Cologne Ring
The Cologne Ring is a semi-circular, some 6 km long urban boulevard in Innenstadt, Cologne and the city's busiest and most prominent street system. The Cologne Ring is a four lane street and part of Bundesstraße 9.
The ring road encircles the old town of Cologne on its southern, western and northern boundaries on the site of the former medieval city wall. It divides Innenstadt into old town east of it and new town west of it. Most of the city wall has been worked away during the 1880s and only few sections of the wall exist today at Hansaring and Sachsenring. Of the once twelve medieval city gates, only the Eigelsteintorburg at Ebertplatz, the Hahnentor at Rudolfplatz and the Severinstorburg at Chlodwigplatz still stand today.
Sections
The Cologne Ring is a composition of several roads and squares, for which it is known in German in the plural form. The sections are named after people and personalities of the history of Cologne and Germany. The following is a list of these sections, clockwise from south to north:Ubierring
The Ubierring is the southern end of the Cologne Ring and is named after the Ubii, a Germanic tribe and first inhabitants of the new founded Roman city of CCAA. Ubierring is some 400 metres long and joins with Agrippinaufer to the east and Chlodwigplatz to the west.Chlodwigplatz
The Chlodwigsplatz is a centre of the Severinsviertel, a busy traffic roundabout and a 5-way intersection of Ubierring from the east, Karolingerring from the north-west, Severinstraße from the north and Merowinger and Bonner Straße from the south. Chlodwigplatz is named after Clovis I, King of the Franks from the Merovingian dynasty.Karolingerring
The Karolingerring is a short, 200-metre-long portion of the Cologne Ring, and only 30 metres in width, one of its narrowest sections. The Karolingerring is named after the Frankish Carolingian dynasty.Sachsenring
The Sachsenring is—in contrast to the preceding Karolingerring—a wide landscaped Avenue, with a central lawn and several lines of trees. The Sachsenring is named after the Ottonian dynasty, also known as Saxon dynasty. This 800-metre-long section of the ring road is bounded by mostly free-standing, modern office blocks, as well as the early 13th century Ulrepforte.- Cologne Business School
- Humboldt-Gymnasium
- Institut Français
Salierring
The Salierring is some 400 metres long and forms a transition between the landscaped Sachsenring and the urban Barbarossaplatz. It is named after the Salian dynasty.Barbarossaplatz
As several roads and tram lines meet at Barbarossaplatz, the square is an important hub for private and public transportation in Cologne. The Cologne Ring running north–south, Luxemburger Straße, leading into Sülz and Klettenberg, and Roonstraße leading onto Rathenauplatz. Cologne Stadtbahn has stations on Barbarossaplatz for tram lines 12, 15, 16 and 18. The square is named after Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and was originally laid out as an oval space with two circular traffic islands. Today, the spatial experience is largely overshadowed by a dominant, longitudinal tram station, which occupies most of the square. The square is one of the most discussed urban spaces in Cologne for re-development.Hohenstaufenring
North of Barbarossaplatz, the character of the Cologne Ring changes drastically, as all ground floors are occupied by shops, galleries and/or department stores and nearly all upper floors are being used as offices. Also, the trees are older and taller, which give the Ring a more cosmopolitan character. The Hohenstaufenring extends some 600 metres up to Schaafenstraße. Halfway along its course, Hohenstaufenring passes the Sacred Heart Church on Zülpicher Platz, the latter also serves as a tram station. Hohenstaufenring is named after the Hohenstaufen dynasty, a dynasty of German kings lasting from 1138 to 1254.- Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln
- Hotel Esplanade
Habsburgerring
With only 180 metres' length, the Habsburgerring is the shortest section of the Ring. It is named after the Habsburg dynasty. The Barceló Cologne Hotel stands on the site of the former Opernhaus, destroyed during the bombing of Cologne in World War II.Rudolfplatz
Rudolfplatz is the centre of Belgisches Viertel and one of the liveliest squares of Cologne. It is an important hub for private and public transportation in Cologne, as several roads and tram lines meet at Rudolfplatz. The Cologne Ring running north–south, Aachener Straße - the principal east–west arterial road which leads through Lindenthal district to the western extreme of the Cologne Beltway - and Hahnenstraße. Cologne Stadtbahn has stations on Rudolfplatz for tram lines 1, 7, 12 and 15. The square is named after Rudolph I of Germany.- Hahnentorburg
- Theater am Rudolfplatz
Hohenzollernring
The Hohenzollernring is the main entertainment district of Cologne, with numerous restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, discothèques and night clubs along its course and in the adjacent side streets.Since the 1990s, competing gangs of bouncers have fought over control of the nightclubs here, extorting money from the clubs and befriending girls for exploitation as prostitutes.
The Hohenzollernring is lined with tall trees and is about 700 metres long. About halfway, Hohenzollernring passes Friesenplatz, centre of the Friesenviertel, and a major U-Bahn station. At Friesenplatz, the Venloer Straße leads into Ehrenfeld. The Hohenzollernring is named after the Hohenzollern dynasty.
- Taschen building
- Gerling Ring-Karree