Show ow ih e 42 i 71 40 4 t si irv r 4 g coln seen from the air prepared by the national geographic so lety washington D C HE varied group of towns and T THE cities linked together by the rhine form a new england of germany of prime importance in the republic republics s drive tor for al trade barely 50 miles the german border lies duisburg guisburg Du isburg gateway to the busy ruhr premier mining and manufacturing district of germany and one of the chief industrial regions region s of europe duisburg guisburg Du isburg has a population only a little below a quarter million robort the part of duisburg guisburg Du isburg situ abed where the ruhr river meets the rhine far from being an unimportant town takes tales at least one world honor it lt Is the most extensive river port in the world when the quays of the older part of Du guisburg Duls burg isburg and those of the little town of homberg across the rhine are added the bacill ties of the duisburg guisburg Du isburg district are fairly staggering in extent they stretch for more than five eve miles along the ehlke and many branched basins have been constructed leading from that river and the ruhr as though giant hands had been pressed into the earth again and again leavin a chan nel del for each finger A constant stream of tugs barges and larger vessels moves in and out of the channels under normal condl eions and the craft of are to be found in all parts of the rhine down the ruhr valley come coal and some iron though the larger part of the iron needed in this great industrial region is shipped in from german lor balne luxemburg sweden and spain A considerable part of this Is brought in on the rhine other raw materials and food products are imported ad ding to the commerce and coal and manufactured products are shipped out in great quantities W f near the water front in the duls burg distinct are situated innumerable factories and industrial establishments i collieries steel and iron plants roll ing mills blast furnaces foundries machine shops chemical works saw mills shipyards shil yards and various other enterprises old duisburg guisburg Du isburg dates from the dim past being first mentioned in A D by the eleventh and twelfth centuries it was a thriving river port village on the dussel cities are strewn thickly in heavily populated germany dusseldorf Is only 20 miles up the rhine from duls burg and 24 miles down stream from where the british maintained a bridgehead bridge head after the signing of t the he treaty of versailles dusseldorf means the village on the dussel and when first heard of in 1159 this name fitted it now it Is a village of more than lation a city with more inhabitants than seattle and not many thousands jess less thin than minneapolis it Is one of the handsomest cities in western ger many with commodious parks and some fine old build the streets ts of the old nucleus of the city are nar nor row and crooked but the newer sec see cons have been laid out with wide a avenues ten years before the world war rail road toad tracks which were along the bank of the phine were moved and the space so obtained was made into an imposing thoroughfare overlooking the river ahe rhine promenade there british tommies commies french and their comrades took the air like disburg puls burg dusseldorf Dussel dort Is an tin industrial center and has ca port facilities but its indus trial life Is not so markedly dominated by coal and iron and it Is more tl atan a n a city of factories and shipping it takes additional toll from the thriving kuhr region by serving as Us its prin cipal banking channel its textile in destries dust dus rles tries are of great importance coln cologne Is one of the most popular stopping places along the rhine its city officials are scene tomed to welcoming an annual deluge it of travelers kolh Is prosperous and handsome although coln la is two thousand years old it reflects its prosperity and modern development in wide tree lined I 1 boulevards broken here and there by flou flowering ering gardens and parkways orna dented with monuments and eques trian statues of celebrated german countrymen fine shops and imposing mansions border these thoroughfares but now dow and then one wanders into a section where medieval loin reveals itself in tortuous narrow cobbled streets walled by ancient gabled house fronts and dimly lighted by antiquated gas posts the roman wall vall that once surround ed old kola ROW has hag long since been de strayed and its foundation now forms one of the city s most beautiful boule bards and parkways parl ways the ring ping only the gate towers of the walls remain marking the limits of the old city beyond them holn has spread out absorbing numerous suburbs until its population now Is nearly As germany s great river port and one of its major railroad centers coln Is the st louis of the republic cn un der the graceful arched bridge that connects connect the city with the east bank of the rhine thine pass long strings of barges lumber rafts barge steamers and palatial passenger boats coln has a large trade in grain wine mineral ores coal leather tim ber and porcelain some of the prod acts of the city s industries are known by their names such as cologne brown a brown coal or lignite used as a pig ment in paints cologne ware a plain bard hard stoneware mottled gray and brown which Is made into ornamental jugs cologne spirits a rectified liquid contil cent lining ning 90 per cent alcohol cologne thread and cologne blades the french could honestly claim that at least a portion of kolu s fame Is due to good french advertising the sweet scented liquid known as cologne Is said to have been first man in in 1709 by an ital lan fan cologne Is the french tion of colonia meaning colony which was formerly the roman name of the german city the english adopted the french translation but the germans call their city koin while cologne perfumes have been called wasser in ger get many the germans too have general ly adopted the french eau de cologne fifty seven miles further up the rhine Is koblenz where american troops of occupation were stationed in prewar and war days it was a cyp leal ical german military cit city y when augustus caesar sent drusus to conquer the people of the rhine region aaa brilliant general built half a hundred forts along the river and find around some of these sprang up cities thus koblenz originated kobl anz full of history frankish kings lived at koblenz in the eleventh EleNe nth century the city obtained a charter and for years it was as ruled by archbishop electors it flour dished as one of the league of cities but after the thirty years war it became less prosperous french swedes russians and germans mccu pied pled the town at various times until the congress of vienna awarded it to prussia in 1822 it became the seat of government of the prussian rhine province an historic old house in koblenz Is the birthplace of metter nich that austrian who helped organize and presided over the congress of vienna koblenz derived its name from its location on the triangle formed by the confluence of tl if e rhine and the mo selle a location similar to that of I 1 pittsburgh itts burgh pa on the ohio and the allegheny the romans called it Con fluentes I 1 frowning from a steep precipice of rock nearly feet above the rhine across the moselle from koblenz Is one of the most limous of german forts the over which for several years the stars and stripes flew it formed the principal feature of the extensive defenses about ro blenz that city was as considered of prime military importance because of its navigation outlets on both rivers and its numerous railway lines louis the pious not so pious though that he remained a monk when his r sons coaxed him to a monastery in the hope of getting his kingdom founded the church of st castor in koblenz in 83 but the present build ing with its four towers dates back only to the thirteenth century e in front of the church Is a bonu ment which attests the easy going rus sense of humor the monument erected by the french bears a glow ing tribute to napoleons successes in russia when the russians rus occupied koblenz their commander inscribed a few lines which translated mean seen and approved by me command ant of the city of koblenz january 1 1814 |