#22 The End of Roman Cologne – The History of Cologne

Dive into the second half of the 5th century. This period marks the end of the Roman era of Cologne. The Roman Empire is declining in the west of Europe. Our beloved city of Cologne, however, did not. It continues to exist and will enter a new era.

Dive into the second half of the 5th century. This period marks the end of the Roman era of Cologne. The Roman Empire is declining in the west of Europe. Our beloved city of Cologne, however, did not. It continues to exist and will enter a new era.

Crossing of the Rhine in 406

At the end of the year 406 it became cold in the Rhineland. Pretty cold. So cold that the Rhine froze in many places. That now was the perfect time to cross the Rhine, well, you didn’t have to tell the barbarian tribes on the other side of the Rhine twice. On New Year’s Eve in the year 406/407, not only gangs, but whole masses of Germanic Suebi, Burgundians, Alans and Vandals crossed the frozen Rhine at a certain point and entered the empire. Above all, they invaded the Roman Rhineland. Where exactly they crossed the Rhine is not known. But it must have been somewhere in an area south of Cologne, on today’s Middle Rhine.

Attila the Hun

The Odyssey of the Visigoths through Europe

The Sack of Rome 410 and 455 in art

Emperor Honorius

A city that survived: Cologne at the end of Roman rule is widely intact. A good starting point for the Middle Ages