COLOGNE, lco-lon' (German, KoIn), Ger Inany, a strongly fortified city of Prussia, in the Rhine province, on the left bank of the Rhine. It stands upon the river in the form of a crescent, and is connected with Deutz, on the opposite side and forming part of it, by a bridge of boats and an iron bridge. Till re cently it was surrounded by fortific,ations dat ing from the Middle Ages, but these have been cleared away, their site built upon and a wider circuit of works constructed. Until the middle of the 19th century a great' part of the city bore the impress of the Middle Ages, the streets being dark, narrow and filthy; but now the municipality has paid great attention to the appearance and sanitary condition of the town generally by opening up thoroughfares, widen ing and paving the streets, etc.
Among the principal buildings are the townhouse, a remarkably fine. Gothic building, partly of the 14th century; the Giirzenich (1441-52), a splendid Gothic building, used for public festivities, and also accommodating the exchange; the Tempelhaus, a fine Romanesque building of the 12th or 13th century, occupied as the Chamber of Commerce; the government buildings, courthouse, post-office, Imperial bank and railway station. But the object of greatest interest in the town is the cathedral, begun in 1248, one of the finest and purest Gothic monuments in Europe. It is in the form of a cross; its entire length is 490 feet; its breadth, 231 feet; the roof rests on 100 columns, of which the four centre ones are 30 feet in circumference. The choir was long the only part finished; it is 161 feet high, and, with its pillars, arches, chapels and its superb painted glass windows, presents one of the finest sights conceivable. In 1842 the completion of this magnificent edifice was begun, after designs by Zwirner; the works were vigorously prosecuted from that time onward, and were completed in 1880. The two western towers are each 511 feet high, and are among the highest edifices in the world. The other remarkable churches are those of Saint Peter, in which is an altar-piece of the crucifixion of that saint, by Rubens, who presented it to this church, in which he was baptized; Saint Mary, on the capitol, occupying the site of the capitol of the ancient Roman city, and dating from about the year 1000, with some good stained glass windows; the Apostles' church, in the Neumarkt, built about the year 1200, a perfect specimen of the Romanesque style, having a singularly elegant and picturesque exterior; the church of Saint Ursula, filled with the bones of the 11,000 British virgins, who, ac cording to the legend, were destroyed here on their return to Britain, under the guidance of Saint Ursula; the church of the Jesuits, or Maria Himmelsfahrt, dating from 1636, over loaded with gorgeous decorations of marble sculpture, etc.; and Saint Gereon's which, like
the church of Saint Ursula, is lined with bones, not, however, of virgins, but of the Theban legion of martyrs, slain, according to tradition, during the reign of Diocletian; this is one of the finest and oldest churches in the city.
The city contains several gymnasia and other high-class institutions; a technical school; an observatory and botanical garden; a normal school, a public library, a theatre, several hos pitals, a school of design, a museum, etc. The manufactures are. very extensive and varied, embracing sugar, chocolate, tobacco and cigars, glue, liqueurs, mineral waters, starch, vinegar, soap, candles, velvet, silk, woolen and cotton goods, India-rubber, and gutta-percha wares, ma chinery and metal goods, etc., and the celebrated eau de Cologne, of which there are a great many different manufacturers. Its commerce is considerable; it has a good port on the Rhine, and an extensive railway communication with the interior of Germany and with Belgium and Holland. It is the principal entrepdt of the corn, wine and oil trade on the river, and has active commercial relations with the Nether lands, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.
Cologne is of ancient origin, and was origi nally called Oppidum Ubiorum, being the chief town of the Ubii, a German nation. The Ro mans made it a colony 51 A.D., and called it CoIonia Agrippina, It was annexed to the Ger man Empire in 870, and became one of the most powerful and wealthy cities of the Han seatic league, its population then amounting to 150,000. As early as the Ilth century Cologne carried on an extensive trade with foreign countries, including England, in the produce of the country— wine, corn, flour, malt, beer, etc. The arts and sciences also flourished, and its university was one of the most famous in Germany. Intestine divisions, and other causes, finally effected its ruin, and in 1792 it ceased to be a free city. It was taken by the French in 1794, ceded to them by the Treaty of Luneville in 1801, and restored to Prussia in 1814. Duns Scotus died in Cologne in 1308, and was in terred in the chapel of the Minorites; and Ru bens was born here in 1577, in the same house in which Mary de Medici died, in 1642. Pop. 516,527. Consult Heldmann, (Der KoIngau und die Civitas Kolu) (Halle 1900).