In my opinion, the dream of Cologne arose in me from the time I read “The Fiery Angel” by V. Bryusov, or maybe not at all, it was so long ago... Therefore, it is not surprising that as soon as the opportunity arose to visit this city, I could not already missed it. In general, Cologne in some strange way penetrated my life. Back in my university years, I mentioned Cologne in one of my stories (now I can’t even believe that I ever wrote something). It so happened that in my stories I always mentioned a city that I had never been to: the characters either came from there, or gathered, or lived there... One way or another, a new geographical name was always present. And it so happened that then I had to go there myself. And Cologne, which I mentioned first, remained until the last moment a dream... a dream that did not fall into my itineraries.
I think I've always wanted to see Cologne Cathedral. And then I saw him...
walked under its high arches along the mosaic floors...
I admired its stained glass windows...
And even climbed one of its towers.
Perhaps this was a mistake, and it was not worth climbing so high at the beginning of the first day of our journey - the body was not yet accustomed to such climbs. And the view from there, I must say, is not the most impressive. I would call it a “heavenly prisoner in a sky-high prison”, since the fine latticework of the fences does not allow it to soar and the gaze to rush into the distance. And the main attraction (the cathedral) is not visible.
Therefore, later we conquered another peak (the tower on the left in the photo), fortunately there is an elevator and the fences are not so severe.
From heaven we descended to the ground of Cologne. No, the cathedral did not disappoint me. But since he was always with me in my soul, there was no feeling of novelty. It seemed that somewhere behind the columns you could hear the whispers of literary characters, and when you go outside you will certainly see medieval city melting in the summer heat. But this did not happen. In general, Cologne Cathedral is like a ghost ship wandering in the waters of time... I don’t know why, but I have always associated Cologne with sultry weather, when the air melts in the rays of the sun. with the same one as it was at the time of our trip to Moscow. Ah, if the hot air routes passed through Cologne... a miracle would happen, and I would find myself in literary reality... But...
Cologne greeted us with a cool breeze. And after visiting the cathedral, we went for a walk around the city.
The maximum plan was this: to visit all 12 Romanesque churches in Cologne. But after conquering the sky-high heights, it dissipated, and the walk took on a more thoughtless character, but we still saw something:
Very graphic Cologne Central Station:
The Gothic town hall tower, which was the tallest building in the city until the completion of Cologne Cathedral (1880), is decorated with 124 figures of people associated with the history of Cologne. And the Church of St. Martin, one of the 12 famous Romanesque churches.
House-Farina, where the perfume museum is now located, and where the famous EAU de COLOGNE (Cologne water) or simply cologne first appeared. True, we never managed to get into the museum. We were not allowed in for unknown reasons.
But next to the museum we saw the interesting “Fastnachtsbrunnen” fountain, created in 1913.
The Old Church of St. Alban, or rather its ruins, is interesting...
Victims of the medieval plague are buried under this church (the oldest parish church in Cologne). And this is the only monument in the city that was not restored after 1945, as a reminder of the war. Under the destroyed vaults two sculptural figures “Grieving Parents” are visible.
After wandering a little through the narrow streets, we went out to the Rhine embankment and headed to the Chocolate Museum, to which I will devote a separate post, since the museum impressed me so much that I took a lot of photographs.
From the museum we walked along the embankment back to the cathedral.
Having met another Romanesque church on the way - the church Holy Virgin Mary in Liskirchen:
I was also impressed by the stairs to the cathedral. The alternation of concave and convex steps after each landing is interesting.
So we approached the Hohenzollern railway bridge, next to which Wilhelm II was hiding in the bushes.
The bridge's grille is all hung with locks.
Oh, how much I don’t like this tradition... How could it even occur to anyone? But I still found a couple of interesting specimens:
So we got to the tower with panoramic view, which I mentioned at the beginning of my story. Here the fences turned out to be glass and glared terribly in the sunlight, but it was still better than small lattice cells. Interestingly, landmarks are marked with outlines directly on the glass.
Seems so effective. But in fact, you need to very accurately guess from the viewing angle that you will find the depicted object.
Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge:
Church of St. Cunibert (one of the 12 Romanesque churches):
New Church of St. Heribert (1891-1896):
Church of St. Martin (one of the 12 Romanesque churches):
This is the view of the city.
And in the next part of my story, read about the chocolate museum...
Consent for a business trip to Dusseldorf was given immediately, since it is only 21 minutes by train from railway station Dusseldorf is locatedcity of Cologne.
