Köln
Commanding an imposing presence over the Rhine stands the cathedral of Cologne. Built over the course of centuries, the cathedral is an amazing monument not only to God but to man's architectural ingenuity and dedication to a cause. Although many workers died during its construction, the burghers of Köln persevered in building their cathedral, soaring higher into the sky than anything else in the vicinity.
The Dom, as it is called in German, is the focal point of the entire city. Streets radiate from the cathedral square like spokes on a wheel. The central train station is just across the street. One of the main shopping streets begins in a corner of the square. Ringing the cathedral are hotels, restaurants and boutiques.
A legend I have heard, the veracity of which I can neither confirm nor dispute, is that near the end of World War II, Gen. George Patton aimed the barrels of his tanks at the Dom and told his enemies to surrender or see their beloved cathedral reduced to rubble. Patton is gone but the Dom remains.
Köln is an ancient city, founded by the Romans in about the year 50 A.D. Colonia they called it, a colony on the northern frontier of their empire. For centuries it was a grand prize in war. As I recall from an early visit, the house numbers on all the streets were assigned by Napoleon's men using the French method.
Reminders of the city's grand past are everywhere, whether as a statue in a park, a small church in a neighborhood of Fachwerk houses (beams and stucco) or monuments like the Dom.
One of the most interesting stops in Köln is the Roman-German museum, located on the Domplatz (Cathedral Square). Built as an expansive subterranean museum in order not to detract from the Dom, the Roman-German museum boasts an array of artifacts dating back to Roman colonial days, the most memorable of which is an incredible tile mosaic floor that, as I recall, came from the home of a Roman official.
Across the street from the cathedral is a small hotel, Hotel am Dom, at which I stayed during my first visit to Köln more than 25 years ago. Upon my arrival from Milan, I checked into the hotel and was assigned a guest room with a south-facing window. The weather was cool, so I left the window open at night to enjoy fresh air.
As I nestled into bed, covered by a thick down duvet, I went to sleep listening to church bells. Two or three churches in the neighborhood chimed the hours, reminding me vividly of my grandmother's home in Jefferson, Wisconsin, where the local church--built by German immigrants--also tolled. What a contrast between Cologne and American cities I had visited: Here I was in the center of a major European city, yet I felt like I was in a small village.
If you should have the opportunity to visit Köln, consider staying at the Hotel am Dom or, if you've got a few Euros to spare, the Hotel im Wasserturm, a few kilometers from the center of the city. Built inside a tall barrel-shaped water tower dating from the 19th century, Hotel im Wasserturm (literally, "hotel in water tower") is the hands-down winner as the most unusual hotel I've visited. Hotel im Wasserturm is most elegant and very European in its design.
The memories of time spent in Köln are still vivid today, more than 12 years after my last visit. Only one memory pains me--quite literally. During a visit in 1982 with Kathie following the Drupa exhibition in Dusseldorf, I slipped on a wet hotel bathroom floor and crashed down on my tailbone. Since then I've suffered from periodic back trouble, which I can feel even as I write.
Chalk it up to carelessness on my part, though, and don't hold Köln any less dearly. The dark grey stone of the Dom, weathered by the centuries, still calls out.
The Dom, as it is called in German, is the focal point of the entire city. Streets radiate from the cathedral square like spokes on a wheel. The central train station is just across the street. One of the main shopping streets begins in a corner of the square. Ringing the cathedral are hotels, restaurants and boutiques.
A legend I have heard, the veracity of which I can neither confirm nor dispute, is that near the end of World War II, Gen. George Patton aimed the barrels of his tanks at the Dom and told his enemies to surrender or see their beloved cathedral reduced to rubble. Patton is gone but the Dom remains.
Köln is an ancient city, founded by the Romans in about the year 50 A.D. Colonia they called it, a colony on the northern frontier of their empire. For centuries it was a grand prize in war. As I recall from an early visit, the house numbers on all the streets were assigned by Napoleon's men using the French method.
Reminders of the city's grand past are everywhere, whether as a statue in a park, a small church in a neighborhood of Fachwerk houses (beams and stucco) or monuments like the Dom.
One of the most interesting stops in Köln is the Roman-German museum, located on the Domplatz (Cathedral Square). Built as an expansive subterranean museum in order not to detract from the Dom, the Roman-German museum boasts an array of artifacts dating back to Roman colonial days, the most memorable of which is an incredible tile mosaic floor that, as I recall, came from the home of a Roman official.
Across the street from the cathedral is a small hotel, Hotel am Dom, at which I stayed during my first visit to Köln more than 25 years ago. Upon my arrival from Milan, I checked into the hotel and was assigned a guest room with a south-facing window. The weather was cool, so I left the window open at night to enjoy fresh air.
As I nestled into bed, covered by a thick down duvet, I went to sleep listening to church bells. Two or three churches in the neighborhood chimed the hours, reminding me vividly of my grandmother's home in Jefferson, Wisconsin, where the local church--built by German immigrants--also tolled. What a contrast between Cologne and American cities I had visited: Here I was in the center of a major European city, yet I felt like I was in a small village.
If you should have the opportunity to visit Köln, consider staying at the Hotel am Dom or, if you've got a few Euros to spare, the Hotel im Wasserturm, a few kilometers from the center of the city. Built inside a tall barrel-shaped water tower dating from the 19th century, Hotel im Wasserturm (literally, "hotel in water tower") is the hands-down winner as the most unusual hotel I've visited. Hotel im Wasserturm is most elegant and very European in its design.
The memories of time spent in Köln are still vivid today, more than 12 years after my last visit. Only one memory pains me--quite literally. During a visit in 1982 with Kathie following the Drupa exhibition in Dusseldorf, I slipped on a wet hotel bathroom floor and crashed down on my tailbone. Since then I've suffered from periodic back trouble, which I can feel even as I write.
Chalk it up to carelessness on my part, though, and don't hold Köln any less dearly. The dark grey stone of the Dom, weathered by the centuries, still calls out.
posted by Joe Wollet at 5:19 AM
1 Comments:
Wow! When I started reading this I remembered that you had gone base over apex in the bathroom in Koln! Then, as I got to the bottom of the story, you also remembered it...in more ways than most!
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