Koln germany flood series#

Work on the church had started in 1248 when the city wanted to build the largest Gothic cathedral of all. Köln’s landmark, the “Kölner Dom”, was severely damaged during the war. More than 5,000 of such memorials can now be found all over Germany. The stones were put outside the houses of Jews, gypsies and other Nazi victims. Demnig replaced the ordinary cobblestones on the pavements, putting in their place stones bearing a simple inscription.

Koln germany flood series#

In 1993, artist Gunter Demnig created a series of Stolpersteine (“stumbling blocks”) to commemorate Köln’s residents murdered by the Nazi regime. Thus, Köln today is characterized by simple and modest post-war buildings. The reconstruction of the city followed the architectural style of the 1950s. This loss was mainly caused by a massive evacuation of the residents to more rural areas. The Horrors of Warīy the end of World War II 95% of Köln’s downtown had been destroyed and its population had fallen from 800,000 to around 40,000. University of Cologne was established in 1388 and is today Germany’s largest university with an enrollment of 45,000 students. Köln is also home to one of Europe’s oldest universities. The 2000-year old city was founded by the Romans and is Germany’s oldest major city. Only several additional inches in the flood peak level would have drowned major parts of the historic downtown necessitating the evacuation of about 100, 000 inhabitants. The 1993 flood caused damages of 100 million dollars. The city is regularly affected by flooding from the river and is considered Europe’s most flood-prone metropolis.