Cologne By Night

This is a setting for the gamelines Vampire: The Requiem, Mage: The Awakening & Template:CTL

General information and mundane historyabout the city: Cologne Wikipedia
Cologne is a city rich with a history of unsolved msyteries and corruption.

### Mentality

The city has reputation as beeing carefree, liberal and cosmopolation throughout it´s history - but also a bit superficial.

### Corruption & Crime

Corruption or "Klüngel" as many colognians euphemistically say to the daily exchange of favors is widespread and the oil that keeps the city going - or so many citizen say to themselves. Be it the oversized incineration plant or the colapse of the city archive, which caused the death of two youth. Corruption is not only something that happens to you, but also something you do.

City hall and higher echelons of society are considered corrupt and Cologne is almost every years leading the statistics,

# History of Cologne and what it meant for the supernaturals

### Roman times

ca.
**55-50 BCE**: legions exterminate the celtic ,
who settled in the area, during several revenge campaigns.

ca.
**38 or 19 BCE**: The roman warlord resettled the loyal germanic tribe of the and founded the *Oppidum Ubiorum* at the
location what would eventually become the city of Cologne.

**15/16**
AD**:**
the Younger is born. Future wife of emperor
and mother of .

**50**
AD**: Due to fact that Agrippinas is wife to the emperor the**
Oppidum Ubiorum is renamed into . By this CCAA
becomes promoted to a roman colony - a city under roman law.
In
the next 200 years, Colonia Agrippina will become the biggest roman
city north of the alps.
Some vampire scholars claim that also
broods of roman vampires started to settle in the city. Some mages
claim that many magical secrets are buried in the roman ruins beneath
cologne. During the middle ages several patrician families like the
Overstolz claim that they actually are decended from the first 15
roman families that came.
**70 AD**: City walls are
errected.
**80 AD**: The eifel aqueduct is created.
**89**
AD'*: CCAA becomes capital of the province* germania
inferior
**260-271 AD**: Colonia Agrippina is capital of
the short lived (260-274 AD) „gallic empire“. First regionial
tension between different vampiric domains are reported.
**310**
AD**: Emperor**
constructs the first bridge across the river rhine.
**321 AD**:
Jews are allowed to reside in the city as roman citizen. Many cults
are also known to exist. Cologne is wellknown for the . (Thyrsus) Mages claim this to be
an indicator of mage activity. CoC Vampires claim also this to be a
sign of the presence of their covenant. Some Mekhet point out that
the presence of an Isis-Cult might be an indicator of Mekhet
presence, as many Mekhet scholars claim that the Mekhet clan
originally came from egypt. The mithraic cult has many followers in
Colonia Agrippina. Mage historians argue which order had the most
influence on the cult. Adamantine arrow, Guardians and Silver Ladder
mages claim that the cult is part of their heritage. Nosferatu are
reported. Some mages claim that this was actually a magical dark age,
where practices of the left hand were quite common.
after **274**
AD**: Cologne gets attacked and raided by the germanic Franks**
several times in the next decades and centuries.
**436-445 AD**:
The roman general saves cologne of the invasion of
the huns under Attila. Old textfragment claiming that a member of
„gens gangrae“(old latin for the gangrel clan) took residence in
the city, Also the oldest document that actually refers to vampiric
presence. The legend of is born. The sanctified vampire start to
rise to power.
**459 AD**: Cologne falls finally to the Franks.

### Frank, Merovingian, and Carolingian periods

**500-600 AD**: The Chaos of the
downfall of the roman empire and under rule of the franks, romans
will still speak latin until the end of the 6th century. Nonchristian
religions will still be practiced openly until the end of the 6th
century. Mages claim that a "hermetic order" forms in these
times. Both mysterium and silver ladder mage claim this heritage. .
Also the many mircale working saints makes it easy for mages to hide
magic in plain sight. But mages can´t get hold onto the higher
levels of the catholic church and the bishops of cologne. Sancta
Lancea vampires are said to be deeply involved in the church.

**1164**
AD**: Rainald von Dassel retrieves the Bones of the 3 Magi and**
relocates them to Cologne. Cologne becomes one of the most important
destinations for pilgrims next to Santiago and Rome.
**1248 AD**:
 starts teaching in Cologne. Some mages
claim that he was also one of them. The is founded.
**1288 AD**:
Cologne becomes a free city after the Battle of Worringen, The
Archbishop has to leave the city. „Year of the broken Lance“ -
Carthians and Invictus have festivities while the sanctified remember
the loss of the sanctum and renew their grudges. They create a
Council, where all Covenants have access except for the LS. The
Invictus rule as "patricians" over the council.
**1322**
AD**: The cologne cathedral is consecrated and the relics of the**
Three Kings are transported here. First reportings of "Nullzones".
The Kindred council bans any vampiric activity in the cathedral. The
ban is brutally enforced by invictus and carthians alike.
The
crusades make Cologne a rich city. Flooded with pilgrims, feeding is
simple for one of the most dense vampire domains in all of Europe. As
a leading member of the Hanse, Cologne makes a fortune by trading
with England and selling weapons to the crusaders.
**1349 AD**:
The black plague kills almost 100 Citizen a day. Allmost all jews get
killed during "Plagueprogrom" which were common in many
cities. An elder Mekhet and her brood are slain. The reasons are
unknown today. Especially the LS and the CoC Mekhet remember this
night.
**1388 AD**: Foundation of the University of Cologne.
The fourth university of the Holy Roman Empire. Intellectual Kindred
gather. A cabal of freewilled mages broke of the silver ladder and
the mysterium and form a "Free Cabal". They are revered by
todays Free Council as a founding cabal of the order.
**1396 AD**:
Inspired by the mortals ending the rule of the patricians. Invictus
domination is ended
**1424 AD**: Expulsion of the Jews "for
ever".
**1474 AD**: Treaty of Utrecht. The hanseatic
League wins the war against England. Silver Ladder Mages get more
influential.
**1475 AD**: Cologne gets official
„Reichsfreiheit“ / Imperial immediacy. Carthians gain upper hand
in the Council
**1484 AD**: "The unspeakable, silent sin."
A dying man reports acts of sodomy/homosexual practices in Cologne. A
huge investigation discovers that over 200 famous and influental
citizen are part of this. So, the incident get´s covered up. This
huge breach of the masquerade is coverered up by all the kindred
fevereshly. The covenants get indepted heavily to the LS. A cabal of
Guardians of the Veil take lead and kill several mages who were also
involved with vampires.
**1583-1588 AD**: Cologne War. Puppet
war of the Carthians and Invictus. Many Invictus are killed.
Carthians gain upper hand in the Council.

