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Once upon a time... Exciting audio tour through the history of Cologne

von histomich · Köln · 34 Stationen · 90:04 min · 7.23 km · Zu Fuß

1. Brief outline of the history of Cologne

6:24 min · We want to start our tour at one of the oldest places in Cologne. First, I would like to give you a brief outline of the history of Cologne. From...
4 m

2. Römerturm (Roman tower)

2:30 min · It all started with “CCAA”…at least in Cologne… The abbreviation stands for “Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium”, where “Colonia” means Roman colo...
827 m

3. Pfaffenpforte (Römisches Nordtor), Pfaffenpforte (Roman North Gate)

2:06 min · Originally equipped with 3 archways, the north gate, also called the “Pfaffenpforte”, was part of an 11 m long tunnel system in Roman times, throug...
33 m

4. Kölner Dom (Cologne cathedral)

2:34 min · The people of Cologne are also always magically drawn to it, the Cologne Cathedral. It rises majestically right next to the train station and invi...
125 m

5. Dreikönigsschrein (Shrine of the Epiphany)

2:11 min · The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral shines magnificently, and not just at Christmas time. The supposed relics of the Three Kings we...
29 m

6. Gerokreuz

1:31 min · The 2.88 m high “Gero Cross” shines in the Cross Chapel of Cologne Cathedral. It already had its place in the “Old Cathedral” and is dedicated to i...
344 m

7. Heinzelmännchenbrunnen (Heinzelmännchen fountain)

1:29 min · Who wouldn’t want them to come, the elves, to do the housework quietly and secretly at night? The Cologne legend, which was written in 1826 by Col...
387 m

8. WDR

2:42 min · The WDR logo can be seen from afar on one of its 9 main buildings above the North-South route in Cologne. The WDR, a broadcasting company of the AR...
79 m

9. Die Maus (The Mouse)

2:45 min · Over 50 years old and wise from the start…that’s how we know her, the WDR mouse from probably the most famous show on German television. For half a...
84 m

10. 4711

3:07 min · Did “4711” really invent the real cologne, which has been said to have miraculous and healing powers for 300 years, or were product pirates at work...
400 m

11. EL-DE-Haus

2:32 min · It is difficult to imagine that people were imprisoned and tortured in this actually harmonious-looking house for almost 10 years. From December 1,...
627 m

12. Willy Millowitsch

2:23 min · Acting was almost in Willi Millowitsch’s blood. In 1922, at the age of 13, the stage was his profession. In 1940, he took over the Millowitsch Thea...
569 m

13. Hahnentor

1:54 min · It was not the roosters who went through the Cologne Hahnentor, but the kings after their coronation in Aachen, who then made a beeline for the Shr...
371 m

14. Konrad Adenauer

4:44 min · Since July 1995, the city of Cologne has honored its “great” son Konrad Adenauer with this bronze monument. Adenauer has not only rendered great s...
19 m

15. St. Aposteln

2:54 min · If you want to take a short break from the stress of shopping in Cologne, St. Aposteln offers the best opportunity. In St. Aposteln you can escape ...
235 m

16. Neumarkt

2:48 min · The Neumarkt in Cologne can tell of a very eventful history: As the name suggests, from 1076 onwards it was used to “relieve” the “Alter Markt” an...
348 m

17. Schildergasse/Antoniterkirche

3:23 min · It was not the numerous advertising signs above or in front of the shops in Schildergasse that gave the street its name. It was the sign and coat o...
479 m

18. Farina Duftmuseum (Farina Fragrance Museum)

2:43 min · Only genuine with a red tulip, for purity and quality…that’s what the Farina house guarantees for its “Eau de Cologne”. Wait a minute, isn’t there...
15 m

19. Jüdisches Viertel (Jewish Quarter)

4:13 min · The “Black Death”, as the plague was reverently called in the late Middle Ages, did not stop at Cologne either. The wealthy citizens in particular ...
205 m

20. Gürzenich

1:54 min · The Cologne Gürzenich has already seen a number of celebrities… The reception of Charles V after his coronation as emperor in 1520, the announcemen...
5 m

21. Kölner Karneval (Cologne Carnival)

2:54 min · Cologne can look back on more than 200 years of carnival history, although people had already celebrated exuberantly on the eve of Lent in the Midd...
133 m

22. Reiterdenkmal (equestrian monument)

2:12 min · Seven sculptors were involved in completing the bronze equestrian monument as it stands today on the Heumarkt. The sculpture, which stands on a pe...
55 m

