|
Goods flowed down this riverway from France and Switzerland on their way to the sea for transshipment all over Europe. Nobles along the way collected tolls, but big profits could still be made by wholesalers downriver and the city of Koln definitely cashed in.
Today's visitors still marvel at remnants from those times. Although Koln was devastated by allied bombing during World War II, civic pride has restored much of its medieval core. The Gothic cathedral which survived the war virtually unscathed still dominates the modern skyline. Begun in the 13th century the huge project wasn't completed for 600 years. Paid for by the city's wealthy burghers or businessmen, it was meant to impress, to be the largest in Europe.
Reconstructed medieval neighborhoods recall the centuries when Koln was one of the most powerful members of the Hanseatic League. The league began as German merchants banded together into a medieval version of our own international corporations, financing needy rulers for favorable trade agreements and basically corner markets. Some 700 years ago, ships crowded the wharves and warehouses bulged . Ultimately, the league's sphere expanded to the point that it ruled the cities from which it operated. At its peak, Koln shipped more than 3 million gallons of wine a year with a return trade bringing in seemingly endless supplies of luxury goods, fish and wool
===========================
cash in :Profit handsomely,earn a lot of money
unscathed :not injured or harmed
corner market :to gain control of the whole supply of a particular kind of goods
bulge : to swell up,to expand
|