Cologne ( , IPA2: kœln; local dialect: Kölle 1) 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 more than ten million inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38 BC.

Cologne lies on the River Rhine. The city's famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) is one of Europe's oldest universities.

Cologne is a major cultural center of the Rhineland and has a vibrant arts scene. Cologne 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 city's Trade Fair Grounds are host to a number of trade shows such as the Art Cologne Fair, the International Furniture Fair (IMM) and the Photokina. Cologne is also well-known for its celebration of Cologne Carnival, the annual reggae summerjam, and the gay/lesbian pride festival Christopher Street Day (CSD).

Within Germany, Cologne is known as an important media center. Several radio and television stations, including Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), RTL and VOX, are based in the city. Pro7 also produces many shows in Studios in Cologne (i.E. TV Total). The city also hosts the Cologne Comedy Festival, which is considered to be the largest comedy festival in mainland Europe.

In 2005 Cologne hosted the 20th Roman Catholic World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI.

Demographics

Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany in terms of inhabitants after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Officially, the city still has somewhat fewer than a million inhabitants (as of 31 December 2006: 989,766). However, this might change rapidly as the city's registration rules will change in the course of 2007. Cologne is the center of an urban area of around 2 million inhabitants (including the neighboring cities of Bonn, Hürth, Leverkusen, and Bergisch-Gladbach).

According to local statistics, in 2006 the population density in the city was 2,528 inhabitants per square kilometer. 31.4 percent of the population has migrated there, and 17.2 percent of Cologne's population is non-German. The largest group, comprising 6.3 percent of the total population, is Turkish. As of September 2007, there are about 120,000 Muslims living in Cologne, mostly of Turkish origin.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.5% under the age of 18, 67.0% from 18 to 64 and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95 males.

Administration

Cologne is incorporated as an independent city (Kreisfreie Stadt) under the Gemeindeordnung Nordrhein-Westfalen (GO NRW) (Municipality Code of North Rhine-Westphalia). The city's administration is headed by a mayor (Oberbürgermeister) and three deputy mayors.