Cologne City

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city and is that the largest town each within the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and inside the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan space, one in every of the foremost European metropolitan areas with quite 10 million inhabitants. 

Cologne is found on either side of the river. The city's noted Cologne Cathedral is that the seat of the Catholic bishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne is one in every of Europe's oldest and largest universities. 

Cologne could be a major cultural centre of the geographic region and encompasses a spirited arts scene. Cologne is home to quite thirty museums and many galleries.

Exhibitions vary from native ancient Roman archeologic sites to up to date graphics and sculpture. The Cologne Trade honest hosts variety of trade shows like Art Cologne, imm Cologne, Gamescom and also the Photokina.

The first urban settlement on the grounds of modern-day Cologne was Oppidum Ubiorum, founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, a Cisrhenian Germanic tribe. In 50 AD, the Romans founded Colonia on the Rhine and the city became the provincial capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. The city was named "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium" in 50 AD. Considerable Roman remains can be found in present-day Cologne, especially near the wharf area, where a notable discovery of a 1900 year old Roman boat was made in late 2007. From 260 to 271 Cologne was the capital of the Gallic Empire under Postumus, Marius, and Victorinus. In 310 under Constantine a bridge was built over the Rhine at Cologne. Roman imperial governors resided in the city and it became one of the most important trade and production centres in the Roman Empire north of the Alps.

Maternus, who was elected as bishop in 313, was the first known bishop of Cologne. The city was the capital of a Roman province until occupied by the Franks in 462. In 785, Cologne became the seat of an archbishopric.

The metropolitan area encompasses over 405 square kilometers, extending around a centerpoint that lies at 50° 56' 33 latitude and 6° 57' 32 longitude. The city's highest point is 118 meters above sea level (the Monte Troodelöh) and its lowest point is 37.5 meters above sea level (the Worringer Bruch). The city of Cologne lies within the larger area of the Cologne Lowland, a cone-shaped area of southeastern Westphalia that lies between Bonn, Aix la Chapelle and Düsseldorf.

Source :  http://wikitravel.org, http://en.wikipedia.org,