The year 1106 is an important milestone in the history of Cologne. The people of Cologne skilfully exploit the dynastic conflict of the empire between father and son, thus circumventing the will of their own archbishop/city ruler, maintain legal equality within the city, are allowed to expand their city through new fortifications and put a huge royal army to flight.

Father vs. Son

Young Henry V. (1086-1125) vs. Father Henry IV. (1050-1106) on the right.

We all know that this process was not as peaceful as depicted here in the drawing after listening to this episode. 😉

Cologne’s City Expansion of 1106

Representation of Cologne citizens building the city wall. From Koelhoff’s chronicle of 1499, so not a contemporary representation.

The the areas in green to the North (Niederich), to the South (Oversburg) and West around St. Apostles are the new areas that the citizens of Cologne included into the city’s fortification with trenches and ramparts in 1106. The monasteries of St. Gereon and St. Severin were not yet included. That would happen later on in the 12th century.

The area in red is the former Roman city area. The yellow-ish segments are the new areas that were added in 1106.