Demographics of Cologne Demographics of Cologne Cologne () is Germany's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Rhineland. As of 31 December 2011, there were officially 1,017,155 residents. The city is center of the Cologne/Bonn Region with around 3 million inhabitants (including the neighboring cities of Bonn, Hürth, Leverkusen, and Bergisch Gladbach). The walls of Colonia Agrippina covered an area of 96.8 hectares, but the population density within the walls remains uncertain. Since the construction of the Medieval wall in 1180, the area of the old imperial city of Cologne has not changed for more than 600 years and was only extended
Historical Archive of the City of Cologne near the Cologne town hall. The records were for the most part those of real estate transactions: these were recorded on sheets of parchment or in books, which subsequently became known as "Schreinsbücher" (shrine books). In Cologne, these books can be traced back to AD 1130. Similar books from the late 12th century are known from the cities of Metz and Andernach. In the 19th century, all records of the old Cologne shrine quarters were transferred to the municipal archives. A municipal archive has existed since at least the year 1322. In 1326 the city council decided to establish the