Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Partnership Committee

Indianapolis-Cologne

Sister City Partnership Committee

Cologne (Koeln), Germany

Indianapolis, Indiana

Video from A Taste of Germany - 2007

Join us for A Taste of Germany 2008

on October 4th, 2008

More details coming soon!

"A Taste of Germany"

Benefit Fundraiser and Open House presented by

The Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Committee

& Indianapolis Fire Department Firefighters Local 416 Survive Alive Program

Cologne (Koln) Coat of Arms

Authentic German food, beer, wine and beverages!
Tours of Survive Alive children's program!
Great Door Prizes!

Tickets are available for a $40 donation ($75 a pair or $50 at the door) to benefit:

The Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Commmitte &

Indianapolis Fire Department/Fighters Local 416 Survive Alive Program

October 4, 2008 - 5 to 9pm

Firefighters Union Hall - 748 Massachusetts Avenue

Visit our EVENTS page for more info

Read the NUVO review of the 2007 TOG!

Sven Schumacher, CEO, Lutheran Child and Family Services

Indianapolis/Cologne Sister City

Relationship 1998/2008

Indianapolis and Cologne, Germany have been connected through an active and lively sister city relationship since1988.

Sister City relationships grew out of "people-to-people" exchanges President Eisenhower initiated in response to the tragedies of World War II. Today more than three hundred American cities have one or more sister city relationships. Local level citizen's diplomacy, social service missions and government relationships have become additional strategies of sister city activities.

Former Indianapolis Mayors Bill Hudnut, Steve Goldsmith as well as current Mayor Bart Peterson, have supported our local sister city relationship and visited Cologne. Since 1988, many cultural, educational and economic exchanges have taken place. Some of our city's most revered institutions such as the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Athenaeum, IUPUI, IVY Tech, etc., have been part of this exchange program. One of the highlights was the participation of nineteen Cologne Firefighters in the 2001 Police and Fire Games. Most recently, Governor Mitch Daniels visited Cologne companies as part of his Trade Mission to Europe in May, 2007.

In 2008, our sister city relationship will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Both sister city committees are planning trips to Indianapolis and Cologne.

Welcome to Cologne Cathedral
Patronage: St. Peter and the Virgin Mary

St. Mary's Catholic Church - Indianapolis The Cologne Cathedral (German: Kolner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria) is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of Gothic architecture and of the faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, being one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an "exceptional work of human creative genius". Cologne Cathedral is one of the world's largest churches, being the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880-84, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument followed by the Eiffel Tower. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single spire of Ulm Cathedral, completed ten years later in 1890. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest facade of any church in the world.

St. Mary's Catholic Church on New Jersey Street in Indianapolis is a smaller version of the same overall plan. However, it measures just about one third of the height and width of the Cologne Cathedral.

Visit the Cologne Cathedral Online!

Cologne (Koln), Germany

Cologne is the oldest of the major German cities. Its name goes back to the Romans, who gave their city the name of "Colonia" in 50 A.D. Rome's imperial governor resided here and the city quickly developed into one of the empire's most important trade and manufacturing centers north of the Alps.

The Romans also brought Christianity to Cologne and it quickly became a diocesan town. Following the confusion of the transitional period in which the city came under the rule of the Franks, Charlemagne founded the archbishopric of Cologne in 785. The Archbishop of Cologne, one of the most important feudal lords in the Holy Roman Empire, became Chancellor for Italy (11th C.) and Elector (14th C.).

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