f the patrician
family of the Overstolzens, a beautiful building dating from the 13th
century, and now the chamber of commerce; the Wallraf-Richartz Museum,
in which is a collection of paintings by old Italian and Dutch masters,
together with some works by modern artists; the Zeughaus, or arsenal,
built on Roman foundations; the Supreme Court for the Rhine provinces;
the post-office (1893); the Imperial Bank (Reichsbank); and the
municipal library and archives. The Wolkenburg, a fine Gothic house of
the 15th century, originally a patrician residence, was restored in
1874, and is now the headquarters of the famous men's choral society of
Cologne (Kolner Mannergesangverein).

A handsome central railway station (high level), on the site of the old
station, and close to the cathedral, was built in 1889-1894. The railway
to Bonn and the Upper Rhine now follows the line of the _ceinture_ of
the new inner fortifications, and on this section there are three city
stations in addition to the central. Like all important German towns,
Cologne contains many fine monuments. The most conspicuous is the
colossal equestrian statue (22-1/2 ft. high) of Frederick William III. of
Prussia in the Heumarkt. There are also monuments to Moltke (1881), to
Count Johann von Werth (1885), the cavalry leader of the Thirty Years'
War, and to Bismarck (1879). Near the cathedral is an archiepiscopal
museum of church antiquities. Cologne is richly endowed with literary
and scientific institutions. It has an academy of practical medicine, a
commercial high school, a theological seminary, four Gymnasia (classical
schools), numerous lower-grade schools, a conservatory of music and
several high-grade ladies' colleges. Of its three theatres, the
municipal theatre (Stadttheater) is famed for its operatic productions.

Commercially, Cologne is one of the chief centres on the Rhine, and has
a very important trade in corn, wine, mineral ores, coals, drugs, dyes,
manufactured wares, groceries, leather and hides, timber, porcelain and
many other commodities. A large new harbour, with spacious quays, has
been constructed towards the south of the city. In 1903, the traffic of
the port amounted to over one million tons. Industrially, also, Cologne
is a place of high importance. Of the numerous manufactures, among which
may be especially mentioned sugar, chocolate, tobacco and cigars, the
most famous is the perfume known as _eau de Cologne_ (q.v.) (_Kolnisches
Wasser