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National Geographic : 1936 Jun
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COLOGNE, KEY CITY OF THE RHINELAND Photograph by Dr. Paul Wolff from European COOPERS IN OLD-TIME GARB HOLD ALOFT WREATHS TO MAKE A CROWN Their dance is a feature of Frankfurt's Handicraft Festival. The craftsmen manufacture casks for Rhenish wines and other products. Connected with the Rhine by the canalized Main River, Frankfurt has long been one of Germany's foremost commercial cities. The chunky little ferryboat that took me back to the Koln side of the river was named Lorelei, for the legendary siren of the Rhine, whose seductive singing lured sailors to destruction on her rock. On the Kaiser Frederick Embankment were bathhouses where one could swim in tanks without fear of being swept down stream by the strong current. The water felt surprisingly chilly on this warm sum mer day-and no wonder, for not long be fore it had come from melting glaciers high in the mountains of Switzerland. Along the wide esplanade ran pathways, one for cyclists and another for pedestrians. The wise walker kept to his allotted track, safe from the swarms of bicycle riders whizzing by in shorts and open shirts. Oddest of all the riverside resorts was a circular restaurant with glass sides, perched on top of a thick concrete pedestal about 20 feet high. Like a huge flat mushroom, its edges projected far beyond its base and almost overhung the water. Climbing the stairs, I found a tea dance in progress, the orchestra playing Tin Pan Alley's latest hits as well as favorite Viennese waltzes. The venerable City of the Three Kings has not taken to modern architecture as readily as many other German towns. Old structures are cherished on the Rhine. The very rows of gabled houses that I saw in musty etchings still rise above the water front. The city fathers still gather at the ornate Town Hall, holding council in a lavishly decorated room where the Han seatic League met five centuries ago. Koln was one of the leaders of this me dieval organization of powerful merchant communities. Like Liibeck, Bremen, Ham- 845
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