Hohe Straße is a shopping street in the old town of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and one of the city's both oldest and busiest streets. Together with many of its adjacent side streets, Hohe Straße is part of a designated

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 restricted to use by people on foot or ...

and spans about 680 metres from

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

on its Northern end to Schildergasse on its Southern end.

History

The street dates back to Roman times, when it was the city's '' Cardo Maximus'', running parallel to the River

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. It was lined with stores, smithies, offices and various shops and vendors. At its centre lay the former forum and important buildings, like temples and the

Praetorium The Latin term ''praetorium'' (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman '' castrum'' (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roma ...

. Two Roman legions had barracks, hospitals, canteens and thermae along its course. At this time, it spanned the entire city of

Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was the Roman colony in the Rhineland from which the city of Cologne, now in Germany, developed. It was usually called ''Colonia'' (colony) and was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and ...

, from the Northern Gate, located near today's cathedral, to the Southern Gate, located near today's St. Maria im Kapitol - then site of a Roman temple in honour of the

Capitoline Triad The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill (Latin ''Capitolium''). It comprised Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The triad held a central place in th ...

. Over the centuries, the street kept its central functions, but changed names numerous times and developed several distinct stretches. During the Early Middle Ages it was first called "strata lapidea" or "Steinweg", (meaning ''Stone Street''), given that for a long time it remained an example of a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

. Later it had different names for various of its sections. Already during late Antiquity, the quarter next to the Preatorium developed into Cologne's Jewish quarter. A document from the year 341 testified imperial privileges for an early synagoge.History of Jews in Cologne
Synagogen-Gemeinde Köln Building and site of the old Praetorium itself were later used by both Frankish Kings and - latest since the 1130s - the city's council. Still on this site today, the oldest parts of Cologne City Hall date back to the 1330s. Hohe Straße's section North of the city hall became center of the newly established

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

in the year 1388. During Cologne's incorporation into the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

(1795–1814), Ferdinand Franz Wallraf created a survey of all streets in Cologne and their respective given names. The "Hohe Straße" (meaning ''High Street''), as it was called at this time, derived its name from the "Hohe Pforte" (meaning '' High Porte'') on the very Southern end of the street. During the 19th century, Hohe Straße grew to become the busy shopping street it still is today. Shops and customers on Hohe Straße range all types and ages. Among today's landmarks on Hohe Straße are shopping passage of Cologne chocolatier Stollwerck and flagship store Leonhard Tietz of Galeria Kaufhof.

Places of interest nearby

* Cologne City Hall * Cologne Archaeological Zone * Museum für Angewandte Kunst * Fragrance Museum * Kolumba Museum * Wallraf-Richartz Museum * St. Maria im Kapitol

References

Literature

External links

Archäologische Zone
City of Cologne {{DEFAULTSORT:Hohe Strasse Streets in Cologne History of Cologne Shopping districts and streets in Germany Pedestrian streets in Germany Busking venues Tourist attractions in Cologne Innenstadt, Cologne

History

Places of interest nearby

See also

References

Literature

External links