I know this is rather American of me, but over and over again I have been astounded by the sheer age of buildings and history and customs in Germany, and the rest of Europe. We are a young country by many standards, where objects and buildings from the 1700's or earlier are few and far between. And while we pride ourselves on our history of being a young, brash upstart of a nation, I find it endlessly fascinating to explore and learn about how the truly ancient continues to pop up and influence modern cities in Germany today.
Cologne, Germany’s fourth largest city, is mostly known for its impressive cathedral, Christmas markets and Karneval celebrations. But its history stretches much further back than the start of the cathedral. Julius Caesar first crossed the Rhine, and began to see its potential impact on the Roman Republic, in 55 BC. The settlement was started by Emperor Claudius as a military outpost and quickly grew into full colony status. The name Cologne even comes from the Latin for colony, in fact the original name of the city was Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.
While a large portion of Cologne’s Roman ruins remain underground, like most ancient cities, remnants of its past are discretely scattered throughout the city. Pieces of Roman walls, aqueducts, gates and towers either stand independently in open areas or have been repurposed as parts of more modern structures. The Northern Gate stands proudly in the corner of the plaza leading up to the Cologne Cathedral. Its simple arch holding its own even with the cathedral looming beside it.
The Romisch-Germanisches Museum now houses many of the artifacts found throughout the city, but its crowning feature is a tiled floor that was once the dining room of a palace. The museum is actually built around this amazing piece which can be seen in situ in the basement and from a window outside. The mosaic is nearly 10.5 x 7m and is pieced together with anywhere from 1-2 million small pieces (tesserrae). It features images related to Dionysus, a common theme for dining rooms.
New Roman ruins are being found even now as construction continues to take place around the city. In 2017, a large public library from 150 AD was found near the center of the old Roman town. Read more about the discovery here: https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2018/08/01/roman-library-found-in-the-heart-of-cologne/
Commentaires