What do you think?
Rate this book
Only in Cologne: A Guide to Unique Locations, Hidden Corners and Unusual Objects
A comprehensive illustrated guide to more than 80 fascinating and unusual historical sights in Germany's most historic city:
• Religious relics, forgotten fortresses, unexpected sanctuaries, abandoned cemeteries, and little-known museums
• From Colonia Agrippinensis and the French occupation to the Kingdom of Prussia and the Third Reich
• Napoleon's cemetery, a road beneath the Rhine, the city lighthouse, and where the Red Baron learned to fly
• The bones of Saint Ursula, the inventor Konrad Adenauer, bad boy Martin Kippenberger, and the legend of Bishop Maternus
• Recommended for visitors to Cologne wishing to discover something a little different, as well as for inhabitants who perhaps thought they already knew the city
• Religious relics, forgotten fortresses, unexpected sanctuaries, abandoned cemeteries, and little-known museums
• From Colonia Agrippinensis and the French occupation to the Kingdom of Prussia and the Third Reich
• Napoleon's cemetery, a road beneath the Rhine, the city lighthouse, and where the Red Baron learned to fly
• The bones of Saint Ursula, the inventor Konrad Adenauer, bad boy Martin Kippenberger, and the legend of Bishop Maternus
• Recommended for visitors to Cologne wishing to discover something a little different, as well as for inhabitants who perhaps thought they already knew the city
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
6 people want to read
About the author
Duncan J.D. Smith
35 books13 followersDuncan JD Smith is The Urban Explorer, an independent travel writer, guidebook author, historian, photographer, and publisher. Having worked for many years selling other travel writers’ books, in 2003 he decided to start writing and publishing his own. He has subsequently embarked on a lifetime‘s adventure, travelling off the beaten track in search of the world’s hidden corners and curious locations, from the wartime bunkers of Berlin and the Baroque gardens of Prague to the souks of Damascus and the rock-cut churches of Ethiopia.
Duncan’s findings are being published in a ground breaking series of guidebooks, the Only In Guides, designed specifically for the purpose and published under his own The Urban Explorer imprint. Volumes on Berlin, Boston, Budapest, Cologne, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Krakow, London, Marseille, Munich, Paris, Prague, Seville, Tangier, Trieste, Vienna, and Zurich have all been published, with a new title, Athens, in preparation. Aimed at independent cultural travellers, these city tales from new perspectives provide unforgettable memories. The series has garnered considerable press and public acclaim, global distribution, and sales in excess of 200,000 copies.
As a result of his extensive travels, not only through the storied cities of Old Europe but also in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and America, Duncan regularly generates original illustrated material for print and digital media. He has been commissioned to write articles in magazines such as Hidden Europe and Timeless Travels. Duncan has great affection for the places about which he has written, as well as an extensive photo library available for commercial usage.
Duncan has appeared on radio and television to promote his work, including the American shows Raw Travel and Mysteries at the Museum. He has also given illustrated lectures in bookshops and universities, to societies and even at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. He released an audio tour in 2010.
Born in Sheffield, England in 1960, Duncan got the history bug when his grandfather, the East Anglian historian Philip G. M. Dickinson, showed him an ancient turf maze and the grave of a Roman soldier in his back garden! Aged just eleven Duncan opened his own private museum before going on to read Ancient History and Archaeology at Birmingham University. Together with his late father, Trevor, he wrote and illustrated four highly successful books on the curiosities of Sheffield and Yorkshire, their home town and county respectively. He also penned the best-selling topographical book Yorkshire: A Portrait in Colour. Still a passionate collector, his interests include vintage Penguin travel books and with them a fascination in forgotten British travellers of the 1920s and 30s. In his spare time he enjoys gardening, house restoration and natural history, and has an eclectic taste in music and film.
