Historical Archive of the City of Cologne included copies of the protocols of the diets of the Hanseatic League. With the 1594 transfer, the Cologne archive became the most important repository of historical material concerning the Hanseatic League and thus concerning the history of Northern Germany in general, only matched by the municipal archives of Lübeck. On 27 February 1602, the city council ordered that books on jurisdiction and administration were to be systematically bought at the regularly held Frankfurt Book Fair. These were subsequently stored in the municipal archive and became the basis of the Cologne municipal library. The "Ratsbibliothek" was one of the few Cologne
History of the Jews in Cologne them in the same way. Altogether the Jews of Cologne between 1096 and 1349 appear indeed to have been relatively safe regarding life and physical condition as "fellow citizens (Mitbürger)". However, there is substantial evidence of a generally diffused feeling of antagonism against them. For instance, the infamous so-called "Jewish sow," made presumably around 1320, appears on a wooden choir stall of Cologne Cathedral From 1266 the Cologne Jews had the exclusive privilege of lending money, which was forbidden to Christians by Church law. Decisions between 1252 and 1320 address the legal status, protection, and taxation of the Cologne Jews.