Cologne-Weidenpesch Racecourse Cologne-Weidenpesch Racecourse The Cologne-Weidenpesch Racecourse ("Galopprennbahn Köln-Weidenpesch") is a horse racing track at Weidenpescher Park in Nippes, Cologne. As the only race course in Germany hosting more than one European pattern Group 1 race, Weidenpesch is one of the most prominent tracks in the country. Cologne-Weidenpesch is also one of Germany's oldest horse-racing tracks, having been established as a race course in 1897. The larger of the two grandstands was designed as a cast iron and timber framing structure in 1898 and substantially renovated in 2004. Until recently, the sportsgrounds were also home to Cologne's oldest football club, the VfL
History of the Jews in Cologne community in Cologne. The region was occupied by the Franks in 462, which converted to Christianity by the end of the century. During the Middle Ages, Cologne flourished as one of the most important trade routes between east and west Europe. Cologne was one of the leading members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in medieval and renaissance times. The first documentary reference to the Jews in Cologne in the Middle Ages was to the time of Archbishop Heribert of Cologne (999-1021), the wise friend of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. Winheim