The main attraction of Cologne is Cologne Cathedral. The cathedral is located just 50 meters from the railway station. Cologne Cathedral was founded in 1248 and today is one of the tallest cathedrals in the world. The height of Cologne Cathedral is 157 meters. The exterior gray and black tones of the cathedral give a direct reference to the Gothic architectural style. The internal high halls of the cathedral are decorated with mosaics, and massive organ pipes are located on four sides inside. Daily masses in the Cologne Cathedral are accompanied by grandiose organ music, immersing the listener in low-frequency gothic...
Cologne Cathedral from the historical center.
Cologne Cathedral (facade).
The most high tower Cologne Cathedral close-up.
Distance between Dusseldorf and Cologne 50 km is covered at a speed of 160 km/h on regular trains for Germany, running throughout the country. Electric trains going to Cologne and back run around the clock with an interval of about 30 minutes. This knowledge contributed to the fact that walking in this beautiful city You can stay all night and not be afraid of missing the last train. In view of this, it is not at all necessary to stop at very expensive hotels Cologne - you can save money and live in Dusseldorf, for example, next to the station and go for a walk in Cologne - a third of an hour on a comfortable German train and you are there!
The business trip to Germany lasted only one week, but there were plenty of opportunities to explore Cologne thoroughly and walk the streets of its historical center more than once, as happens with me in a new city. In the evening at about 16:00 and at 18:00 I got on the train and, without having time to look back, I already found myself in Cologne - I walked during the day, and in the evening, and at night. Cologne is a small town and attracts masses of tourists solely due to the cathedral. In my opinion, it’s not worth seeing anything else unusual in Cologne and coming here for more than 2 days.
Cologne Cathedral
It's nice that Cologne Cathedral opens its massive doors to everyone for free, that is, there is no charge for entering the cathedral. However, in the morning hours until a maximum of 13:00 there is a unusual excursion— climbing the cathedral towers to the massive bells. If the desire to see and hear the bell at arm's length does not overcome you, then you can simply go inside, admire the mosaics on the windows, listen to the organ or take part in the mass.
Photo inside Cologne Cathedral.
Cologne Cathedral inside.
Cologne Cathedral inside.
Cologne Cathedral and colorful mosaics inside.
Cologne Cathedral does not let you go, not when you sit inside, not when you stand and soar your gaze at the entire Gothic style of the building. Here in every line, in every element it is revealed centuries-old history and, being there, you want to plunge into it as deeply as possible - and you’re waiting for Joan of Arc to run out around the corner or for someone to chase you to cut off your head...
Some photos of Cologne Cathedral from the outside look very mystical.
To capture the entire 157-meter height of the cathedral, you have to look for a good angle for a very long time, bend and lie down on the asphalt. However, nevertheless, some photographs appear to be two-dimensional without the effect of space. The best photos are taken on the square opposite the station square!
Cologne Cathedral from the square.
In this photo, the Cologne Cathedral fits completely.
Having walked around the Cologne Cathedral from all sides, taken great photos and taken a great selfie, you can go on a walk around Cologne through Hohenzollern Bridge, thrown across the Rhine, further along the embankment and return along the opposite bridge to the center, drink the traditional Cologne beer - Kolsch and go on further travels.
Circular route around Cologne
To get to know tourist and non-tourist Cologne, a circular route of 5 km was enough for me. I had a chance to see the work and leisure of ordinary Germans, the cleanliness and order on the streets and the normality of life on the other side of the Rhine: offices - houses - cars - business people...
Circular route around Cologne for one day.
Hohenzollern Bridge, thrown over Rhine- another attraction of Cologne. No, nothing unusual, steel railroad bridge almost 410 meters long with two-way traffic for trains and pedestrians. Trains from Belgium, Dusseldorf and other cities and countries arrive here through this bridge. A resident of St. Petersburg was vividly reminded of the Finland Railway Bridge across the Neva. Along the entire length of the bridge there is no free space on the fence - everything is hung with locks of newlyweds and tourists - a cult place, however. From the Hohenzollern Bridge and on the way to it you get good photos Cologne Cathedral.
Cologne Cathedral from the Hohenzollern Bridge.
Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne.
Photo of the Rhine from the Hohenzollern Bridge.
“And on the other side my fire did not go out, but on the other side everything happened for the first time...”
As you move deeper into Siegburger Strasse and approach non-tourist Cologne, you see young people peacefully resting on the embankment and on the grass. Reminds me of the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress...
Cologne architecture.
Photos of the streets of Cologne.
On the street in Cologne.
FedEx plane in the sky of Cologne.
It is noteworthy that Cologne - small town, maybe a little larger than Kolpino, but has its own international Airport— the planes here fly quite low and, with a keen eye, you can see the details of the livery and even the landing gear!
