Let’s discover Cologne after the end of Roman rule in the Rhineland in the late 5th century. Now the Franks are in the area. How might have the city looked like?

Frankish Kingdoms in Northeastern Gaul and the Rhineland in late 5th century

The location of the Franks around 475 . “Les Francs rhénans” is the French term for “Ripuarian Franks”. These Franks are in charge of Cologne as well at the end of the 5th century. To the west are the Salian Franks who will be the predominant Frankish kingdom soon to be. South of Cologne, further down the Rhine, the Alemanni also extended their power to former Roman territories, mainly the former Roman province of “Upper Germania.”
By Odejea – Own workD’après :Michel Rouche, Clovis, Éditions Fayard, 1996, isbn2-213-59632-8, page 188.Hermann Kinder et Werner Hilgemann, Atlas Historique, (Traduction de Pierre Mougenot), 1964, réimpression 1983, Éditions Stock, page 112.les frontières indiquées sur cette carte, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8444101

Apse, not abs 😉

St. Severin today

Baptistery next to the Bishop’s church

Due to the Covid-pandemic, I was not able to go underground and see the batpistery that still exists from the 6th cenutry. But you can find all information in English here on the offical homepage of Cologne Cathedral: https://www.koelner-dom.de/en/domgrabung-rund/baptismal-font-from-the-cologne-baptistery/baptismal-font-cologne-baptistery

The Heumarkt (Haymarket) today

I took these pictures during the quaranteen in 2020. Nice side effect: it was totally empty

Heumarkt during the cause of history