#10 Roman Emperor Trajan visits Cologne

#10 Roman Emperor Trajan visits Cologne The History of Cologne

VIP visit to our city on the Rhine. The heir to the throne Marcus Ulpius Traianus visits Cologne in the years 97/98. What he does not know, he will find out here that he is the new emperor. And this helps Cologne to an unprecedented upswing. For a few months, Cologne becomes the residence city of the Roman Empire. With Trajan, a golden age for Cologne begins that would last for 150 years.
Emperor Trajan

VIP visit to our city on the Rhine. The heir to the throne Marcus Ulpius Traianus visits Cologne in the years 97/98. What he does not know, he will find out here that he is the new emperor. And this helps Cologne to an unprecedented upswing. For a few months Cologne becomes the residence city of the Roman Empire. With Trajan, a golden age for Cologne begins that would last for 150 years.

Listen to this episode!

#57 Shadow and Light: The Jewish Community in Cologne in the 12th Century The History of Cologne

In this episode, we immerse ourselves in 12th century medieval Cologne and explore the fascinating life of the Jewish community that existed in the midst of a predominantly Christian majority society. We learn about the everyday hostilities the Jewish population faced, but also about phases of cooperation and joint action.
  1. #57 Shadow and Light: The Jewish Community in Cologne in the 12th Century
  2. #56 From Economic Power to Political Dominance – Cologne's Brotherhood of the Rich in the 12th century
  3. #55 Rupert of Deutz and the Fire of 1128
  4. #54 Who owns the city? (in the 12th century)
  5. #53 When the church bells in Cologne were silenced: The Interdict of 1119
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The Golden Era of the Roman Empire under Trajan

Rome at its height under emperor Trajan in 177. Click on the image to enlarge. Cologne is “Colonia Agrippina”.

Cologne’s Cardo Maximus/present-day “Hohe Straße” (engl.: “High Street”)

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE: Took this image in 2018 when I had the opportunity to take a two seater. Thank God, the weather was sunny. 🙂
Present-day Hohe Straße. It has remained it original course throughout 2,000 years of history. Walking here is walking through Roman Cologne basically. Picture taken by me in January 2020.

Capitoline Hill in Cologne

In the background you can see Cologne’s Capitoline Hill. The narrow, urban development unfortunately blocks our view. But you may notice that the church building is much higher than the surrounding street levels. I could only take the picture itself from the year 2015 because the building directly in front of me had been demolished. In the meantime there is of course a new building there, which isolates Capitoline Hill even more from the rest of the city. There was already a pagan-roman temple here 2,000 years ago. Later it was converted into a church. The present church “St. Mary in the Capitol” is already almost 1,000 years old. It was heavily destroyed in the 2nd World War. Only in 1984 it was rebuilt.

Trajan gets the news while his visit in Cologne that he is the new Roman Emperor. Contemporary depiction from the 15th century. Chronik of Koelhoff.

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