By plane to Cologne! By the way, a Eurowings flight from Havana (Cuba) lands in Cologne - by the way, how cheap it is to fly to Cuba...
Cologne Cathedral is visible from all bridges - a sort of Gothic skyscraper! Later he began to call it “turrets”!
The Rhine embankment in Cologne (on the left is the cathedral, on the horizon is the Hohenzollern Bridge).
In the top photo, behind the white building on the right there is a small island in the shape of a ship. Here is located Cologne Chocolate Museum— I didn’t know how to try and get there (open until 18:00). I wasn’t very upset, but walking around the glass structure I was able to see molds for chocolate and some mechanisms - it would be great if during the excursion they actually showed the process of creating chocolate and candies of different shapes.
I didn’t like that there was a huge restaurant inside the glass building. haute cuisine and everything would have been fine, but the sight of set tables with plates, napkins, cutlery and... tiny candies in golden wrapper gave me acceleration and I retreated. Well, how come, such a chic restaurant in such a place, and they saved a fortune on sweets...
A further walk along the embankment along the refreshing breath of the Rhine took me to the already well-known historical Center with an abundance of pubs.
Houses along the Rhine in Cologne.
The center of Cologne abounds in beer gardens and restaurants, but the prices…
Some streets in Cologne host a beer festival right in the middle of the week!
The central square of the historical center in Cologne.
Having purchased Kölsch And traditional German sausages, sit on a bench in the square and wait for the sunset, and then rush to the Cologne Cathedral to photograph it and yourself.
Cologne Cathedral.
In person opposite the Cologne Cathedral in full view (some tourists carefully try to main tower cathedral fit into the frame).
Night Cologne.
Cologne Station (Koln HBF).
How to see the city of Cologne and the main attractions in 1 and 2 days, as well as where to stay and how to get to the city.
Cologne is a great opportunity to see Germany on a small budget, since you can fly here for just 10 € from many European cities, and even from Moscow. While in Cologne, it’s easy to go to Beethoven’s homeland, and stop by on the way. If you are interested in football, then there is a town nearby. All this is available on public transport.
How to get to the city of Cologne
- : The most popular option. You can get there by train or train for €2.8, while the ticket is valid for 90 minutes and allows transfers. Use transport services to plan your route. costs from 60€.
- From neighboring cities and countries: with an increase in the number of low-cost flights and the emergence of an airline Victory the opportunity to leave/arrive in Cologne by bus has increased (from 5 € to 19 €). This will help you find a train ticket from the airport and Cologne.
Where to stay in Cologne
- Hotels: To avoid overpaying for hotels in Cologne, use the search engine. He will find the same hotel and room for the same cheap price and will show you which website you can book on. Don’t forget to use it because it will help you return 10-20%.
- Apartments: In this city the most budget option For me it turned out that the apartments were rented with the help of . The apartment was very conveniently located for exploring the city and for a trip to Bonn. I wrote instructions in more detail about the apartment, and below are several photographs of the apartment.
City transport in Cologne
Before exploring the sights of Cologne, it is better to get a public transport pass. All the most interesting things are concentrated in transport zone 1b; a map of transport in this zone can be downloaded.
The cheapest one-time ticket for 20 minutes costs 1.9 € (K Preisstufe), for 90 minutes 2.4 € or 2.8 € depending on the transport zone. If you plan to travel several times, it is better to buy a TagesTicket daily ticket for 8.6 € per person or a group daily ticket for 13.1 € for 2 to 5 people. All tickets can be bought from vending machines at bus stops; the machines may be from different companies, but they sell the same tickets.
Sights of Cologne
My story about Cologne is divided into 2 parts, or rather 2 days. Perhaps the route is not ideal and one could see much more. Below are a couple of links to selling tickets and excursions that can help you see more and get to know the city better.
- Museum lovers can buy it. It costs a little more than a travel card, but allows you to get big discounts on visiting museums.
- For those who want to see the sights without having to walk kilometers, these will come in handy combination ticket by bus and ferry for 21€.
- in Russian.
What to see in Cologne in 1 day
The first day is almost always the historical center of the city and what everyone should see when arriving in this city. The city center is not very big and you can get around everything on foot if you live not far away, but if you are away from the center to save on housing, then we take public transport and go to the Dom / Hbf stop. This stop is underground, the exit from which to the top will lead to Cathedral Cologne.
The cathedral contains a golden casket containing the relics of the Three Magi, a sculpture of the Milanese Madonna and the Hero's Cross, considered in the 10th century the largest crucifix in Europe.
