Lintgasse is an

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...

(german: Gasse) in the Old town of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

between the two squares of ''Alter Markt'' and ''Fischmarkt''. It is a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

and only some 130 metres long, nevertheless famous for its medieval history. The Lintgasse was first mentioned in the 12th century as »''in Lintgazzin''«, which may have derived from

basketmaker Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

s described, weaving fish baskets out of

Linden tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

barks. These craftsmen were called »''Lindslizer''«, meaning ''Linden splitter''. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the area was also known as »platēa subri« or »platēa suberis«, meaning street of ''

Quercus suber ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...

''. Lintgasse 8 to 14 used to be homes of medieval

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s as still can be seen by signs like »''Zum Huynen''«, »''Zum Ritter''« or »''Zum Gir''«. At Lintgasse 15 once stood the Parish of St. Brigiden, which became an elementary school during the 19th century. During this time, the Lintgasse was called »Stink-Linkgaß«, as the alley was unpopular for its poor air quality. Lintgasse 9 has a passage to the nearby Great St. Martin Church. On the corner of Alter Markt and Lintgasse stands the listed Gaffel-Haus »''Zur Brezel''«. The brewhouse is a 7-storey

Dutch Renaissance The Renaissance in the Low Countries was a cultural period in the Northern Renaissance that took place in around the 16th century in the Low Countries (corresponding to modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands and French Flanders). Culture in the Low C ...

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

, built in 1213 but substantially extended in 1580. The building was a significant place in the

history of Cologne The German city of Cologne was founded in the 1st century as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium. It was taken by the Franks in the 5th century and became an important city of Medieval Germany, the seat of an Archbishop and a Prince-El ...

and only converted into a beer house in the late 19th century.

References

* *

External links

* http://www.gaffel-haus.de/ Streets in Cologne History of Cologne Medieval archaeological sites in Europe Tourist attractions in Cologne Innenstadt, Cologne Pedestrian streets in Germany {{Cologne-geo-stub

See also

References

External links