Raven Guides: Germany - Cologne

Roman life from
the ground:
Right, the
excavated
Dionysius
mosaic in
the Römisch-
Germanisches
Museum; below,
the Praetorium,
and, lower
right. the
sewer of the
Roman city.
The Renaissance Zeughaus (1602) was built using the
Roman north wall as its south side and shows
characteristic period stepped gables, an octagonal tower
and ornate portal. It served until 1792 as the city
armoury and later was similarly used the Prussian army.
It was destroyed in World War II but rebuilt in the 1950s
and reopened as Cologne’s city museum (see Museums).
The fountain to the east (1915) used Roman tower
footings and remains of the Roman wall stretch west
along Burgmauer. Take U5 to Appellhofplatz/Zeughaus
or U3, 4, 16 or 18 to Appellhofplatz/Breite Straße.
The Basilika St Gereon (1227) at the corner of
Gereonstraße and Christophstraße is a Romanesque
adaption with a large oval dome on a complex plan
with origins in a 4th century mausoleum. Roman period
stone and walls were reused in the medieval structure,
which includes galleries. St Gereon, from Cologne, was
a leading figure of the 3rd century story of the Theban
Legion, whose martyrs were worshipped on the site, and
his relics were unearthed in 1121. There are valuable
mosaics and the early 11th century St Gereon tapestry
that formerly hung inside is the oldest known to survive
in Europe: portions are in museums in Nuremberg and
Berlin. The full church (Tu-F 10-12, 15-17, Sa 10-12) is
open limited hours, the vestibule M-Su 10-18.
The surviving tower known simply as Römerturm
was the north-west tower of the Roman town wall,
which today is incorporated into a building at the
west end of Zeughausstraße between Am Römerturm
and St-Apern-Straße. The stones of the tower, which
was fought around during the last street battles of
World War II, preserve their almost mosaic
appearance. Parts of the north wall stretch back
toward the cathedral along Burgmauer, where
remains of a fountain have been incorporated around
Appellhofplatz. Part of the so-called Helenenturm are
to the south, on the north side of Helenenstraße. Take
U5 to Appellhofplatz/Zeughaus or U3, 4, 16 or 18 to
Appellhofplatz/Breite Straße.
international services (including France, Italy,
eastern Europe and the Balkans).
Eurolines has daily buses to and from
Rotterdam (via Amsterdam and The Hague),
Brussels and Paris. There is a Eurolines-
Deutsche Touring office (M-F 7.30-19, Sa
7.30-14, Su 8-14) at Breslauer Platz. Berlin
Linien Bus has daily services to and from
Hannover and Frankfurt (with connections to
Nuremberg and Stuttgart) and runs four times
daily to Hamburg.
Both BLB and Eurolines have daily Berlin
services. Eurolines runs Cologne-Hamburg
(via Bremen or Hannover) three times each
daily and to Düsseldorf and Frankfurt five
times daily.
FlixBus services direct to Cologne (using
the Köln/Messe Deutz rail station) include
Frankfurt-Würzburg-Nuremberg (three times
daily, including stops at Frankfurt airport and
connections to Munich), Düsseldorf-Bremen-
Hamburg (three times daily), Dortmund-
Hannover-Berlin (twice daily) and Mainz
(once or twice daily).
MeinFernbus has direct services to
Düsseldorf and Dortmund (two or three times
daily), Berlin (two or three times daily),
Stuttgart and Munich (twice daily) and
Freiburg.
ADAC Postbus has rolled out Munich (via
Stuttgart or Nuremberg) and Berlin services.
Cruise ships: KD Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt
services between Mainz and Cologne from
late April to early October are scenic routes
offering castles (especially between Mainz
and Koblenz) and vineyards at a photographic
pace. It is possible to reach Koblenz or
Rüdesheim (or Mainz Jul-Aug M-Su, Sepearly
Oct Th-Su) upstream.
Between Bonn and Koblenz (5½ hours)
twice-weekly cruises operate in July and
August, with the possibility of picking up an
onward cruise to Rüdesheim or Mainz the
same day. From Koblenz, travellers can reach
Bonn (3½ hours) to link up with regional trains
to Cologne. For more details of Cologne-Bonn
services see Cruises below. KD cruises depart
near Fischmarkt.
Urban transit: The website of Kölner
Verkehrs-Betriebe (www.kvb-koeln.de) has
information in English on tickets and prices
in the tabs at left. There are five KVB
KundenCenter service centres (see Quick
guide above). The central one is at Neumarkt
U-Bahn station on the mezzanine in Hugo
Passage; another is on the Wienerplatz
U-Bahn station mezzanine in Mülheim. KVB
ticket counters (M-Th 7-20.30, F 7-21, Sa
8.30-20.30, Su 12-20) are in the U-Bahn passage
of the Dom/Hauptbahnhof underground
U-Bahn station. Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg
(VRS) is the regional transport coordinator
and determines fares. The VRS information
number (tel 01803-504030) can provide basic
network information.
The network consists of U-Bahn (in
Cologne termed the Stadtbahn, basically a
light rail network with underground segments)
and buses. The U-Bahn and a handful of buses
service the inner city. The U-Bahn also runs
to nearby Bonn (direct via U16 or U18, 50 or
62 minutes), as do DB regional trains. S-Bahn
services come into their own between centres,
although S-Bahn services are not available
between Cologne and Bonn. S13 runs between
Cologne and Cologne-Bonn airport, as do DB
regional trains.
RAVEN TRAVEL GUIDES GERMANY - Cologne 5