To photograph the cathedral in full size, you have to try, but I never managed to do it, because it’s not for nothing that it is one of the 3 tallest churches in the world. Entrance inside the cathedral is free and always open. From the inside, the size of the cathedral is also amazing.
Opposite the main entrance to the cathedral is tourist centre, where you can get a map of the city. The center is open until 20 pm, except on Sundays when its work ends at 17 pm.
Between the entrance to the cathedral and the tourist center there is a sculpture, the purpose of which may not be immediately understood, but when approaching it you can read the inscription in Russian that it is an exact copy of the tip of the towers, with its own name Kreuzblume.
Adjacent to the cathedral is a modern station building. In its place before World War II there was a more historical building from 1894, but it was thoroughly destroyed.
In the photo of the station on the left you can see a pink building, this is . The front façade looks nicer. And the church itself is very old, over 400 years old. It was built in 1689, but like almost everything in Cologne it was destroyed by the war and rebuilt afterwards.
We return to the cathedral, or rather to the small square Roncalliplatz to the right of Cologne Cathedral. There is a Roman-Germanic Museum in this square.
The name of the museum almost completely corresponds to the content; there is an exhibition dedicated to the era of the Roman Empire. The museum is open from 10 to 17 hours, entrance ticket is 9 € for adults and 5 € for children under 18 years old.
If the museum is not of interest, then we head to the embankment to look at the Rhine River, and at the same time take a walk along it in the Rhine Garden park to the next sights of Cologne. At the exit to the embankment there will be a decorated small piece of the park.
On the other side of the Rhine, the embankment looks like an amphitheater of continuous steps. In the photo on the left you can see the round tower Köln Triangle, on it there is observation deck, which we will go to on the second day.
Fish market
Walking along the embankment, it will be difficult to pass by the cute colorful houses; near them you will need to return to the historical center of the city again. This place itself is a former Fish Market, as the fountain reminds us of. If you get closer to the fountain, you will see sculptures of women selling fresh fish.
It is not possible to pass this place unnoticed because of the large Church of St. Martin located behind the colored houses.
My history Catholic Church leads from XII, when it was built on the site more ancient temple. During the Second World War, the building was significantly damaged; from the original interior, only the 16th century altar, some sculptures and the font were preserved. The building has been completely restored, but looks as if it had never been destroyed.
Tünnes und SchälWandering through the courtyards around the church, you can stumble upon local folklore, this is a composition about two heroes of local jokes, Tynnes and Shel. One is a village simpleton, and the second is a cunning city dweller.
Behind the house near which the sculpture is installed begins the building of the City Hall of Cologne.
The history of the Town Hall dates back to 1330, when its oldest part was built, and since 1958 there has been a Carillon on the tower, which sounds four times a day. I wasn't lucky enough to hear him.
In the center of the town hall square there is a Fountain-monument to General Jan von Werth, and for museum lovers there are two buildings here - the Museum of Spirits for 5 € and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum of Painting for 12 €.
We leave the square to the South to walk through the Shopping Quarter of Cologne.
If shopping doesn’t interest you, then to make it less boring to walk along endless shops and shopping centers along the way, you can take pictures of several churches. Where they are located exactly can be seen on the map at the very beginning of the story.
Inside the active church you can see works from the Middle Ages. The building was restored after the war and does not look 1000 years old, but it was built in the 11th century.
This church is located on one of the main shopping streets Cologne Schildergasse. After this church, the next point will be Neumarkt Square.
At the end of Neumarkt Square there is the last attraction for today - the Church of the Holy Apostles. The Catholic Apostolic Church was built in the 11th century. At that time it was located outside the city walls, but with the construction of new fortifications in the 12th century it became part of the city.
This is very comfortable spot to end my day. A large amount of banner passes through the square and you can go to a hotel or apartment, or you can continue or start shopping in a large mall Primark.
Sights of Cologne in 2 days
The second day in Cologne will be devoted to a walk around the defensive wall or what remains of it, and you can end the day by watching the sunset on the observation deck of one of the most tall buildings cities.
The defensive walls today have turned into wide avenues for cars, and the entrance gates along the perimeter of the city remain a reminder of their presence. If you look at the map of Cologne, the historical center is surrounded by a large road in a semicircle; this is the former defensive wall.
The distance may seem long, but in fact the entire route is 6 km, which can be walked leisurely several times in a day. Even if this is not tedious, there will be short detours to nearby religious buildings and museums.
