Haben Germanen oder Römer Köln in der Antike gegründet?

Cologne, today a city with a million inhabitants and the fourth largest city in Germany, has been an economic and cultural metropolis for centuries. It is also the largest education and research center in western Germany. But did you really know that Cologne was founded more than 2000 years ago? Because every city starts small. Archeology shows the first traces in the current urban space. These are visible legacies of ancient cultures, for example tools, coins, containers, but also the foundations of houses. In the Colonia area, hand axes have been found that are attributed to the Paleolithic. They are only an indication that there were already people here then, but they do not represent proof of a real settlement.

However, a find in today's Lindenthal is different. The plans of about 100 Neolithic houses were found here. Unlike archaeology, history explains the origins of a city based on written records. The Romans left us the first written references to Cologne. The history of the city begins here. More precisely with the Romans and the Ubii tribe. The Ubii were a Germanic tribe and, according to Gaius Julius Caesar, civilized. Because they were friendly to the Romans. They also helped the Romans, for example, by exploring other tribes. In doing so, they incurred the wrath of the other Germanic peoples, but their friendship with the Romans would later benefit them.

In 19 BC, the Romans expelled all the tribes from the left bank of the Rhine, but they needed to secure their dominance in this area and needed help to develop the infrastructure. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was governor of Gaul at the time. He now needed women and men who wanted to settle in the area permanently and adopt the Roman way of life. The Ubians seemed suited for this because they were being fought by other Germanic tribes. The Romans gave them a new tribal area on the left bank of the Rhine. Where the Alter Markt and the Heumarkt are today, the Oppium Ubiorum, the settlement of Ubier, was founded.

But around the year nine AD. C., the Germanic tribes decided to work together to counteract further Roman expansion into their tribal territory. The battle of Varus followed. For three days, the Germans took advantage of their local knowledge and attacked again and again. The terrain was very unfavorable for the Romans. Their movement extended for 15 kilometers and they had no way to form a strong and combative formation. They were defenseless against the Germanic tribes in the forest and swamp areas. The Romans lost between 15 and 20,000 men. After this devastating defeat, they temporarily halted their efforts to further expand their empire on the right bank of the Rhine.

They retreated across the Rhine, which represented a natural border of their empire. The Oppidum Ubiorum was reinforced with two legions and served as headquarters. A few years later an important woman was born in the Oppidum Ubiorum. Agrippina the Younger, daughter of Germanicus, would play an important role for Cologne. But before that, the settlement underwent further development. The legions stationed here were withdrawn and relocated to other locations. Thus, the Oppidum Ubiorum only served as the headquarters of the commander-in-chief. You could say it became civilized. Agrippina, now 35, had a career in Roman politics that Rome had never experienced before.

She comes from the Julier family. The lineage of this family dates back to Aeneas, great hero of the Trojan War. According to legend, Aeneas' mother was the goddess Venus. Agrippina was the second woman to receive the title of Augusta. A title that came with a lot of power. The future emperor Nero emerged from her first marriage. Her third marriage was to her uncle Claudius, who was the Roman emperor at the time. To do this, it was necessary to modify a Roman law that prohibited marriage between uncle and niece. In reality, Claudio had a biological successor. But here Agrippina skillfully played her son Nero in the foreground.

Thus he became the next emperor of Rome. From the sources we have we can see that her brother Caligula and her second husband were murdered. It is very likely that Agrippina was involved. She was very attached to the place of her birth. She was able to persuade her husband Claudius to grant the Oppidum Ubiorum Roman city rights. Colonia, or as it was then called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, a Claudian colony and place of sacrifice of the Agrippins, officially became a Roman city. The current name Cologne is derived from Cologne. Only a few decades passed before it was named the capital of the province of Lower Germania.

Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium became one of the most important economic cities in the province. The favorable location on the banks of the Rhine and the trade routes to the city favored this development. Now construction work on the city wall around Cologne began. The wall was two and a half meters thick, 8 meters high and its total length was 3900 meters. It was also fortified with nine gates and 19 round towers. The wall protected the city on three sides. The fourth side was protected by the Rhine. Therefore, we can show that Cologne had approximately one square kilometer of area at that time.

The Roman Empire experienced a period of stability and Cologne also experienced a period of peace for several centuries. It won't be exciting again until the year 260. It was a time of discord in the Roman Empire. There is talk of the state crisis of the third century. Postumus, the general of a legion stationed in Lower Germany, was proclaimed the new man of honor, Augustus, by his legionnaires. The Gallic Empire emerged with Cologne as its capital. So he now ruled Gaul as a soldier emperor independent of Rome. This special empire was unstable and experienced several changes in power during its 14 years of existence.

Until it was finally reconquered by Rome. The Germanic tribes took advantage of this weakness and invaded the empire several times. Cologne was not spared from this either and was sacked and devastated by the Germanic tribes around 274 AD. To counter these raids, Emperor Constantine decided in 310 that the city needed to be better protected. He had Fort Divitia built on the other side of the Rhine. Today's Deutz. The castellum was connected to the city through a wooden bridge. This bridge was the first permanent bridge over the Rhine. The military camp was not only intended to demonstrate the power of the Romans, but also allowed troops to be quickly deployed to the other side of the Rhine and act much more quickly against the Germanic tribes.

Another century passes in Cologne. During this time the first Christian church was built under the direction of the Bishop of Colonia Maternus. It is no longer clear where the church was built. The power of the Romans will decrease more and more. Once again torn by internal conflicts, the empire begins to collapse. Until the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476. The city of Cologne will soon have to submit to new rulers.