The History of Cologne Podcast is a podcast that tells the story of the Germany’s fourth largest city (1.05 million people) and its 2,000 year long history. A triweekly schedule for episodes covering all eras from Roman times to current events.
All Quiet on the Western Front
The short Frankish rule over the Roman colony of Cologne ended after only one year in 356. We want to look as far as possible from the sources to see how late antique Cologne developed at the end of the 4th century. Many are tempted to see the end of Roman rule in late antiquity, both in general and regionally, as a stringent downward spiral that was ultimately to culminate in the fall of Rome in 475. Surprisingly, the area around Cologne was supposed to remain comparatively quiet in the late 4th century.
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Model of how late antique St. Gereon church must have looked like.Part of a Roman wall of the church from the 4th century.The Blood Column. I survived it!Last visible, preserved remainder of the late antique floor mosaic in the Cologne church St. Gereon. Von Mediatus – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10694536
St. Gereon today
Von Coldrerio – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35648151The antique central building of St. Gereon from the 4th century.St. Gereon today.The antique central building, once the nucleus of the church, is nowadays in the middle of the church.The tomb of St. Gereon. If you believe it 😉
Roman Cologne expands to the east (into the Rhine)
The city of Cologne in Roman times layered onto a modern map of Cologne. The red square is Roman Cologne. Notice how many streets still exist today. For example the ones marking the city wall (red) or Hohe Straße/Cardo Maximus (green). The Fort Deutz is the blue square on the right with the bridge (yellow). The new part in the east that is talked about in the episode is layered in purple. To look at the map and interact with it go: Roman Cologne – Google My Maps
The History of Cologne Podcast 