Cologne City Hall and 1096 were followed by the formation of a "commune" and first municipal structures as a basis for urban autonomy. In order to consolidate their economic and political rights, Cologne burghers established fraternities and trade guilds (most notably the "Richerzeche"). In the 1106 war of succession between Emperor Henry V and his father Emperor Henry IV, they took deliberate opposition to the archbishop, after which they gained benefit in regards to the city's territorial expansion over the following years. As – at the time – one of Europe's busiests trading ports and largest city in Germany, the population of Cologne
History of the Jews in Cologne The persecution of the Jewish community at the time of the Black Death became the fiercest in the whole of the Middle Ages.In 1340 a terrible pestilence arrived in Europe. The Black Death had not reached Cologne until December 1349 However, reports of its devastating impact arrived on the Rhine from the south considerably earlier. Ultimately, between 30-60% of the European population died from the epidimic, provoking fears of an apocalyptic nature. Accusations that the plague was caused by a conspiracy of the Jews to poison the wells (accusations that were not proven in even a single case) apparently had