1900) 370,685; (1905)
428,503, of which about 80% are Roman Catholics. It lies in the form of
a vast semicircle on the left bank of the Rhine, 44 m. by rail
north-east from Aix-la-Chapelle, 24 south-east from Dusseldorf and 57
north-north-west from Coblenz. Its situation on the broad and navigable
Rhine, and at the centre of an extensive network of railways, giving it
direct communication with all the important cities of Europe, has
greatly fostered its trade, while its close proximity to the beautiful
scenery of the Rhine, has rendered it a favourite tourist resort. When
viewed from a distance, especially from the river, the city, with its
medieval towers and buildings, the whole surmounted by the majestic
cathedral, is picturesque and imposing. The ancient walls and ditches,
which formerly environed the city, were dismantled between 1881 and
1885, and the site of the old fortifications, bought from the government
by the municipality, were converted into a fine boulevard, the Ring,
nearly 4 m. long. Beyond the Ring, about 1/2 m. farther out, a new
continuous line of wall fortifications, with outlying clusters of
earthworks and forts, has since been erected; 1000 acres, now occupied
by handsome streets, squares and two public parks, were thus added to
the inner town, almost doubling its area.

Cologne is connected by bridges with the suburb of Deutz. Within the
outer municipal boundary are included (besides Deutz) the suburbs of
Bayenthal, Lindenthal, Ehrenfeld, Nippes, Sulz, Bickendorf, Niehl and
Poll, protected by another widely extended circle of detached forts on
both banks of the Rhine. Of the former city gates four have been
retained, restored and converted into museums: the Severin gate, on the
south, contains the geological section of the natural history museum;
the Hahnen gate, on the west, is fitted as the historical and
antiquarian museum of the city; and the Eigelstein gate, on the north,
accommodates the zoological section of the natural history museum.

Cologne, with the tortuous, narrow and dark streets and lanes of the old
inner town, is still regarded as one of the least attractive capital
cities of Germany; but in modern times it has been greatly improved, and
the evil smells which formerly characterized it have yielded to proper
sanitary arrangements. The most important squares are the Domhof, the
Heumarkt, Neumarkt, Alte Markt and Waidmarkt in the old inner, and the
Hansa-platz in the new inner town