Parksauna Residenz Lohmar/Köln (D)

Lohmar-Durbusch

Name origin

loh (Frankish, = forest); mar (Frankish, = water/waterway)

First documented mention

1081 AD

Population

30,000

Area

65.62 km²

Federal state

North Rhine-Westphalia

Administrative region

Köln

District

Rhein-Sieg-Kreis

Vehicle registration

SU

River

Agger

The club Parksauna Residenz near Köln is located in Lohmar-Durbusch, right on the boundary line between the two towns of Lohmar and Rösrath.

Köln:

The history of the largest metropolis in NRW, Köln, can be traced back to Roman times, from which various structures such as the Römerturm, part of the city wall, still survive. The cathedral city can be reached via various motorways such as the A1, A3, A4 and A57. Rail travellers usually arrive in Köln at the main station.

For long-distance rail travellers it should be noted that not all ICE trains stop at Köln HBF, but for the sake of saving time some stop only at the station on the right bank of the Rhine, Köln-Messe/Deutz. For local transport, Köln has a dense network of light rail lines and buses, supplemented by the S-Bahn. The light rail system, run with modern trams, connects the famous cathedral city in NRW with, among other places, Bonn.

The number of hotels and holiday apartments in Köln is overwhelming. There are certainly affordable places to stay as well — besides hostels near the city centre, they can mainly be found in guesthouses and hotels in Köln's outer districts.

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

With Kölsch, Köln has its own special top-fermented beer, the enjoyment of which rounds off any visit to the city. Along the Rhine promenade, right across from the old town, there are wonderful restaurants and bars with views of the Rhine, where you can enjoy Cologne's way of life well into the night. At the annual music and fireworks event "Kölner Lichter", held on the Rhine every summer, around a million spectators gather on both banks of the river.

Famous 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 roughly 2000 years of history and is thus one of the oldest cities in Germany

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

- the Kölner Dom (Hohe Domkirche Sankt Petrus) is one of the most important sacred buildings in the world, home to the largest church bell of all, and houses the relics of the Three Wise Men

- the Archdiocese of Köln is, after Munich and Paderborn, the third-wealthiest diocese in Germany

- Kölner Karneval is the largest carnival festival in the northern hemisphere and generates 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, after 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, on the one hand, a light, top-fermented full beer that, under the Kölsch Convention, may only be brewed in and around Köln ...

- ... and on the other hand, an urban dialect belonging to the Ripuarian group, barely understood outside the Cologne metropolitan area

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

- The Kölsche Grundgesetz is the informal constitution of the city of Köln and contains 11 articles:

Article 1: Et es wie et es.

Article 2: Et kütt wie et kütt.

Article 3: Et hätt noch emmer joot jejange.

Article 4: Wat fott es, es fott.

Article 5: Et bliev nix wie et wor.

Article 6: Kenne mer nit, bruche mer nit, fott domet.

Article 7: Wat wells de maache?

Article 8: Maach et joot, ävver nit zo off.

Article 9: Wat soll dä Kwatsch?

Article 10: Drinks de ejne met?

Article 11: Do laachs de disch kapott.

Important additional articles:

Jede Jeck is anders.

Küss de hück nit, küss de morje.

Et hätt noch schlimmer kumme künne.

Mer muss och jünne könne.

Mer muss sisch och jet jünne könne.

Bliev wie do bes.

Dä Herrjott es janit esu.

Hammer immer esu jemaat.

Nit alles, wat en Loch hät, is kapott.

Mät nix.

Wat däm ein sing Ül eß däm andere sing Naachtijall.

Mir sin nit aaberjläubisch.

Wer fean kan, de kan och maloche.

Mer weis et nie, mer stich nit drinn.

Dröm Jeck loß Jeck e lahnß.

Och dä raderdollste Aasch hät sing Visaasch.

Jedem Diersche sing Pläsiersche.

Dat jitt et nur, nur, nur in Kölle.

Dat sull ech jesaat hann?

Du bes Kölle.

Der wiess nix.

Haevemer nit koenemar nit.

Levve und levve losse.

Lohmar:

Lohmar is a town on the southwestern edge of the Bergisches Land, which emerged in its present form from a municipal reform in 1969. The town area, largely rural in structure, encompasses numerous scattered districts, residential areas, hamlets and farmsteads. The town is easily reached by car via the A3 motorway, using the Rösrath, Lohmar-Nord and Lohmar exits. The Aggertalbahn (RB 25) runs between Köln and Meinerzhagen, stopping in the Lohmar district of Honrath.

Lohmar lies right on the southwestern edge of the Bergisches Land nature park and is accordingly characterised geographically by rural, steeply rising hill country. Notable is the high density of castles and palaces within the town area (Burg Hausdorp, Burg Honrath, Burg Lohmar, Burg Schönrath, Burg Sülz, Schloss Auel), all of which are well worth a visit. Besides the adjoining Siegburger Staatsforst and the Wahner Heide, the Naafbachtal nature reserve and the Gammersbacher Mühle are also rewarding destinations for excursions on Lohmar's soil.