Harboring the past
April 3, 2010
Whether you're particularly interested in women's history or just looking for something different, Cologne's "Rheinauhafen" harbor is at once a pretty walk and a place for female tales of murder, success and the extraordinary.
The industrial harbor's promenades will strike a casual stroller with their contemporary, glass-encased buildings and bridges. But here, just north of Cologne's historic Old Town, promenades and plazas give clear reference to the past - and the women who shaped it.
Blood flowed in Roman times
Female influence on the neighborhood even dates back to Roman times and it's no coincidence that the central road through the southern section of the harbor is called the Agrippina Dock.
"Today there is a lot of Agrippina in Cologne: the Agrippina Dock, an Agrippina shore, and a statue near the historical town hall tower," said tour guide and Cologne architect Anna Maria Bermejo.
Agrippina the Younger was born in 15 AD in Cologne, which was then known as Oppidum Ubiorum.
Agrippina later married Emperor Claudius after he had his own wife assassinated. In 50 AD, she convinced him to acknowledge Oppidum Ubiorum and rename it Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.
Those were ruthless times, indeed. When Claudius refused to recognize Agrippina's son Nero from her first marriage as his heir, she had him killed. Nero then demanded the right to rule, but when Agrippina refused, her own son had her assassinated.
Nowadays "there is also an Agrippina insurance company that one really could have used back in the day," Bermejo said.
Leaving their mark in different ways
Agrippina Dock isn't the only location on the Rhine harbor named for an important local woman. The Katharina Schauberg Promenade, for example, is dedicated to a 19th-century entrepreneur.
Schauberg co-founded a newspaper, single-handedly ran a bookshop near the publishing house, and also handled all the accounting and advertising for the business. The newspaper would later become the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger, the paper with the largest circulation in Cologne.
Laura von Oelbermann - for whom a nearby promenade was named - was not quite so fortunate. She lost her husband and both her sons in World War I. Despite her personal tragedy, von Oelbermann went on to found a hospital and other organizations that supported women in childbirth, widows, girls and orphans.
"Not only this, but she visited the poor daily, with up to 15 visits a day, which was very astounding for a woman of her status," said Bermejo. She had a reputation for being so generous that, after her death, parents would say, "Child, I am not that Frau Oelbermann," when their children asked them for money.
Continuing a jewelry tradition
Another road is named for Anna Maria van Schurman, a 17th-century Cologne wunderkind who, by the age of 11, had mastered painting, engraving, wax sculpting, music, and other art forms. More than 20 of her works remain. By the time she was an adult, she spoke nine languages fluently.
Along the Agrippina Dock, the Elisabeth Treskow Plaza is named after a 19th-century goldsmith who taught at a local Cologne art college. She rediscovered an old, Etruscan jewelry-making technique and created beautiful pieces, donating a collection to Cologne's museum of applied art.
Nearby, visitors will find the 19th-century Rhine Bastion. Continuing the tradition of Elizabeth Treskow, a modern-day jewelry maker moved into the building in the 1990's. Goldsmith Petra Mertenz lives and works inside the Rhine Bastion, selling the jewelry that she makes right from home. She chose the solitary, old house for a reason.
Making jewelry "makes a huge amount of noise when one hammers, and the other reason is that it is simply a beautiful house," said Mertenz.
Not far from the Rhine Bastion are the remains of the 13th-century Bavaria Tower, which was originally used for defense purposes. Now it houses the FrauenMediaTurm (FMT), a feminist archive and documentation center.
"I like it when women's names are noted," said Regina Eichenseer, a recent participant in a guided tour given by Architecture and Guided Tours of Cologne. "In history there are not so many women, so now is a good time."
Author: Alina Dain
Editor: Kate Bowen