The best place to start is in the south of Cologne and head towards the south gate Severinstorburg or Gate of Saint Severin. To get to them you need to get to the square Chlodwigplatz, where trams 15,16, 17 and buses 106, 132, 133, 142 stop.
Gate of Saint Severin - Severinstorburg
In the Middle Ages, through this gate one entered the neighboring one. Approximate date of construction: XIII century. It was at these gates that it was customary to greet important guests of Cologne. In the 19th century, the gate tower housed a natural history museum, and now, according to the gate’s official website, wedding celebrations are held here.
In addition to the gate, a church with the same name, Church of St. Severin, is also dedicated to Saint Severin. Most likely, it was the other way around and the gate was named because of its close location to this church.
Of all twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne, this temple ranks second in height.
Bottmühle Tower
Next to the gate there is another fragment of the city wall - a tower, which was built in the 16th century as a wooden windmill, and a century later it was replaced with a stone one.
Ulrepforte Tower - Ulrepforte
Moving along the Sachsenring street from the Bottmühle tower and the St. Severin Gate, we will reach the next city gate Ulrepforte or the tower that remains from it. The tower was built in the 13th century as part of a defensive wall to protect the city gates. In the 15th century the gates were eliminated, and the tower became a windmill and part of a Carthusian monastery.
Before the next gate we will meet numerous churches, but for this we will have to weave through the streets of Cologne to find them. Take a close look at the map above.
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary outside the city wall
The church is Catholic, it was built over 70 years in the 17th century, then it was located outside the city walls, which is why it has such a name. The original interior has not been preserved, since it was destroyed by the Second World War, and only the walls and one of the facades remained from the building itself.
The church is considered one of the oldest, as it was built back in the 10th century. During World War II, some of the decoration was preserved, and today the interior of the existing church is considered the richest of all twelve Romanesque churches.
There are even more churches along this road than I described, but such a number can already get boring, so we return to the elements of the city wall when we reach Friesenplatz Square. From the previous gate you can get here by tram 15 and pass all the churches.
Hahnentorburg Gate
In the Middle Ages, this was the western gate of the city wall, which was built at the beginning of the 13th century. It was through them that the emperors entered the city to go to the Cologne Cathedral to the relics of the Magi for veneration. Later there was a prison at the gate, and after the war historical Museum and an art exhibition. Today there is a flower market in front of the gate.
Roman tower – Römerturm
This is the next element of the city wall, to find it you need to move from the Hanentorburg gate to the city center to the main cathedral. The tower has been preserved since ancient times; its appearance dates back to the 2nd-3rd centuries. In the Middle Ages, there was a monastery next to it, and now it is a residential building of the 19th century.
This building is for those who are already tired of churches and fortifications. The museum is open from 10 am to 8 pm on weekdays, on weekends only until 5 pm. Admission ticket 5€ adults and 3€ from 6 to 18 years old. If you want to attend an additional exhibition, you will have to pay an additional 2 €.
After the museum we find ourselves in the same place where the first day to the Cologne Cathedral began, but this time we don’t need the cathedral itself, but almost inconspicuous ruins almost at its very entrance. These are ruins that were once a very large structure and formed part of the defensive wall and Roman northern gate. I made a small insert in the photo to make it easier to understand the scale of this gate.
Now the ruins, churches and museums are all finished. Of course, a lot was missed, but then 2 days would not have been enough for Cologne. Now all that remains is to look at Cologne from above and if the walk was not fast, then sunset time should be very close.
To get to observation deck you will have to walk through another attraction of Cologne along the Hohenzollern Bridge.
Hohenzollern Bridge
Initially, on the site of the existing bridge there was the Cathedral Bridge, built in 1859. When it could no longer cope with the load, they decided to demolish the structure and in 1911 it was opened new bridge, which was decorated with Romanesque towers and equestrian statues of kings from the Hohenzollern dynasty, after which it was named. But in 1945 the structure was completely destroyed and during restoration the destroyed Romanesque towers were decided not to be restored.
After crossing the bridge you will need to find the entrance to the KölnTriangle tower where it will be written PANORAMA. From this entrance, an elevator takes you to the observation deck.
Access to the observation deck is not free and costs 3 €, children under 12 years old are free. Opening hours are from 12:00-20:00 on weekdays and on weekends from 10:00-20:00. At the entrance where they sell tickets you can buy souvenirs and magnets; here they are some of the cheapest in the city. And at the end, a few photos from the observation deck.
The other side of Cologne, where there are no tourist attractions.
The observation deck itself is an area fenced in a circle with transparent glass. Almost every glass has a landmark drawn and labeled that can be seen through it. This inscription plus the sun make it very difficult to take photographs.
