At Home in Cologne
The German Köln (until 1919 also Cöln, in ancient times Colonia, under the Romans originally Oppidum Ubiorum, then CCAA, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium and in the Rhineland dialect, ‚Kölle‘) is Germany’s fourth largest city and the biggest city in Northrhine-Westphalia.
The city is known worldwide due to its 2000 year old history, its cultural and architectural heritage and its significant international events. Cologne is the oldest of Germany’s large cities. The city’s name, in Roman times Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (CCAA), derives from the Roman empress, Agrippina, wife of the Roman emperor, Claudius. She was born here and gave the Ubier settlement, Oppidum Ubiorum, the status of a city in 50 AD. In Roman times it became the governor’s seat for the province, Germania Inferior.