The History of Cologne Podcast

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The History of Cologne Podcast

History podcast about 2,000-year-old city of Cologne (Köln) in English & German. Triweekly shedule. How did it become a bustling medieval city?

The History of Cologne Podcast is a podcast that tells the story of Cologne, Germany. It’s a city with 2,000 years worth of history and it has so much to tell! Dive into the early history of the city being founded by the Romans. How did Cologne perform during Napoleon and the Industrial Revolution? And how about the Nazi time? Triweekly schedule, going chronological from the Roman roots up until today.

14/08/2026

Propaganda in stone: the Ulrepforten relief

Around the year 1360, the Cologne patricians had a monument built into the city wall which is now regarded as Germany’s oldest historical monument: the Ulrepforten relief. It depicts the battle not as a mere bloodbath, but as a sacred event under the protection of Christ and Cologne’s patron saints, Ursula and Gereon.

The message was clear: God was on the side of the citizens of ‘holy Cologne’. Particularly striking is the depiction of Dietrich von Falkenburg, the archbishop’s brother, who fell in battle and is shown in the centre of the relief being dragged personally into hell by the Devil, who has him by the head.

You can find out more details in the podcast “A History of the City of Cologne”. Available wherever podcasts are available – whether on Spotify, Apple or elsewhere.

Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=540663

13/08/2026

Structural change in the balance of power: from the Collegiate of Magistrates to the city council

The period after 1268 marked a turning point in Cologne’s municipal constitution. The expulsion of the patrician Weisen family left a huge void in the Collegiate of Magistrates – almost half the seats were suddenly vacant. The victorious alliance centred on the Overstolzen family immediately filled these posts with their own people in order to create a fait accompli.

At the same time, the centre of power shifted to the City Council, which now rose to become the city’s true civic nerve centre. From then on, an exclusive circle of around 15 patrician families dominated all important bodies and formed a closed elite that steered the city’s fortunes until the end of the 14th century.

Yet the Collegiate of Magistrates did not cease to exist. It remained in place as a body until 1796. It no longer held its former power, but continued to exist as part of the city’s constitution. A very typical Cologne solution, I think. ;)

You can find out more details in the podcast ‘The History of Cologne’. Available wherever podcasts are available – whether on Spotify, Apple or elsewhere.

12/08/2026

Albertus Magnus: A Monk as a Saviour in Time of Need

In the spring of 1271, a monk in his seventies rode from Strasbourg to Nideggen Castle in the northern Eifel: the famous scholar Albertus Magnus. His mission was purely diplomatic in nature. He was to mediate in the entrenched conflict between the city of Cologne, the Count of Jülich and Archbishop Engelbert von Falkenburg, who had been held captive at the castle for three years.

Albert, who saw himself more as a man of science, used his enormous standing with all parties to finally negotiate a settlement on 16 April 1271, which led to the archbishop’s release. Today, following a relocation in the 19th century, the remains of the ‘Doctor Universalis’ rest in St Andrew’s Church in the shadow of the cathedral.

You can find out more details about this diplomatic masterstroke in the podcast ‘A History of the City of Cologne’. Available wherever podcasts are available – whether on Spotify, Apple or elsewhere.

28/07/2026

⚔️🏰 In this episode, we explore the aftermath of the Battle of Worringen and the bold move by Count Adolf V of Berg that changed the Rhineland forever. Discover how a power vacuum—created by the imprisonment of the Archbishop of Cologne—led to the birth of Düsseldorf as a town on August 14, 1288.

We dive into the tactical errors and turning points of one of the Middle Ages’ greatest knightly battles, where the forces of Brabant, Berg, and the citizens of Cologne triumphed over the Archbishop’s coalition. The discussion covers the long-term consequences of this victory, including the de facto independence of Cologne, the rise of the House of Berg as a sovereign power, and how these events shaped the enduring rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf.

18/07/2026

⚔️🏰5th June 1288: A day that changed the Rhineland forever. After five years of conflict, 12,000 participants gathered on the plain of the Fühlinger Heide north of Cologne for the Battle of Worringen, one of the most brutal and bloodiest battles of the Middle Ages. And Cologne in the middle of it

You can listen to The History of Cologne everywhere you listen to your podcasts on Spotify, Apple & Co.

16/07/2026

🥰 Had a blast with Dirk from the History of the Germans Podcast 🇩🇪

He and around 28 of his listeners had booked a Rhine boat and went to many places via the Rhine and Moselle river.
Their second last stop was Cologne. We explored the Cologne Cathedral and St. Pantaleon, the burial place of Theophanu and Bruno.

Dirk was the first podcaster I ever worked together with and it was so cool to finally meet him in person.

06/06/2026

🧭 Hop over to to learn more!

31/03/2026

⚔️ The Limburg War of Succession (1283–1288) was a brutal, five-year power struggle triggered by the death of Waleran IV, Duke of Limburg, and his only daughter, Irmgard. Learn more about it in the latest podcast episode.

Since they left no direct heirs, the strategic and wealthy Duchy of Limburg (located in modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands) became the ultimate prize for the regional superpowers of the time. And Cologne in the middle of it.

The History of Cologne Podcast is available everywhere you find your podcasts.

10/03/2026

⚔️ How could such a violent battle at Worringen in 1288 happen? Just north of Cologne’s city limits? In this episode we take a short look at the Empire as a whole and how it was fundamentally changing on its way into the Late Middle Ages and affecting the events to unfold in the Battle of Worringen.

The podcast „The History of Cologne“ is available everywhere you find your podcasts.

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