23. Heumarkt

2:04 min · The Heumarkt owes its name to the earlier trade in hay, which was sold here alongside grain, fish and vegetables. It wasn’t long before rich merch...
129 m

24. Hänneschen Theater

2:13 min · The Hänneschen Theater moved 17 times within Cologne until it reached its current location on the Eisenmarkt in the old town. It was founded in 18...
97 m

25. Grinköpfe (grinning heads)

1:20 min · It’s a little scary in Cologne’s old town when you see the so-called “grinheads” on some of the house facades. According to legend, these stone fa...
372 m

26. Rathaus (City hall)

2:33 min · Every hour on the hour, the “Platzjabbek” sticks out his tongue at the Cologne town hall tower, the “floppy hat” only wants to show self-confidence...
132 m

27. Tünnes und Schäl

3:19 min · How many jokes have been told over the past 170 years about these two Cologne originals: Tünnes and Schäl. The two never actually existed in real l...
41 m

28. Groß St. Martin

2:01 min · Where Roman warehouses once stood, a Benedictine monastery was built in the Middle Ages in honor of Martin of Tours. The monastery was the predeces...
80 m

29. Alter Markt

2:04 min · The “Alter Markt” was mentioned in the Cologne chronicles around 150 years before the Neumarkt. In the old days, the area here was very swampy, an...
22 m

30. Jan von Werth

2:28 min · “Griet, if she had done it!” “Jan, if he had known!” This is the legend of Jan, the glorious cavalry general and Griet, the market woman. On the A...
365 m

31. Stapelhaus (stacking house)

1:46 min · For a whole 3 days, goods that were transported by ship had to be offered for sale to the people of Cologne, a clear advantage for the trading metr...
31 m

32. Rheinschifffahrt (Rhine shipping)

2:44 min · If Cologne and Düsseldorf appear together in the name, there must be a historical reason for it. But joking aside: The Cologne-Düsseldorfer, also a...
246 m

33. Hohenzollernbrücke (Hohenzollern Bridge)

2:35 min · The Prussians had themselves immortalized with four equestrian statues on Cologne’s Hohenzollern Bridge: Emperor Wilhelm II ceremoniously inaugurat...
339 m

34. Hauptbahnhof/Alter Wartesaal (central station/old waiting room)

3:04 min · It is hard to imagine that there used to be a botanical garden on the site of today’s Cologne Central Station. In 1857, construction work began on...

10. 4711

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3:07
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4711

Did “4711” really invent the real cologne, which has been said to have miraculous and healing powers for 300 years, or were product pirates at work here?

It is certain that Wilhelm Mülhens, the company founder, used the name of the “Farina” family, which had been producing scented and medicinal water in Cologne since 1709, in his company name from 1803 onwards.

Because Napoleon decreed in 1810 that the recipes for ingestible medicinal water should be disclosed, the Mülhens family only produced scented water from then on.

He is said to have received the recipe as a gift from a member of the Farina family.

For several decades, the Farina family therefore brought plagiarism proceedings against Mülhens, which Farina finally won in 1881: “Farina” was no longer allowed to appear in the company name. Since then, the brand “4711”, as the very first house number of the company headquarters in Cologne’s Glockengasse, has stood for many things that are supposed to smell very good.

The house was originally located elsewhere on the street and was given the number 12 in 1811 when the French occupiers began to stringently number the streets.

In 1854, the company moved to Glockengasse 26-28, and after its destruction in the Second World War, the company headquarters were built at its current location at Glockengasse 4.

In the 20th century, “4711” really took off and produced some of the best perfumes of the time, with the perfumes making it to imperial and royal courts all over the world.

During the economic miracle, sales of “4711” or “Tosca” to the average consumer also took off. The Mülhens family did not cover themselves in glory during the Nazi era or in the post-war period: This led to rifts throughout the family and ultimately to the sale of the company in 1994.

Today the “4711” brand is owned by “Mäurer & Wirtz” and can be found on many more products, such as shower gel, aftershave, etc.
It is said that a bottle of “4711” is sold every 5 seconds in the world.
Here in the “47 11” house in Cologne you can discover and experience the world and history of fragrances as part of a guided tour.

The Cologne band “Klüngelköpp” dedicated a song to the perfume a few years ago

*Now we are about to deal with the darkest chapter of German and Cologne history. Follow us to the EL-DE-Haus, the former Gestapo headquarters in Cologne. *

Image source 1. Image: By © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16828818

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