I have everything about Cologne. Thank you for your attention, see you in my next travel stories.
Cost of a trip to Cologne for 3 days
My expenses were less than in the calculation below, but I’ll give an example of an economical option for staying in Cologne for 3 days, which should be enough to see the city and go to Brühl and Bonn.
- — 26€.
- 24 pass in Cologne for 2-5 people including transfer from the airport - 16.5 €. For 2 days – 33€
- A 24-hour pass for 2-5 people for a trip to Brühl and Bonn is 26.5 € (if divided by 2, it is 13.25 €).
- for 3 nights - 140€.
Total 3 days in Cologne with a trip to Bonn for 1 person about 196 € excluding food costs.
Cologne is the third largest city in Germany. It is very ancient; excavations show that people lived here 5,000 years ago. For a long time, this city was a colony of the Roman Empire and its name in English will be Cologne, which actually means a colony, it’s just that this colony never received its name, thus remaining just a colony.
Unfortunately, during World War II the city was almost wiped off the face of the earth by Allied air forces. Only the famous Cologne Cathedral survived; they say it served as a good landmark for Allied aircraft and they did not bomb it, although three shells still hit it, they did not cause the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral. The rest of the city was rebuilt on the old foundations and it shows.
Cologne after the war
Naturally, Cologne Cathedral is the main attraction of Cologne and most tourists come to this city precisely for this cathedral.
Of course, Cologne is full of museums, the most famous are the chocolate museum, the beer museum, the Louis Museum (modern art), the Roman-Germanic Museum, the perfume museum, but there are plenty of chocolate and beer museums in this world, and the Cologne Cathedral is unique and unique.
There are plenty of parking lots in the center of Cologne. There are several multi-level parking lots near Cologne Cathedral. The price everywhere is 2 euros per hour, not cheap, but round-trip travel on public transport for 4 people will be more expensive. They say there are cheaper parking spots in front of the Hohenzohler Bridge. The payment scheme is as follows: when you arrive, take a ticket and go for a walk, when you return, insert the ticket into the machine, it takes money from you and the receipt will be your pass to exit.
Of course, we immediately went to inspect the cathedral, which ranks third in the list of the tallest churches in the world and is one of the world's monuments cultural heritage. Most high cathedral throughout the Christian world is located in, also worthy of all attention.
The cathedral, fortunately, was not damaged during the Second World War, but Cologne itself was almost completely destroyed by Allied aircraft; there are post-war photographs in the cathedral.
Indeed, “Cologne House”, that’s what they call it local residents, huge and majestic. The cathedral is the pinnacle of Gothic construction and took almost 500 years to build.
They tell a typical German legend about the construction of the cathedral. They say the chief architect of the cathedral was in difficulty and made an agreement with the devil for help in construction, for this the devil, naturally, wanted the immortal soul of the architect, but the architect’s wife overheard them. And deceived the devil. Similar legends are told in almost all German cathedrals, and in Frauenkirche, we even saw the supposed trace of the devil.
You can explore the cathedral absolutely free, you can take an audio guide for an additional fee, you can take a leaflet with a tour in Russian, you just need to put 1 euro in a special box, everything is built on trust and arrange a tour for your family on your own.
The main shrine of the cathedral is the shrine of the three wise men (they are also three magicians or three kings, different sources call them differently), the same ones who first came to worship Jesus in Bethlehem. It was for this shrine that such a grandiose cathedral was actually built. The relics have been kept in the cathedral since 1184; before that they were kept in Milan, and even earlier in Constantinople, according to the official historical version.
It is difficult to say whether the relics are genuine and the attitude towards them in Orthodoxy is not clear, but the sarcophagus itself is of great artistic and historical value; it was made in the 12th century. For those interested in history, I highly recommend reading about the sarcophagus in the book BIBLICAL Rus' (G.V. Nosovsky, A.T. Fomenko), the book is available on the Internet for free. It goes into great detail about who is depicted on the sarcophagus and how, and what the sarcophagus looked like before. For starters, I will say that the third magician Melchior is depicted on the sarcophagus as a woman; many of the characters were rearranged during the strange restoration undertaken in the 17th century, and some had their heads changed, for example, King Solomon was given a male head with a beard on a female body with breasts. All the figures were removed from the second and fourth rows; they had been there before, this can be seen from the ancient drawings.
Gero's Crucifix is also an important treasure of the cathedral. This crucifix is named after the Cologne Archbishop Gero (he was an archbishop around 969-976). It was under him that this crucifix was made, which is why it is so valuable, it is more than 1000 years old. In the book BIBLICAL Rus' it is also written very interestingly about him
During the war valuable relics the cathedral were kept in a secluded place.
