Lintgasse is an

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

() in the

Old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

between the two squares of ''Alter Markt'' and ''Fischmarkt''. It is a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

and only some 130 metres long, nevertheless famous for its medieval history. The Lintgasse was first mentioned in the 12th century as »''in Lintgazzin''«, which may have derived from basketmakers described, weaving fish baskets out of

Linden tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

barks. These craftsmen were called »''Lindslizer''«, meaning ''Linden splitter''. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the area was also known as »platēa subri« or »platēa suberis«, meaning street of ''

Quercus suber ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...

''. Lintgasse 8 to 14 used to be homes of medieval

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s as still can be seen by signs like »''Zum Huynen''«, »''Zum Ritter''« or »''Zum Gir''«. At Lintgasse 15 once stood the Parish of St. Brigiden, which became an elementary school during the 19th century. During this time, the Lintgasse was called »Stink-Linkgaß«, as the alley was unpopular for its poor air quality. Lintgasse 9 has a passage to the nearby Great St. Martin Church. On the corner of Alter Markt and Lintgasse stands the listed Gaffel-Haus »''Zur Brezel''«. The brewhouse is a 7-storey

Dutch Renaissance The Renaissance in the Low Countries was a cultural period in the Northern Renaissance that took place in around the 16th century in the Low Countries (corresponding to modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands and French Flanders). Culture in the Low ...

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

, built in 1213 but substantially extended in 1580. The building was a significant place in the

history of Cologne The history of Cologne covers over 2000 years of urban history. In the year 50, Cologne was elevated to a city under Roman law and named "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium"; since the Frankish rule it is known by derivatives of simply ''Colonia' ...

and only converted into a beer house in the late 19th century.

References

* *

External links

* http://www.gaffel-haus.de/ Streets in Cologne History of Cologne Medieval archaeological sites in Europe Tourist attractions in Cologne Innenstadt, Cologne Pedestrian streets in Germany {{Cologne-geo-stub

See also

References

External links