### French Occupation

**1796 AD**: Annexed by France. Kindred calling
themselves of "Toreador blood" first mentioned.
**1798**
AD**: Univerity of Cologne get´s closed by France, like all the**
french universities.
The ordo dracul manifest itself in Cologne as
a covenant of surprisningly many members of LS and CoC convert to the
order - bringing their secrets into the order. The LS and CoC still
resent this.
**Prussian Occupation**
**1815 AD**:
Cologne and the Rhineland become awarded to Prussia. The city will
keep the french coins until 1848.
**1823 AD**: The prussians
force the founding of an festival organisation for the cologne
carnival. The carnival was always a wild and almost anarchistical
event of the lower classes and better citizen wanted to participate
similiar as in italian customs.
**1842 AD**: Construction of
the Cologne Cathedral is continued after the constrution was halted
in 1530 AD. In the same yearbecame chief editor of a radical
newspaper.
**1880 AD**: Cologne cathedral gets finished after
632 years of construction.
1913 AD:
**1914-1918 AD**: . During the War in 1917 becomes mayor of cologne until 1933.

### Weimar Republic

**1919 AD**: Womens are allowed
to vote for the first time in the national assemby. Refounding of the
University of Cologne. The Carthian manage to stabilize their power
by the "freedom of spirit act". The invictus grudgingly
accepts it. Carthians and invictus allow their members to observe
relgious rituals by the LS and CoC.
**1920-1930´s AD**:
Cologne becomes an important city for music and varietés. The
international Varieté "Kaiserhof" is founded in 1931.

**1930-1933 AD**: Radicalization of politics. Nazi and
communist fight each other more often. 19 people get killed in those
3 years. Shism of the Carthians. The collectivst wing which was
dominant in the movement split´s into "purists" and
"radicals". The infighting lets the invictus get more
influence.

### Third Reich

**1933 AD**: In march the
Nazi win the elections. Mayor Adenauer is forced to leave office. In
summer the terror of the
begins.
**1936 AD**: Wehrmacht ends the occupation of the
rhineland.
**1938 AD**: . Synagogues, houses and shops of
the jews get demolished.
**1939 AD**: Beginning of .
**1940-1941 AD**: Deportation of
about 2000
**1941 AD**: Deportation of jews
started. By the end of the War over 7000 jews of cologne were
deported and killed.
**1942 AD**: . 1000 Bombers of the allies attack
Cologne. Vampires call it the Nights of screaming fire, many kindred
get killed in their tombs in the fires after the attack, blood
sympathy alert many kindred around the globe to the destruction. The
Population drops drastically during the war, as the people flee to
avoid the bombings. Many strange things happen. Mad magicians ally
with SS-troops or are influenced by vampires who thrife on the fact
that people are deported or just never seen again and no mortal dares
to ask. Atrocity is everywhere.
**1945 AD** End of the War.
Hunters clean up the mess. Task Force Valkyrie get´s surprisingly
help by former nazi occult scholars who claim to be "loyal to
thule".

### Post War 1946 AD

The destruction in all over europe destroyed also the infrastructure of
the kindred, especially the invictus and carthians. Many vampires go
soul seeking in the more spiritual covenants. While Invictus and
Carthians start to work together - sometimes just so to preserve the
masquerade. The LC starts to preach against the unholy union of those
covenants. The "Cologne Coterie" will rule with the
submersive power of both covenants. Carthian and invictus ideals
become so widespread that many lower ranking kindred are recognised
in two or even three covenants.

### 1970s AD

A new generation of liberal minded mages experiments heavily with paradox
and vulgar magic in front of sleepers. Somehow the secret is kept.
Occultism and Esoteric practises become again more accepted by many
sleepers. Many strange things happen. Just as society is affected by
cold war, "summer of love", social and technological
progress, also the communities of the supernatural were shaken
up.
**1980s AD** The "Cologne Coterie" almosts breaks
apart, as younger and more idealistic carthians and invictus stop
supporting it. Also the carthian will become a united movement again
and will see no more need to work with the invictus anymore.
**1990s**
AD **The fall of the berlin wall and the end of the cold war is a**
huge oportunity for the invictus and they are able to usurp a lot of
financial influence of the carhians, Also a Ventrue elder of the
invictus awakes from torpor. The times are over that the invictus
needs the carthians to uphold order and the masquerade and they can
follow their true quest: Power.
But as both the carthians and the
invictus forces now more than a lip service for their covenants –
many leave C and I and go to the other ones which already where open
to new followers.
**2000 AD The Covenants – went to a small**
skirmish against each other as each of them wants the power, but
neither side can win. So a prominent member of the OD succesfully
takes the throne by presenting herself as an peace giver.