Tourists who come to this German city for the first time are amazed by the story that almost all the sights were destroyed during the bombing during the Second World War. One of the few surviving buildings is the Cologne Cathedral. This is the main answer to the question - what to visit in Cologne.
To the delight of tourists, this is not the only attraction of the city. The Germans, considered the most hardworking people in the world, managed to rebuild their city practically from scratch, and they did not erect new buildings, but returned what was lost. To see how they did it, it's worth finding some old postcards and comparing them to a panoramic photo taken from one of the city's observation points, for example, located near the railway bridge.
What to visit in Cologne from museums
Local residents' understanding of how easily monuments and sights can be lost has led to the fact that today there are many different museums in Cologne that store the surviving, found, carefully collected artifacts. Museums are places that are recommended to visit in Cologne on your own. Of these institutions, the cities of greatest interest to tourists may be the following: Roman-Germanic Museum; Perfume Museum; Chocolate Museum; Ludwig Museum.
Amazing collections are kept in the Roman-Germanic Museum, the earliest artifacts date back to the Paleolithic era, the "younger" ones were made in the early Middle Ages. Tourists are invited to take a walk on their own or with an excursion along the lower "floor of Dionysius", which contains household items, labor, which were used by the inhabitants of Ancient Rome.
On the floors above, there will be a story about human settlement of these places, with a demonstration of objects from the Paleolithic, Bronze and Iron ages. You can see collections of glass (dishes, glasses), jewelry made with precious metals and stones, weapons of different times, items of Christian worship.
Cologne will forever remain in the history of world perfumery, since it was here that cologne (water from Cologne) was first produced. It is not surprising that it is in this city that there is a perfume museum. Importantly, it is located in buildings occupied by an operating perfume factory, which is considered one of the oldest in the world. Pictures and photographs demonstrate the technological processes of making aromatic products, distillation apparatus and a collection of bottles are real witnesses of the events that took place here.
The same plan and the Chocolate Museum, which appeared not so long ago in Cologne, but has already found many fans among locals and tourists. It, like the Perfume Museum, is located at a factory that naturally produces delicious edible products. The exhibition halls tell about chocolate, its history and production, there is a wonderful opportunity to taste different types of chocolate and make purchases - gifts to relatives who are left at home.
The Museum Ludwig has a completely different character, named after the famous Cologne businessman and collector, Peter Ludwig. He left a will, according to which after his death the valuables collected by him were donated to the city. Now Cologne can be proud of the fact that not in a private collection, but in a state one, the works of local and foreign surrealists, avant-garde artists are stored and available to everyone. The funds contain a large collection of works by Russian artists of the early twentieth century, Pablo Picasso, museum collections continue to be replenished with modern works.
Cologne Cathedral - the architectural and cultural pearl of the city
Of course, it is this masterpiece of architecture and cultural monument that occupies the first places in all tourist lists and ratings of Cologne. The construction of the temple in the Gothic style began in 1248, and not from scratch, earlier there was a Romanesque temple, some fragments of which can be seen in the basements of the Cologne Cathedral.
The main treasures of the cathedral were and remain the relics of the Three Kings, or Three Magi, who came to this cathedral in 1164. Learning about this joyful event for all Christians, thousands of pilgrims rushed to the city, the old temple could no longer accommodate everyone who wanted to touch the relic. Therefore, it was decided to erect a cathedral, and a grandiose one. It was built over many centuries, it took on the features of different architectural styles, replacing each other. It is believed that construction was officially completed in 1880, with Kaiser Wilhelm I present at this momentous moment.
In addition to the relics of the Three Kings, other treasures are kept in the temple, its walls are decorated with ancient frescoes and mosaics, magnificent sculptures depicting the apostles are installed, the windows are decorated with incomparable stained-glass windows.
