important to Cologne since the university was founded in the year 1388. More than 80.000 students can select from the broad spectrum of scientific study offers. In addition to the Universität zu Köln, the Fachhochschule Köln (Cologne University of Applied Sciences), the Musikhochschule Köln (Cologne Academy of Music), the Kunsthochschule for Medien (Academy of Media Arts) and other college facilities offer partially highly specialized courses of study. A particular highlight is the Deutsche Sporthochschule (German Sport University Cologne), the largest sports university in the world. The routes from research to the product are short. Business incubators assist scientists in realizing their ideas and research transfer points interlink companies and universities. The Kölner Wissenschaftsrunde (Cologne scientific round table) ensures interlinking of science and close cooperation between science and the economy. The Cologne scientific portal www.wissensdurst-koeln.de offers further information concerning the scientific location of Cologne.

Cologne is the Dom

With its five aisles and two spires, the cathedral embodies most purely the type of High Gothic cathedral among the major churches throughout the word. The size of Cologne Cathedral is marked already by the towering pair of spires which dominates the city and surrounding area to a comparable degree. This is how the UNESCO judged the landmark of the City of Cologne begun in the year 1248 and completed in 1880, the highest building in the world at that time. Accordingly, the UNESCO declared Cologne Cathedral part of “world cultural heritage” in 1996. All in all, the cathedral has more window area than floor area with 10.000 m2. Many centuries of cultural history are combined under the roof of the monumental cathedral which houses many art treasures. A deep emotional relationship links the citizens of Cologne to their cathedral.

Cologne is Sport

Cologne is a major sporting metropolis with a public traditionally enthusiastic about sport. This is hardly surprising, since almost every discipline is at home in the sporting city of Cologne. Every fifth citizen is a member of one of the more than 800 sports clubs in the city. The spectrum shows around 70 different types of sport ranges from football and ice hockey to tennis, including show jumping and also chess.

Köln-Düsseldorfer

Cologne is Leisure and Event

Almost every fourth German would like to live in Cologne. This was the result of a survey throughout the Federal Republic. One reason for this might be - among other aspects - the extensive range of leisure activities that Cologne offers to its citizens. Just to mention some of them: with its large parks and green spaces there is ample space for walking, jogging and football. A very popular place is the Cologne Zoo founded in 1860. Internationally renowned it features nowadays more than 500 species from all continents and oceans of the world. Particularly attractive to young and old are also shipping tours, carrying the passengers to the most beautiful destinations on the Rhine. A very special atmosphere will welcome the visitors in the city’s many beer gardens, where snugness and Kölsch are at home. Besides, many other events attract millions of people each year to the city, such as Christopher Street Day, the Ring Festival, the c/o Pop, the Cologne Lights, the Ford Köln Marathon and the international literature festival lit. Cologne. Equally appealing in Cologne is the Carnival. It is called the 5th season. Officially starting at November 11th, it finalizes nearly 3 months later in a fantastic street festival: more than a million people enjoy the kilometre-long carnival procession at “Rosenmontag” (Carnival Monday).

Cölner Hofbräu Früh

Cologne is “Kölsch” Lifestyle

The famous “Kölsch” lifestyle is more than just a mentality. Openness and tolerance are the essential guiding principles with which the Rhenish metropolis identifies. The people of Cologne are citizens of the world, tolerant and enjoy receiving guests. With them they prefer to drink a Kölsch, the top fermenting brew typical of the city, in the countless brasseries and bars. Kölsch, however, is not only drunk. Kölsch is also spoken and “typically” Kölsch expresses the inquisitiveness of the citizens of Cologne, their negotiating skills and their optimism. This particular Kölsch lifestyle is lived, always and everywhere: in the bars, in the trendy Italian restaurants in the Belgian Quarter, in the little corner pub or at a vernissage in the countless galleries.