Cologne sewerage system

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The "Chandelier Hall" Kronleuchtersaal03.jpg
The "Chandelier Hall"

The sewerage system of Cologne is part of the water infrastructure serving Cologne, Germany. Originally built by the Roman Empire in the 1st century, the city's sewer system was modernised in the late 19th century. Parts of the subterranean network are opened for public tours, and the unusual Chandelier Hall (German : Kronleuchtersaal) hosts jazz and classical music performances.

Cologne City in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Cologne is the largest city of Germany's most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth most populous city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. With slightly over a million inhabitants within its city boundaries, Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine and also the most populous city both of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, which is Germany's largest and one of Europe's major metropolitan areas, and of the Rhineland. Centered on the left bank of the Rhine, Cologne is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia's capital of Düsseldorf and 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Bonn. It is the largest city in the Central Franconian and Ripuarian dialect areas.

Roman Empire Period of Imperial Rome following the Roman Republic (27 BC–476 AD)

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome, consisting of large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean sea in Europe, North Africa and West Asia ruled by emperors. From the accession of Caesar Augustus to the military anarchy of the third century, it was a principate with Italy as metropole of the provinces and its city of Rome as sole capital. The Roman Empire was then ruled by multiple emperors and divided into a Western Roman Empire, based in Milan and later Ravenna, and an Eastern Roman Empire, based in Nicomedia and later Constantinople. Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until 476 AD, when it sent the imperial insignia to Constantinople following the capture of Ravenna by the barbarians of Odoacer and the subsequent deposition of Romulus Augustus. The fall of the Western Roman Empire to Germanic kings, along with the hellenization of the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire, is conventionally used to mark the end of Ancient Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

German language West Germanic language

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol in Italy, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and Liechtenstein. It is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages that are most similar to the German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch, including Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

Contents

History

Remaining section of a Roman sewer in Cologne Roman sewer Cologne.jpg
Remaining section of a Roman sewer in Cologne
A tunnel for surface water Kronleuchtersaal06.jpg
A tunnel for surface water

The first sewers in Cologne were built by the Romans in the 1st century, and there was little change for 1,800 years. As the population of the city was rapidly increasing throughout the 19th century, it became apparent that the existing sewerage system was unable to cope with the volume of waste that was being produced. Raw sewage was directed to the Rhine river, causing significant problems with disease and odor. [1] English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in 1828 that the city had "two and seventy stenches, all well defined, and several stinks!" [1] [2]

Rhine River in Western Europe

The Rhine is one of the major European rivers, which has its sources in Switzerland and flows in a mostly northerly direction through Germany and the Netherlands, emptying into the North Sea. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps, forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein, Swiss-Austrian, Swiss-German and then the Franco-German border, then flows through the German Rhineland and the Netherlands and eventually empties into the North Sea.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge English poet, literary critic and philosopher

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He also shared volumes and collaborated with Charles Lamb, Robert Southey, and Charles Lloyd. He wrote the poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, as well as the major prose work Biographia Literaria. His critical work, especially on William Shakespeare, was highly influential, and he helped introduce German idealist philosophy to English-speaking culture. Coleridge coined many familiar words and phrases, including suspension of disbelief. He had a major influence on Ralph Waldo Emerson and on American transcendentalism.

Paris, London, and other large cities saw an investment in their sewerage system during the 1850s. The people of Cologne had to wait until 1890 for modern sewers to finally open in their city, led by architects Johann Stübben and Carl Steuernagel. By 1900 the boroughs of Deutz, Nippes, and Ehrenfeld were all connected to the system. A mechanised waste water plant opened in 1905 and five purification plants now filter the water before releasing it into the Rhine. [1] [3] By 1933 the length of the system measured 735 kilometres (457 mi), [3] and by 2011 it had expanded to 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi). [4]

Deutz, Cologne city quarter No. 105 of Cologne, Germany

Cologne-Deutz, often just Deutz is an inner city part of Cologne, Germany and a formerly independent town.

Nippes, Cologne 5th District of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Nippes is the fifth city district of Cologne, Germany. Nippes was incorporated into the city of Cologne in 1888 and the district was created in 1975. A large Ford Europe production plant is located in Niehl, the north-eastern part of the district.

Ehrenfeld, Cologne 4th District of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Ehrenfeld is a city district (Stadtbezirk) of the City of Cologne in Germany. It includes the seven quarters Bickendorf, Bocklemünd, Mengenich, Ehrenfeld, Neuehrenfeld, Ossendorf and Vogelsang. It has about 104.509 inhabitants and covers an area of 23.83 square kilometres. The district borders with the Cologne districts of Chorweiler to the North, Nippes and Innenstadt to the East and Lindenthal to the South-West.

Notable features and tourism

The twelve-arm electric chandelier Kronleuchtersaal02.jpg
The twelve-arm electric chandelier

The sewers are opened to the public seven times each year, once a month from March to September, giving the public the opportunity to tour the subterranean network. Tours begin underneath the Neustadt-Nord district in the Regenentlastungbauwerk (storm-water overflow structure), a former harbour created during French occupation of the city. [1] Part of the old Roman sewer system is preserved and features in tours. [5] [6] Sections of these old constructions were used for some time as cellars and, during World War II, as air-raid shelters. [5]

An unusual feature of the system is the Kronleuchtersaal (Chandelier Hall). In order to impress German Emperor Wilhelm II chandeliers were installed in the ceiling, though he was unable to attend the opening ceremony. In 1990 a single electric chandelier was installed. The room has hosted jazz and classical music concerts to audiences of up to 50 people. [1] [4] A stone plaque in the room records the names of the architects and Wilhelm von Becker, the then-mayor of Cologne. [1] The area is listed as being protected. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Duncan JD (Spring 2011). "Cologne's subterranean chandelier" (PDF). Hidden Europe. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Epigrams. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)". Bartleby.com. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Geschichte (History)" (in German). Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Tag10: Der Kronleuchter-Saal in der Kölner Kanalisation (Day 10: The chandelier hall in Cologne sewer)" (in German). 13 December 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Roman Sewer". Museen Koeln. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Guided Tours in Cologne and Surroundings" . Retrieved 14 September 2013.

Coordinates: 50°57′02″N6°57′48″E / 50.95056°N 6.96333°E / 50.95056; 6.96333

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