The love locks of the Hohenzollern Bridge and a fountain for the "Heinzelmännchen"

Hi guys!
Today I want to tell you about my trip to Cologne, which was a while ago. I visited a friend there and was quite happy to finally be able to enjoy a bit of a semester break. On that day, my friend and I had a date with another friend, and we met at the Hohenzollern Bridge, where I had to take a few photos right away: For years, there has been a custom in Cologne: couples in love hang a small padlock on the Hohenzollern Bridge - from which you also have a perfect view of Cologne Cathedral. It's a kind of token of love, and the bridge is now fully decorated with lots of padlocks of different sizes and colours. Many of them have the first two letters of the couple's name and a heart written on them, as well as a date. The key is traditionally thrown into the Rhine together.






Initially, Deutsche Bahn (the company whose trains cross this bridge) was planning to take the locks down again, but then the many fans of the tradition changed their minds. Allegedly, the many locks would put too much strain on the bridge. Nowadays, many tourists come to the bridge, not only to get a nice view of the cathedral, but also to visit the many castles. Where exactly the tradition comes from is unclear. I once read that the custom probably originated in Rome.




From the bridge you can see the crane houses (on the right of the picture, a little further in the background). They are located at the Rheinauhafen in the Altstadt-Süd.


There are three railway tracks on the Hohenzollern Bridge and a pedestrian and a cycle path next to it. If you take the train into Cologne, you already have a great view of Cologne Cathedral. The bridge is even the busiest railway bridge in Germany.


The view from the Hohenzollern Bridge

On the other side of the Rhine
On the other side of the Rhine are nice seating areas from which you have a good view over the Rhine and can relax. When we were there, it was relatively empty, but in summer it's very busy! My friends told me that there are a lot of young people here. It would be a popular meeting place then.


As you can see, Cologne can also be observed from the water. However, it was too cold for us, so we didn't take advantage of this opportunity, but it's certainly great in the summer. My friend said you even have the option of going to Düsseldorf.





After crossing the bridge, we passed Cologne Cathedral - for my friends it was everyday life, but for me it was something special. Unfortunately, I only took 2 pictures, but they should not be missing from my post about Cologne!
You may be wondering why Cologne Cathedral is so dark - photographed against the sun it looks almost black. Heinrich Heine once said that the cathedral was "devilishly black". And the cathedral was not always so dark - when it was consecrated, the front of the two twin towers was still quite bright. The reason for the colouring is probably the Hohenzollern Bridge - it was built too close to the cathedral, so that it darkened over time. But it will not be painted off because it would be too complicated and therefore too expensive. Besides, it would probably look spotty in the end, because different types of stone were used and thus different shades of colour would appear. And despite or perhaps precisely because of its dark colour: For me, it is unique and beautiful as it is!:) What do you think?



My friend definitely wanted to show me the Gothic town hall in Cologne: It is the oldest town hall in Germany and is located right in the centre of the city. Located on Ratshausplatz, it is directly between Judengasse and Bürgergasse. As you can see, there is a building site there that belongs to the Jewish Museum. Cologne's Council House consists of two parts, so to speak: One is the historic Ratshaus and the other is the Spanish building opposite. To visit the building, you have to book a guided tour in advance. The centrepiece is the Hansa Hall, which burnt out completely during the Second World War and had to be restored afterwards. Today, it serves as a representative venue; back then, it was used for court proceedings, among other things.




If you read my post about the Brownies Christmas Market, you might remember them. The legend about them inspired the poet August Kopisch and he dedicated a poem to them: "Die Heinzelmännchen zu Cölln". This fountain was donated on the centenary of August Kopisch's birth by Edmund and Heinrich Renard (father and son).

The fountain even survived the Second World War unscathed, but over the years it lost more and more of its substance. This is mainly due to the material it is made of: Heilbronn sandstone, which has a relatively high clay content. It wears out more and also suffers from the air right in the centre of Cologne. A brewery took over the sponsorship years ago and had it restored. The relief panels are now copies and the originals can still be seen in the Cologne City Museum.

The inscription "Neugierig war das Schneiders Weib" ("Curious was the tailor's wife") was left in the original, however, and is therefore more difficult to recognise today.



For me, Cologne stands for openness and tolerance: according to the principle: "Levve und levve losse" - in other words, live and let live, everyone in Cologne is allowed to be who they are. And of course, Kölsch beer is a must - I had already tried the hoppy drink a while before this visit and must say it tastes very good!
I hope you enjoyed my post on Cologne, maybe you'll visit Cologne with your loved one sometime and also put a little castle on the Hohenzollern Bridge. I think I will definitely pay Cologne a visit this year. I hope you all had a good start to the week!:)