Tianjin and Koln are friendly associated on September, 12th, in 2007. Koln is Germany's fourth-largest city (after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich), and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with 996,690 inhabitants£¨2008£©and an area of 405.15 km2. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38 BC. Koln lies on the River Rhine. The city's famous Koln Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Koln. The University of Koln is one of Europe's oldest universities. Koln is a major cultural center of the Rhineland and has a vibrant arts scene. Koln is home to more than 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The Koln Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Koln, the International Furniture Fair (IMM) and the Photokina. Within Germany, Koln is known as an important media center. Several radio and television stations, including Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), RTL and VOX, have their headquarters in the city. Both Pro7 and Sat.1 produce TV shows in Cologne as well. Further, the city hosts the Koln Comedy Festival, which is considered to be the largest comedy festival in mainland Europe. Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, has its main corporate headquarters in Koln, Lufthansa CityLine, a Lufthansa subsidiary, also has its main offices in Koln, moreover, Ford has its European headquarters and a factory in the city. |