Gero's Crucifixion The silence room is located in the basement of the cathedral.
Altar of St. Clara (1350-60) is the oldest surviving folded altar image, which also contains a tabernacle (tabernacle). This folding triptych has three types of opening thanks to double doors and was made for the Franciscan convent of St. Clara in Cologne and moved to the cathedral in 1811.
Altar of St. Clara (1350-60) 
You can also climb the cathedral tower, a family ticket costs 6 euros, you have to climb on foot, almost like in St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. It was an arduous five hundred plus spiral steps. Some felt dizzy. You can explore the bell rooms. View the cathedral's carvings through the windows and enjoy the panoramic view of Cologne from the cathedral tower.
View from the cathedral tower to the stone lace of the external decoration Riverboat ride along the Rhine
Next we took a walk on the river bus (25 euros family ticket). By this time my legs were seriously tired, I wanted to sit down. The tour is read in German and English languages. In English, the text is so primitive that it was 100% understandable.
There we met more Russian Germans and they kindly took pictures of all four of us. The ship sailed along the Rhine before turning around and sailing back. There really are a lot of whirlpools in the Rhine, we saw this personally.
After visiting the cathedral and taking a boat trip along the Rhine, we still had some time left and decided to visit the Roman-Germanic Museum, it is located next to the cathedral, and there is also a Louis Museum, but we are not fans of modern art, so we decided to immerse ourselves in the history of Cologne under wing of the Roman Empire.
Tickets again cost reasonable money, with a student ticket only 2 euros, cheaper than a child ticket (4 euros), an adult ticket 9 euros.
Excavations are constantly underway in Cologne; in front of the town hall we saw an active excavation site with archaeologists working in it. Much of what has already been found is exhibited in the Roman-German Museum. The most significant exhibit is considered to be the sex of Dionysus. Despite the obvious value of the exhibit, there is a photograph on the museum’s website of G8 sitting on this floor.
Floor of Dionysus, top view Another significant exhibit of the museum is the tombstone of a Roman legionnaire. The legionnaires of the Roman Empire did not live badly if they could afford such a huge marble tombstone, almost a mausoleum, two floors high in the museum.
Tombstone of a retired Roman legionnaire 
Model of ancient Cologne The museum's collection is rich and varied, there are also Scythian things from the Black Sea region, almost like in the Hermitage, but still the majority of the collection consists of exhibits found in Cologne and the surrounding area.
Cologne embankment
Then we walked along the embankment and stopped near a small children's attraction. I don’t know what to call it correctly, there are streams and stones in them right on the embankment, children jump on the stones and sooner or later fall into the stream, but prudent Cologne parents take out a dry change of clothes and change them.
This children's playground reminded me of the joke fountains of Peterhof, also a water attraction for which it would be a good idea to bring a change of clothes for the children.
The houses on the embankment, of course, do not look like ancient ones; their ideal shape is very striking, even though they were restored on ancient foundations and tried to repeat their former appearance.
P.S.
Cologne is an ideal city for one day. In my opinion, the Cologne Cathedral, a river bus ride along the Rhine and the Roman-German Museum is an almost ideal plan for exploring Cologne.
It might be worth visiting the spirit house or Farina's house. This man founded the world's first perfume factory in 1709 and organized the production of the first cologne called “Cologne Water,” and skillful businessmen also produced a counterfeit of “Cologne Water,” which became an independent brand called “4711.” You don’t have to go to a museum to smell these perfumes; every souvenir shop offers these colognes. You can buy them as a Cologne souvenir.
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Having received a multiple-entry Italian Schengen visa for six months at the end of February and having traveled to Italy on it, I wondered where else I could use it. Among the unrealized were Germany, with a choice of Baden-Württemberg or cities on the Rhine. But in Italy I was used to an abundance of masterpieces and was afraid that the impressions would be worse. Why not embellish the Rhine with neighboring Belgium? This is how the trip plan was formed: arrival in Dusseldorf - immediately moving to Cologne for one day - 4 days in Belgium - moving to Koblenz with a stop in Aachen - 4 days Rhine and Moselle - moving to Dusseldorf and departure.
I bought plane tickets as soon as I decided on vacation dates at work - August to April. The cheapest at that time were from Air Berlin, but no longer at the minimum price, it turned out to be 230 euros. I booked hotels partly on booking.com, partly on the websites of the hotels themselves. For some reason, there was a problem with hotels in Koblenz; there were few offers at all, especially given the low price and proximity to the station. Since I needed a single room, the hotel costs were higher than they would have been per person for double occupancy - 629 euros for 11 nights.
