Pascha Laufhaus Köln (D)

Köln

Name origin

Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Lat., = Claudian Colony and Altar of the Agrippinenses)

First documented mention

50 AD

Population

1,090,000

Area

405.02 km²

Federal state

North Rhine-Westphalia

Administrative region

Köln

District

/

Vehicle registration

K

River

Rhine

The Pascha Laufhaus is located in Köln-Neuehrenfeld.

The history of the largest metropolis in NRW, Köln, can be traced back to Roman times, from which various buildings such as the Römerturm, part of the city wall, have survived. The cathedral city can be reached via various motorways such as the A1, A3, A4 and A57. Train travellers usually arrive in Köln at the Hauptbahnhof.

For long-distance train travellers it should be noted that not all ICE trains stop at Köln HBF; to save time, some stop instead only at the right-bank station Köln-Messe/Deutz. For city transport, Köln has a dense network of light rail and buses, supplemented by the S-Bahn. The light rail system, operated with modern trams, connects the well-known cathedral city in NRW with, among others, Bonn.

The number of hotels and holiday apartments in Köln is overwhelming. There are also plenty of affordable places to stay, found not only in hostels near the city centre but especially in guesthouses and hotels in Köln's outer districts.

The central sight is the cathedral, located right by the Hauptbahnhof and the Rhine, which is the city's landmark par excellence and one of the most important Gothic buildings in the world. Köln also has numerous other churches and historic buildings, some of which even surpass the cathedral in cultural-historical significance. Köln also has numerous art museums and the Römisch-Germanisches Museum. An insider tip is the Schokoladenmuseum, located right on the Rhine.

Köln has its own special top-fermented beer, Kölsch, which rounds off any visit to the city. Right along the Rheinuferpromenade, opposite the old town, you'll find beautiful pubs and restaurants with views of the Rhine, where you can enjoy the Kölsch way of life late into the night. At the annual summer music and fireworks event "Kölner Lichter" on the Rhine, around one million spectators gather on both riverbanks.

Well-known sons and daughters of Köln include Jacques Offenbach, Ferdinand Franz Wallraf, Eduard Salomon von Oppenheim, Carl Bosch, August Bebel, Konrad Adenauer, Freya von Moltke, Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips, Mildred Scheel, Josef Neven DuMont, Willi Ostermann, Willy Birgel, Jupp Schmitz, Trude Herr, Willy Millowitsch, Peter & Mariele Millowitsch, Hans Süper, Otto Wolff von Amerongen, Nico, Heinrich Böll, Marie-Louise Steinbauer, Jürgen Becker, Rolf Kühn, Wolfgang Petry, Jürgen Zeltinger, Purple Schulz, Wolfgang Niedecken, Jean Pütz, Jack White, Dirk Bach, Heiner Lauterbach, Britta Heidemann, Anne Will, Marietta Slomka, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Tina Ruland, Katharina Schüttler, Guido Cantz, Stefan Raab and Sarah Kern.

Facts about the super-metropolis Köln on the Rhine:

- Köln looks back on around 2000 years of history and is thus one of the oldest cities in Germany

- alongside Prague and Nürnberg, Köln was the most important city of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1803)

- Köln Cathedral (Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus) is one of the most important sacred buildings in the world, housing the largest free-swinging church bell of all and the relics of the Three Wise Men

- the Archdiocese of Köln is Germany's third-wealthiest diocese, behind Munich and Paderborn

- Kölner Karneval is the biggest carnival festival in the northern hemisphere, generating around 400 million euros in revenue for the city during the "fifth season"

- the WDR, based in Köln, is the largest broadcaster in Europe after the BBC

- RTL, based in Köln since 1988, is the largest private broadcaster in Europe

- with around 50,000 students, Köln is home to Germany's third-largest university, behind Munich and the Fernuniversität Hagen

- the Schildergasse/Hohe Straße in Köln's city centre is one of Germany's busiest shopping streets

- the Kölner Pascha on Hornstraße is the largest high-rise brothel in the world

- Kölsch is, for one, a light, top-fermented full beer that, under the Kölsch Convention, may only be brewed in and around Köln ...

- ... and also an urban dialect belonging to the Ripuarian family, which hardly anyone outside the Köln region understands

- the Kölscher Klüngel is a system, unique in the world, of mutual favours and assistance between officials in administration and business for the good of the population

- the Kölsche Grundgesetz is the city of Köln's unofficial constitution and contains 11 articles:

Article 1: It is what it is.

Article 2: It comes as it comes.

Article 3: It has always turned out fine so far.

Article 4: What's gone is gone.

Article 5: Nothing stays as it was.

Article 6: Don't know it, don't need it, get rid of it.

Article 7: What do you want to do about it?

Article 8: Do it well, but not too often.

Article 9: What's all this nonsense about?

Article 10: Are you having one with us?

Article 11: You'll laugh yourself sick.

Important additional articles:

Every Jeck (fool) is different.

Don't kiss today, kiss tomorrow.

It could have turned out worse.

You've got to be able to let others have their share too.

You've got to be able to allow yourself something too.

Stay as you are.

The good Lord isn't like that.

We've always done it this way.

Not everything with a hole in it is broken.

Doesn't matter.

One man's owl is another man's nightingale.

We're not superstitious.

Whoever can celebrate can also work hard.

You never know, we're not in on it.

So fool, let fool be.

Even the craziest arse has its face.

To each his own little pleasure.

That only, only, only happens in Köln.

Did I really say that?

You are Köln.

Nobody knows anything.

We never had it, we never will.

Live and let live.