Cologne Facts for Kids

Cologne (German: Köln or sometimes Kölle) is a city on the Rhine River in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. About 1,060,000 people live there.

The city was founded by the Romans in the year 50. Before that, it was a Roman castle ("castellum") and a town inhabited by a local German tribe named Ubier at least for 100 years. Archaeologists have found out that the surrounding area was populated already during the stone age.

The most interesting thing to see there is Cologne Cathedral. This church was built from about 1248 to about 1550, but completed only in 1880. The United Nations list it as 'World Cultural Heritage'. Cologne's archbishop Rainald von Dassel brought the relics of the biblical Three Wise Men there in 1164. They are kept in a very beautiful golden shrine in the cathedral. Three golden crowns in the coat of arms of the city symbolize them. They made Cologne a major place of pilgrimage.

Traditionally, the city was always Roman Catholic. That changed only recently after the Second World War,as a result of massive immigration of Protestants from the East of Germany. Still the largest number of people, 41.6%, are Roman Catholic, compared to 17% Protestant. 10% of the people are Muslim.

Cologne is the biggest city in North Rhine-Westphalia. Cologne is in the southern part of the 'Rhine-Ruhr agglomeration' of cities with a combined total population of about 10 million people. This is one of the most densely populated areas of the world.

The University of Cologne alone has more than 50,000 students. It was founded 1919 and is one of the biggest universities in Germany. There are several specialized Schools in addition to the university. The Hochschule für Musik is the biggest Academy of Music in Europe. Cologne has two Colleges of Arts and the Sports College again is one of the biggest institutions of its kind worldwide. Cologne has 31 museums. Cologne has one of the busiest train stations in Europe. It is the only train station located next to a big cathedral.

People in Cologne and nearby have their own dialect. They call it Kölsch. During carnival time it even appears on nationwide broadcasts.

Cologne has a handful of broadcasting stations. The Westdeutscher Rundfunk, part of the network ARD, is the biggest producer of television and radio programs in Germany.

Cologne is also famous for Eau de Cologne (Kölnisch Wasser).

Cologne has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Koeppen climate classification).

Berlin
Bonn (nearby city)
Düsseldorf (nearby city)
Frankfurt/Main
Hamburg
Leverkusen (nearby city)
Munich

Images for kids

Cologne around 1411
Panorama of Cologne in 1530
The devastation of Cologne, 1945
Cologne, seen from ESA Sentinel-2
Cologne in 2013
Soviet letter's envelope in honor of the Internationale Philatelic Exhibition LUPOSTA in Cologne in 1983
The 1930 flood in Cologne
Köln Cathedral on the banks of Rhine
A plan published in 1800 shows the mediaeval city wall still intact, locating 16 gates (Nr. 36–51 in the legend), e.g. 47: Eigelsteintor, 43: Hahnentor, 39: Severinstor
Courtyard of the Kolumba museum in 2007, designed by Peter Zumthor
Tauzieher, a limestone sculpture by Nikolaus Friedrich, 1911
Water feature in Cologne, Germany, summer of 2017
The Museum Ludwig houses one of the most important collections of modern art.
Roman excavation in Cologne: Dionysus Mosaic on display at Römisch-Germanisches Museum
North entrance to Koelnmesse, 2008
Modern office building at Rheinauhafen, EA Games headquarters
Major roads through and around Cologne
Cologne Stadtbahn at Bensberg station
Train at Köln Hauptbahnhof
RheinEnergieStadion is the stadium of 1. Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln.
Cologne Cathedral
Great St. Martin Church
Basilica of St. Severin
Church of the Assumption
Trinity Church
Cologne City Hall
Gürzenich
Overstolzenhaus
Eigelsteintor
Hahnentor
Severinstor

Cologne facts for kids

Related pages

Images for kids

See also