Distinctive Cologne

I liked Cologne. It is compact, yet it has one of the largest cathedrals in the world, and the city makes the most of that contrast. Since the central square outside the Cathedral is so small, and the main station just a few yards from the Cathedral, there is a sense of crowding that is very distinctive, and which makes the vast height of the Cathedral all the more imposing. The Cathedral is the centre, even more so than, say, Amiens, or Rouen (or Canterbury, which as a result of the Cathedral Close is quite separate to the town). The main buildings of the historic centre are all within walking distance, even if, as with many northern German cities, the buildings display that kind of 1950s and 60s anonymity, immediately forgettable replacements for whatever was there before World War II.  

What else makes Cologne distinctive?

Cologne Station has a very distinctive roof, which, surprisingly, does not seem to feature in the architectural top-ten lists for Cologne. It was constructed as recently as 1957, and has a shape unlike any other railway arch I know, with very flattened arch shapes repeated everywhere, and yet it appears satisfyingly like a railway arch.

There are two major museums right next to the Cathedral, both of them impressive buildings. Unfortunately the Roman museum was closed when I visited, but the Museum Ludwig (by Busmann & Haberer), more than compensates with its stunning foyer and large spaces for the display of contemporary art. Unusually, it has a few rooms with glass covering floor to ceiling to take advantage of its proximity to the train station and the Hohenzollern Bridge. You can see from outside the museum the jagged roof pattern, providing indirect light in the galleries.

Cologne is a city with local associations. By this I mean the local art gallery, the Wallraf-Richartz, has rooms full of medieval paintings, created just a few yards away from the museum in the aptly named Schildergasse (Painter Street). Over 290 medieval paintings from Cologne survive. These paintings are often narrative, strip-cartoon style, with multiple scenes of a saint’s life.  You would be hard pressed to find any work by painters born in Cambridge in the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Being Cologne, it has a local saint, and not just any saint, but one of the best-known medieval figures. Saint Ursula was murdered in Cologne together with the 10,000 virgins that had accompanied her to Rome to meet the Pope. Apparently there was a healthy trade in relics from the supposed burial ground of the virgins, just outside the city. Most other cities would have one or two relics; looks like Cologne wins in terms of sheer numbers of relics. From the number of depictions of St Ursula’s life, it must have been one of the most popular religious themes of the day.

Image by Rolf Heinrich, Köln, CC BY 3.0

In the short time I had available, I wasn't able to see any of the several modern buildings around the city. Unmissable were some impressive cantilever-based office blocks on the banks of the Rhine, which I just managed to see from the train. I reckon, though, the users of the building must always be looking nervously around to make sure everyone wasn't standing on the wrong side of the building, in case it toppled over.