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
Cologne City Hall immediacy as a free imperial city. In 1388 Pope Urban VI signed the charter for the University of Cologne, Europe's first university to have been established by citizenry. On 14. September 1396 the constitution of Cologne came into effect and the Cologne gaffs and guilds ("Gaffeln" and "Zünfte") assumed power in the council. Following the tradition of Roman consuls, the council was headed by two elected Burgomasters (Mayors) until the year 1797, when council and constitution were replaced by the Napoleonic and later code civil. Since 1815 the city council is led by one Oberbürgermeister (Lord Mayor). During the bombing