On The Move Again: Cologne, Germany

Meet our Captain (the one on the left 😉).

We are off to see the sites in Cologne, Germany today. It is Köln in German, was founded as part of the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago and some of the Roman ruins are still visible today. It is the 4th largest city in Germany. The most recognizable structure is the cathedral (Cathedral of Saint Peter or Cologne Cathedral). More on this later in the post. Our tour guide spent one of her high school years in a small town right near us so she was so excited to have the VT Alumni group to show around her city.

Hohenzollern Bridge is a 19th century bridge built for the railroad and cars but was destroyed during World War II (Germans blew up the bridge as the allied advanced on Cologne) and rebuilt only for the railroad and pedestrians. More than 1,200 trains cross daily! Love locks (which the concept originated in Italy) are on this bridge, around 500,000 in 2015.

Severin Bridge

Bikes dredged from the Rhine

This is an interesting walk-in fountain (Paolozzi Fountain) in the Rhine Garden area near the Hohenzollern Bridge. It is a fusion of pop and modern art built in 1986 with the stone structures representing the neighboring areas that were destroyed during WWII and the reconstruction after the war. The water is used as a connecting element necessary for life. Jump, splash, and enjoy the water element in this fountain.

The strip in the middle of this sidewalk is the base of a flood wall for this Old Town area. When needed, concrete beams are temporarily stacked on this “wall” to create a flood wall.

Great Saint Martin Church is a Romanesque Catholic Church (960 AD) situated on an ancient Roman chapel. Later it became a Benedictine Monastery. Most of this church was destroyed by fire and rebuilt and restored in1985. 4 small, slender turrets surround a central spire. We did not get to see this up close because we ran out of time.

Fish Markt houses - colorful narrow houses facing the fish market. The ironwork on the front of their houses means they paid their taxes.

Fischweiberbrunnen (Fishwives’ Fountain) was built in 1986 for the 100th anniversary of the craftsman association to recognize the fish market that dates back to the 12th century. The women were a vital part of the fish trade. They would catch or buy fish from the fishermen and bring them to the square, and sell them in the fountain area. Notice the fountain is in the shape of a four leaf clover and four different women carved out of basalt lava for this fountain. The shouter would be advertising her fish to prospective buyers, the dreamer would be lost in thought, the tired one shows how physically demanding their job is, and the peaceful one would be remembering how nice it is away from the hustle and bustle of their job.

Steel frames shape the wisteria to shade the area.

Under the clock is a bearded man (the head of the Platzjabbeck) representing a person in power. As the clock strikes each hour, the man sticks out his tongue.

In retaliation, the figure in the center of this next picture shows his reply.

There is a story associated with this fountain. The girl rejected his proposal because he “wasn’t good enough” so he went to war and became a war hero. Her opinion changed but he decided she wasn’t “good enough” for him.https://www.cologne-tourism.com/arts-culture/sights/detail/jan-von-werth-monument

The official flag of Cologne is red and white with three gold crowns symbolizing the Magi (The Three Wisemen - Kasparov, Melchior, and Balthasar) whose bones were brought to Cologne by Emperor Friedrich I. Barbarossa in 1164 and were buried in the Cologne Cathedral. The 11 markings on the white background (ermine tails) symbolizes the 10 virgins accompanying Ursula, princess of Brittany, on a pilgrimage to Rome that were slaughtered on their way home because Ursula rejected Attila’s marriage request. The number 11,000 virgins were a misunderstanding when reading the “m” as this “m” stood for torture not 1,000. So the story goes.

Tunnes and Schal are fictional characters (puppets) and these life size statues are in the old town area in front of Great St. Martin’s Church. Tunnes is like a country bumpkin and rubbing his nose is suppose to bring luck. Schal comes from “the wrong side of the tracks” and is a little sly and sometimes underhanded as you can see here by the way he is willing to accept offers behind his back.

Kolner Dom is another name for the Cologne Cathedral. It is Germany’s most visited landmark. The craftsmanship of the outside is absolutely amazing. It is the second tallest church in Europe and the tallest twin spired church in the world. Construction began in 1248 but wasn’t completed until 1880. There are numerous doors but the main entrance has a cross above the door.

The Roman Harbour Road was discovered when building a museum. The stones were removed and moved to allow the construction of the museum. It was not a perfect recreation when it was moved however we were able to walk on a real Roman road.

Imagine waking up and finding your job (carpenter, baker, tailor, etc.) was mysteriously completed during the night. This is the basis for a famous ballad about pixies, known as Heinzelmannchen, who completed the artisan’s work. The tailor’s wife was curious to find out who was completing her husband’s work so she spread dried peas on the steps in hopes of catching the mysterious workers. Sure enough, the pixies stumbled on the steps and the tailor’s wife heard the noise. The pixies stopped working for the people of Cologne, left, and never returned.

I'm sure there is a moral to this tale - maybe "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" or something along that line.

Beer stop at Fruh am Dom. Kölsch beer is a light beer served in a .2L tall skinny glass called a stange. The servers are called kobes and carry the stanges in a circular tray called a Kranz. The .2L skinny glass helps to keep the beer cold until your next round. The kobes will keep serving beer until you put your coaster on top of your stange. They will keep track of the numbers of stanges they served you by making a stroke mark on your coaster.

I’m not sure what “we” means in German but we were in need of the WC or toilet.

Stolpersteine - Stumbling Stones are brass cubic markers placed in the road or sidewalk near the house where a Holocaust or Nazi persecution person lived. The name, date of birth and death, and place of event is engraved on the surface of the stone.