History of Cologne

Even to a person who is not at all touring type, the name Cologne rings a bell. Because the very famous perfume Eau de Cologne originated here. But Cologne is not just famous for one reason, i.e. the perfume. There are many other reasons to get attracted towards Cologne. Cologne’s colorful history is one of them.

There were many landmark moments in Cologne’s glorious past. Cologne started enjoying its status as a city under the Romans. This happened in 50 B.C., courtesy, Agrippina the Younger, daughter of Cologne and wife of the Emperor Claudius. Emperor Claudius named it Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis. In 80 B.C. the Eifel Aqueduct was built to supply water to the city.

260 B.C. was another landmark moment in the history of Cologne. It was made the capital of the Gallic Empire by Postumus. But soon the history of Cologne started changing. Foreign aggression began in the form of the Alemanni tribes who captured Cologne 10 months. Though the Romans were able to recapture the city but the Franks finally took the control in 455 A.D.

When Cologne was made an archdiocese under Charlemagne, the Archbishops started their rule. The first Christian bishop was Maternus. The first cathedral of Cologne (link to the Cologne Tourism page) was built by his initiative. Hildebald was the first Archbishop of Cologne. Slowly the post became so powerful that the inevitable began; the feud with the lay citizenry. Therefore the Archbishops moved their base to first to Brühl, later to Bonn.

The economy of Cologne flourished after the city joined the Hanseatic League. But the prosperity was short-lived. The expulsion of the Jews in the 15th century and then the restrictions on the Protestants in the 16th century were major blows to the economy of Cologne. Then again bloodshed began in Cologne’s history with the French occupying the city in 1794. Then the Archbishops again shifted back to the city in 1801. In 1814, the joint group of the Prussian and the Russian groups attacked and captured Cologne. Cologne and parts of Rhineland were given to Prussia.

Cologne was always a bone of contention for the Third Reich. They struggled to influence Cologne because of its strong communist and Catholic roots. Tragedy struck Cologne’s history during World War II. The night of 30/31st May, 1942 was another landmark moment in Cologne’s history. There were huge destructions of life and property because of Allied air raid. Almost 50% of Cologne’s surviving population fled the city soon after the attack.

After World War II, Cologne lost its political status Düsseldorf superseded Cologne and became the political capital of the state Nordrhein-Westfalen. But the economy of Cologne improved with the growth of the media companies and the improvement of the traffic infrastructure. Now,
Cologne is one of the most easily accessible cities of Central Europe.

Though architect Rudolf Schwarz named it as the "world's greatest heap of debris”, yet this city is worth visiting because of its glorious past.