Cologne belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, the largest religious body, and 15.5% to the Evangelical Church. Cologne is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne. There are several mosques, including the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs run Cologne Central Mosque. Cologne also has one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Germany. The city's administration is headed by the mayor and the three deputy mayors. The long tradition of a free imperial city, which long dominated an exclusively Catholic population and the age-old conflict between the church and the bourgeoisie (and within it between the patricians and
History of the Jews in Cologne origin in southern France, but quickly snowballed across the Continent. They formed the background for a murderous pogrom on 23/24 August 1349 in Cologne. There is a letter of the Cologne Council to the council of Strassburg in which the Cologne Council expresses concern about an anti-Jewish incident in Strassburg and warns insistently against an escalation. The Jews and their possessions were protected by letters of protection or consolation, which had to be considered. In the same letter the Cologne Council make clear that they would decidedly protect their own Jews. The council of Strassburg, however, having initially taken a