I bought tickets in advance online on the website bahn.de for fast ICE trains Cologne - Brussels, Brussels - Aachen, Aachen - Koblenz (on the last route on the fast train only the Aachen - Cologne section, then transfer to a regional one to Koblenz) for 19 euros each.
So, I flew early in the morning from Moscow to Dusseldorf, landing at 7:30 local time. There are no complaints about Air Berlin. From Dusseldorf Airport you can take the S11 train directly to Cologne Main Station. I was in Germany two years ago and, apparently, the program of ticket machines has changed since then. There are no local transport machines with many buttons, but DB machines have a window for the local transport network in the lower right corner of the screen. I needed a local ticket, and at first I was a little nervous, not finding machines to buy them, but then I figured it out and successfully bought a single ticket for 10 euros. The ticket must be validated before travel. It takes more than an hour to travel by this train; it would be faster to take a regional train, but you still have to get to the station where the trains stop by an overhead skytrain car, that is, there will be a transfer, but I was in no hurry, because I suspected that I wouldn’t be checked into the hotel so early .
In Cologne I had booked the City Class Hotel Residence am Dom. Website of the hotel chain http://www.cityclass.de/ It is located a few minutes' walk from the station and Cologne Cathedral, overlooking the Alter Markt (Old Market). They actually told me that the room was not ready, they took the suitcase into the storage room, and I headed off to get acquainted with Cologne. And first of all - with the cathedral, the main attraction of Cologne. This is one of the tallest churches in the world. The cathedral is amazing in its size.
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And there is something to see in it. In some of the side chapels you can see ancient altar images.
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The Milanese Madonna is a sculpture from the 13th century.
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There are many stained glass windows, but not all of them are ancient, since the cathedral was built over more than 6 centuries.
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The floors are decorated with mosaics.
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Behind the main altar is a golden reliquary containing the relics of the Three Holy Magi (Three Kings). But it should be noted that as soon as the cathedral was built, it already had to be restored in some places, so restoration is ongoing there, and now I saw scaffolding both outside the cathedral and inside near the reliquary.
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There is also a treasury in the cathedral, but I did not visit it. “Living statues” are located on the square in front of the cathedral. Be careful: take a photo of such a heavenly creature, and then it starts extorting money!
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You can climb one of the cathedral towers (on foot). Or you can cross the Hohenzollern Bridge, decorated with lovers' locks, to the other side of the Rhine and climb the Cologne Triangle Tower (by elevator, 3 euros).
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There is a glass observation deck, from which you can see the cathedral in all its glory.
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On both sides of the bridge there are equestrian statues of Prussian kings and German emperors.
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Let's return back to the shore, where the historical center is located. There are a row of restaurants along the Rhine embankment. Behind them stands the Church of St. Martin, one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne. It is called "Big St. Martin", but it is, of course, much smaller than Cologne Cathedral.
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Nearby stands the Town Hall tower, decorated with figures of famous Cologne residents. The entrance to the Town Hall is made in the Renaissance style. When I passed by, marriage ceremonies were being held there.
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With this, the first part of my walk was completed, and I went to check into the hotel.
I chose a hotel as close as possible to the station for a reason - my train to Brussels left at 7:42, and I tried to do everything possible to reduce the time spent in the morning. Luckily for me, breakfast at the hotel started at 6:30. I asked the girls at the reception to accept payment for the room now, upon check-in, which was done.
After a short rest, I went out into the city again. It was interesting to look at the Heintzelmenchen fountain (with gnomes). According to legend, in ancient times, gnomes helped the Cologne residents do all their work at night. The next morning everything was ready. But one overly curious woman wanted to know why this was happening and who was finishing the work. She scattered peas on the stairs, and when there was a noise, she looked out and saw the fallen gnomes. Since then, the gnomes became angry and stopped helping the residents of Cologne.
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In addition, I would like to see at least a few of the Romanesque churches. The churches were built in the 11th-13th centuries; during World War II they were damaged to one degree or another and were restored. Near the Cologne Cathedral is the Church of St. Andrew.
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St. Gereon's Church is considered the oldest church in Cologne; a church built by the Romans stood on this site. And on its decagonal base (decagon) a church was erected in the Middle Ages. The main room is reminiscent of the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna.
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I also felt Italian motifs in the chapel with the Pieta. The dome also has a ten-sided shape.
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Church of the Holy Apostles. When I entered, the organ was playing there (apparently a rehearsal was in progress). The main room was closed with bars.
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