Cologne-Innenstadt

The history of Cologne until the end of the 19th century is similar to the history of the central, old part of the city. The city center is a Roman military settlement ( colony ) called the Colony of Claudius and the Altar of the Agrippins ( Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium ). Over time, this name was abbreviated, and as a result, only “Cologne” remained from the “colony”.

The old Roman city in the early Middle Ages underwent small extensions. Finally, the city council of Cologne decided on a major construction project - the construction of a powerful defensive wall ( Stadtmauer Köln ) not only around the historical core of the city ( Historischer Stadtkern ), but also include monasteries and monastery churches outside the old walls. Around 1225, a new wall surrounded the whole of Cologne. After a short time ( 1248 ), the foundation was laid for the modern central Gothic cathedral . Inside the wall, the city was built up until the first half of the 19th century . The development of the city led to the fact that the free space was exhausted and in 1881 the wall, which became an obstacle to the expansion of urban neighborhoods, was demolished.

In the following decades, a new urban ring grew up called Neustadt. It was built up until 1910 . The administrative division of Neustadt into North and South is conditional, since it was created as a single whole. Currently, the border part of Innenstadt is framed by a magnificent wide boulevard. Large city squares are formed at the intersection of the main streets with the circular boulevard. Powerful traffic flows led to the partial elimination of the area, as, for example, this happened with the Barbarossaplatz square, but in the past 20 years, urban planning activities have returned the area to its former appearance. These include Friesenplatz and Rudolfplatz.

Other streets inside the boulevard ring are formed in such a way that magnificent monuments of church architecture stand out at their intersection. The free areas that appeared after the total destruction during the Second World War were built up with large public buildings, such as, for example, on the site of the destroyed opera house in Rudolph Square or the building of the Supreme Land Court in Reichenspergerplatz.

Neustadt partially preserved the structures of the external fortress wall, but for the most part it was demolished and the territory turned into a green park belt.

Despite the active resistance of most of the residents of Deutz, he was included in Cologne in 1888 . In 1928, Deutz became famous for the international trade fair , and since 1998, the building of the Cologne Arena, now called the Lanxess Arena , and among the inhabitants of Cologne, the “Henkelmännchen”, where international handball and hockey competitions are held, as well as concerts world pop stars.

Innenstadt County was formed as a result of the administrative-territorial reform ( Gebietsreform in Nordrhein-Westfalen ) on January 1, 1975.

On November 27, 2008, a master plan for Innenstadt was presented, as a result of the discussion of which it was decided that this plan should become the basis for all future planning of the central part of Cologne and its surrounding areas. The master plan was initiated by the public organization of entrepreneurs in Cologne (Unternehmer für die Region Köln e. V.), the city's chamber of commerce and industry ( Industrie- und Handelskammer zu Köln ), the building department of the city hall (Baudezernat) and the private architectural bureau of Albert Speer junior ). ^[one]

Elections to the council of the Innenstadt district on party lists on May 25, 2014 showed the following results (in%, compared to 2009 ):

Participation of Innenstadt parties in other important elections (in%):

Innenstadt has many different attractions, but the most popular for tourists are:

• Cologne Cathedral
• Cologne Town Hall
• Medieval city walls with entrance gates built in 1880–1220. Among them, Gates of St. Severin , Eigelstein Gate and Hanentorburg are especially popular.
• The new-Gothic building 4711 on Glockengasse, which is a shopping center for manufacturers of Cologne cologne 4711. ^[2]

A special attraction is the Hohenzollern Bridge , since couples in love have been hanging locks on them for several years as symbols of fidelity and throwing keys into the Rhine for several years. An important tourist center is the so-called “Cathedral of Music” ( Musical Dome ), located between the Rhine and the main railway station . Musicals are staged in it.

In connection with the commissioning of the first Kölntriangle skyscraper in the center of Cologne, the architect Helmut Jan raised the question of the appropriateness of high-rise buildings: which can damage the look of Cologne Cathedral. ^[3] He believes that building skyscrapers above 110 meters is undesirable. In May 2007, the “High Altitude Concept” was adopted, according to which it is impossible to build buildings with a height of more than 22.5 meters within the left-bank part of Innenstadt. In cases of planning taller buildings, evidence should be provided that these new buildings will not impair the view of the cathedral and Romanesque churches. The implementation of this concept has led to the need to change construction law in accordance with the legal standards of environmental protection. We are talking about the development of special instructions allowing (in exceptional cases) the construction of higher buildings. Three skyscrapers (the Colonius television and radio broadcasting tower (266 meters), Cologne Turm in the Media Park (148.1 meters) and the Hansahochhaus (65 meters) were out of the protection zone. In July 2013, the Cologne City Hall lost a lawsuit in the Higher Administrative Land Court against Raiffeisen Waren Central (RWZ). According to the court verdict, this company has the right to build its office on Breslauer Platz up to 38.35 m high. The court justified this decision by the fact that the building permit was issued before May 2007 of the year.

The skyscraper program is designed to preserve the historical silhouettes of the city and at the same time be able to receive private investment in the future. But outside the boulevard ring, the development of Cologne with high-rise buildings is not only possible, but also desirable. This will reduce the pressure of potential developers on the inner city quarters.

• The official website of the city of Cologne (German).
• The official page of the Cologne master plan (German).