Approaching Cologne

Kiechel recorded that when he and his companions were about one mile from Cologne, they passed through a small settlement. Its inhabitants warned the travellers that Schenck’s mercenaries had come from Neuss and passed through the area in the morning. Worried that the mercenaries might attack them if they did not reach the safety of Cologne by nightfall, the travellers urged their horses and hurried on. Kiechel noted that they were in such a fearful haste that everyone charged ahead without looking out for their companions. However, everyone arrived safely in Cologne in the evening.

In Cologne

The thick walls of Cologne provided a welcome refuge to Samuel Kiechel after crossing the war-torn Low Countries. The ancient city offered some respite and, given the time of year, a place to warm himself again. Christmas was approaching, but our traveller had to consider new companions and the journey back to Hamburg.

Kiechel described Cologne as a large, fortified, densely populated city with many Dutch migrants fleeing the conflict in the Netherlands. The city was longer than it was wide. Much trade was taking place due to Cologne’s strategic position on the Rhine River. The city’s houses were tall, large, solid, and built of stone. Kiechel heard that Cologne had as many churches as there were days in the year.

For many migrants fleeing the Eighty Years’ War in the Netherlands, Cologne had become their new home. Among them was Frans Hogenberg, the engraver and publisher of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum, who was born in Mechelen and had lived in Antwerp before fleeing. Cologne was also the hometown of Georg Braun, Hogenberg’s co-publisher. It is therefore not surprising that an impressive and detailed map of the city appears in volume one of the Civitates.

The print depicts Cologne from the west, with the Rhine River in the background. The city has a semicircular shape. Outside and inside the walls, there are many fields and orchards. Cologne is shown as a large, densely populated city. The harbour on the Rhine is busy with many ships.

Cologne is one of Germany’s oldest cities. Founded in 50 AD by the Romans, it was situated on the Rhine River, which gave it strategic importance and made it an economic centre that endured the fall of the Roman Empire and the turbulent early Middle Ages. The city became the seat of an archdiocese and an ecclesiastical principality, with its archbishop being one of the seven Prince-Electors who elected the German King and, ultimately, the Holy Roman Emperor. Cologne was also a member of the Hanseatic League and maintained extensive trade links with England.

Its dual role as the seat of an archdiocese and as a wealthy, autonomous city led to lengthy political disputes and sometimes violent conflicts between the archbishop and Cologne’s citizens. In 1288, during the regional power struggle known as the War of the Limburg Succession (1283-1289), the archbishop and his allies were defeated in battle by an alliance of regional lords and Cologne’s citizens. As a result, the bishop was obliged to recognise the city’s de facto autonomy, and he and his successors established their residence in Bonn. Nevertheless, it was not until 1475 that the Emperor formally recognised Cologne as a free and imperial city. Despite gaining independence from the archbishop, Cologne did not, unlike many other places in northern Germany, convert to Protestantism in the sixteenth century.

Samuel Kiechel’s visit to Cologne coincided with a difficult period for the city. The aforementioned Cologne War had devastated the region, and the Eighty Years’ War brought economic hardship. Regional trade with the Low Countries had become perilous and problematic. Kiechel had witnessed the dangers faced by merchants travelling to cities in the Spanish Netherlands. Cologne’s international trade, especially its vital connection to England, became dangerous because the city’s main access to the sea — the Rhine River — also passed through the conflict zone. Dutch fleets operated on the river, hindering traffic, and privateers prowled the sea. Our traveller noted that the Rhine was blockaded when he visited Bremen five months earlier. He wrote that all goods destined for Cologne and the surrounding area had to be transported overland via Bremen, which was likely slow and expensive.

Preparations

Samuel Kiechel spent several days in Cologne to rest. The group he arrived with went their separate ways, and he looked for new companions. Kiechel wanted to travel through Westphalia to Münster and then return via Bremen to Hamburg. Eventually, he joined a group of Cologne merchants trading in wine, cheese, butter and herring who were heading in that direction.

It might seem strange to us that our traveller did not mention that it was Christmas. Today, Christmas in Cologne, like in most German cities, is a time of markets with stalls offering various foods, mulled wine and seasonal delicacies. It would be the time for Christmas shopping, decorated streets and houses. However, most of these traditions are modern additions. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, Christmas was primarily a religious festival, subordinate to Easter, the high point of the Christian calendar, which celebrated the resurrection of Christ.

Samuel Kiechel does not mention any celebrations. The reason may be a difference in the calendar. Cologne had remained Catholic after the Reformation and adopted the new Gregorian calendar in 1583, along with other Catholic territories. However, our Protestant traveller still used the old Julian calendar. Therefore, while it was Christmas Day for Kiechel, it was 4 January 1586 for the citizens of Cologne.