Cologne

The Free City of **Cologne** (= latin "colony") is located in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, directly on the great river Rhine, where it is enthroned on a natural terrace above the river. Here the Romans built a mighty fortress city to dominate the subjugated Germanic tribes in the area and to bring them the culture of the Romans. The core walls of the old city date from this time, the large bridge over the Rhine and even parts of the old residential fortress are still preserved. Cologne later became one of the most important cities in the Franconian Empire. And although the city experienced a lot of suffering and misery over the centuries, it continued to flourish. Today, Cologne is one of the largest and most powerful cities of the Holy Roman Empire and also an electoral residence.

"Cologne" is a rather big map with four city districts and four villages.

## Geography

The landscape is dominated by the river Rhine, which cuts the map into half. The main city and two of the villages are located on the west side of the river. The city district Deutz, and two other villages are on the east. Only a single large bridge connects the two parts.

The Old Town has a wall of its own, overlooking the river. The same goes for Deutz, which formerly was a city of its own right. So, the two of them look like two equally sized twins, interconnected by the bridge.

Historically, there was no bridge existant in the middle ages, because the former Roman bridge fell in disrepair and was demolished, later bridges were built centuries later. ... but the game wouldn't work without it, or if ferries would be added.

The Old Town is completely encircled by the two suburbs, which are shielded by a second wall from the surroundings. Two villages on each side of the river complete the map.

## City Districts

### Old Town

The Old Town (orange) is rather big and the center district of the city. It is enclosed by sturdy city walls to protect it. The Old Town is dominated by the castle "Princely Palace" and the "Cathedral Church of Saint Peter". The district also houses the city hall, a school, the execution site, a market place, and two wells.

### Northern Suburb

The Northern Suburb (magenta) is about the same size and embraces the northern half of the Old Town, including the river bank. The district has its own wall. The main buildings are the church "St. Mary Magdalen" and the arsenal. A market place and two wells complete the district ... except for that secluded little brushwood tucked away under that huge bridge.

### Southern Suburb

The Southern Suburb (yellow) is about same size as the northern one, but this time, embraces the southern half of the Old Town, including the river bank. The district also has its own wall. The main buildings there are the port and the church "The Holy Ghost". In addition, the player finds there a market place and three (!) wells. Hidden away in a corner near the port, there's also a nice fishing spot, where the towns folk may try their luck in the river Rhine.

### Deutz

Deutz (=Roman:Castrum Divitensium - castle of riches) (blue), a former Roman settlement, forms a city of its own, including its own city walls. It is located on the far (eastern) side of the river Rhine. A large bridge connects this distric and the surrounding landscape to the rest of the city.

If the player builts on both sides of the river Rhine, they should be aware, that those multiple river crossings take quite a lot of time, especially because there's only this one bridge on the map.

Deutz is dominated by the church "St. George" and the market place in front of it. Somewhat hidden in the district, there are also two wells and a cemetery.

## Villages

### Niehl

Niehl (yellow, like the southern suburb) is a small village to the north of the main city, on the west side of the river Rhine. Its center is formed by the church "St. Helena", the market place, and a nearby well. In addition, Niehl has also a brushwood and a fishing spot.

### Raderberg

The village of Raderberg (=cleared hill) (green) is directly south of the southern suburb. Except for its church "The Holy Ghost", the nearby market place, and the wishing well, the village has no important buildings. Everything else in the vincinity belongs to the surroundings.

### Buchheim

The village of Buchheim (=home of the beech tree) (pink) is located north-east of Deutz, on the east side of the river Rhine. The inhabitants have to cross the bridge, in order to reach the city, which leads to long journeys.

The center of the village is formed by the church "St. Dominicus", the market place, and a nearby well. In addition, Buchheim has also a cemetery and a mine.

### Urbach

The village of Urbach (=primeval creek) (cyan) is directly south of Deutz, on the east side of the river Rhine. This means the city districts of Cologne are far away, and difficult to reach.

Except for its church "St. Lawrence", the nearby market place, and the well, the village has nothing more of importance to offer. There are, of course, a brushwood and a fishing spot in addition.

## Other Places

### Rhine

The river Rhine is one of the two major rivers in Germany. It is flowing through Cologne, cutting the landscape into half.

The river offers access to the long distance trade routes to Utrecht and Antwerp (north) and Frankfurt (south).

### Surrounding Region

Scattered around the Surrounding Region (grey), many small locations can be found: a mine, two quarries, four cemeteries, three brushwoods, two lumberyards, six groves, and two fishing spots.

It also offers access to the long distance trade routes to Aachen (west), Kassel (east), and Marburg (south-east).

## Trade Routes

The map offers six long distance trade routes to be opened:

* North: to Utrecht (=downriver crossing) via the river Rhine
* North: to Antwerp (=those who live on both banks, uncertain) via the river Rhine
* South: to Frankfurt (=ford of the Franks) via the river Rhine
* West: to Aachen (=river, stream) via road
* East: to Kassel (=castle of the Chatti, uncertain) via road
* South-east: to Marburg (=border castle, uncertain) via road

## Additional information

* Find out more about Cologne on Wikipedia.

Cologne was last edited for version 1.0.4.

Cologne was last edited for version 1.0.4.