Lintgasse is an alley (German : Gasse) in the Old town of Cologne, Germany between the two squares of Alter Markt and Fischmarkt. It is a pedestrian zone and only some 130 metres long, nevertheless famous for its medieval history.
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road, or a path, walk, or avenue in a park or garden.
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 (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also 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.
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are many places throughout the world referred to as the old town. This is a list of some famous old towns:
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The Lintgasse was first mentioned in the 12th century as »in Lintgazzin«, which may have derived from basketmakers described, weaving fish baskets out of Linden tree barks. These craftsmen were called »Lindslizer«, meaning Linden splitter. During the Middle Ages, the area was also known as »platēa subri« or »platēa suberis«, meaning street of Quercus suber .
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages.
Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period.
Lintgasse 8 to 14 used to be homes of medieval knights as still can be seen by signs like »Zum Huynen«, »Zum Ritter« or »Zum Gir«. At Lintgasse 15 once stood the Parish of St. Brigiden, which became an elementary school during the 19th century. During this time, the Lintgasse was called »Stink-Linkgaß«, as the alley was unpopular for its poor air quality.
A knight is a man granted an honorary title of knighthood by a monarch, bishop or other political or religious leader for service to the monarch or a Christian church, especially in a military capacity.
Lintgasse 9 has a passage to the nearby Great St. Martin Church. On the corner of Alter Markt and Lintgasse stands the listed Gaffel-Haus »Zur Brezel«. The brewhouse is a 7-storey Dutch Renaissance townhouse, built in 1213 but substantially extended in 1580. The building was a significant place in the history of Cologne and only converted into a beer house in the late 19th century.
A townhouse, townhome, or town house as used in North America, Asia, Australia, South Africa and parts of Europe, is a type of terraced housing. A modern town house is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In British usage, the term originally referred to the city residence of someone whose main or largest residence was a country house.
Most of the city was destroyed in the bombing of Cologne in World War II, so it was of limited importance in post-war West Germany. It had returned to its pre-war population by 1959, by which time Düsseldorf was the political center of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Bonn was the (provisional) capital of the Federal Republic. In the late 20th century, Cologne grew into a center of the sprawling Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area, with some 12 million inhabitants, just over one million of whom live in Cologne proper, making the city the fourth largest in Germany.