Duncan divides his time between England and Central Europe, and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Duncan’s findings are being published in a ground breaking series of guidebooks, the Only In Guides, designed specifically for the purpose and published under his own The Urban Explorer imprint. Volumes on Berlin, Boston, Budapest, Cologne, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Krakow, London, Marseille, Munich, Paris, Prague, Seville, Tangier, Trieste, Vienna, and Zurich have all been published, with a new title, Athens, in preparation. Aimed at independent cultural travellers, these city tales from new perspectives provide unforgettable memories. The series has garnered considerable press and public acclaim, global distribution, and sales in excess of 200,000 copies.
As a result of his extensive travels, not only through the storied cities of Old Europe but also in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and America, Duncan regularly generates original illustrated material for print and digital media. He has been commissioned to write articles in magazines such as Hidden Europe and Timeless Travels. Duncan has great affection for the places about which he has written, as well as an extensive photo library available for commercial usage.
Duncan has appeared on radio and television to promote his work, including the American shows Raw Travel and Mysteries at the Museum. He has also given illustrated lectures in bookshops and universities, to societies and even at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. He released an audio tour in 2010.
Born in Sheffield, England in 1960, Duncan got the history bug when his grandfather, the East Anglian historian Philip G. M. Dickinson, showed him an ancient turf maze and the grave of a Roman soldier in his back garden! Aged just eleven Duncan opened his own private museum before going on to read Ancient History and Archaeology at Birmingham University. Together with his late father, Trevor, he wrote and illustrated four highly successful books on the curiosities of Sheffield and Yorkshire, their home town and county respectively. He also penned the best-selling topographical book Yorkshire: A Portrait in Colour. Still a passionate collector, his interests include vintage Penguin travel books and with them a fascination in forgotten British travellers of the 1920s and 30s. In his spare time he enjoys gardening, house restoration and natural history, and has an eclectic taste in music and film.
Duncan divides his time between England and Central Europe, and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 18, 2018
Despite globalization and the uniformity of our commercial streets, the Only In series of travel guides by Duncan J. D. Smith prove that cities remain unique and full of surprising discoveries. Tourists nowadays do not want to tackle their sightseeing as a check-list exercise. Travelling is a fulfilling personal experience, and an opportunity to learn about the history and culture of places that nevertheless retain their ultimate mystery because, probably, we will never live there.
A good travel book combining versatility and well-researched content is essential to enhance this experience, and this is precisely what I have found in Only in Cologne. This guide is very rich in historical information, with 84 chapters with such intriguing titles as “Is That Really a Church?” or “A Lighthouse Far From the Sea”. These 84 chapters are distributed in 6 sections: 3 are devoted to the city centre (in case you are short of time or prefer to concentrate on the most well-known areas), and 3 more to the suburbs, where, if you take public transport, you can have “A Taste of the Country” or visit “A Hidden Roman Tomb”. In addition to these sections, there is an introduction by the author, and appendices containing information about opening times, as well as a bibliography, a clear indicator that we have an authoritative guide in our hands.
Potentially, 84 chapters can feel like a lot of information, but it is not necessary to go through all of it, if you don’t wish to do so. The beauty of Only in Cologne is that it directs you precisely to those aspects of the city that you are most interested to see. If you are a railways enthusiast, this book will tell you where to go, including the less obvious sites, as well as giving you a wealth of historical and technical details. You will find what you need if you like Romanesque churches, Roman remains, world cultures, puppets or aviation.
However, you will also find chapters covering the essential sights in Cologne, from the cathedral to the old Gestapo headquarters, the EL-DE-Haus at Appellhofplatz. There are two maps included, as well, although you can supplement them easily with a bigger updated version available at hotels or the tourist information office. There they can also give you more information about current cultural, musical or sporting events.
Even though you can dip into the guidebook for what you need, it can be rather rewarding to read it through from chapters 1 to 84. These sections are arranged in a subtly progressive way that gives you an outline of the history of the city. For instance, the site selected to start with (“The Ruins of Colonia Agrippinensis”) tells you about the origins of Cologne as a Roman settlement. Besides, Duncan J. D. Smith does not shy away from the more difficult subjects, such as the history of the Jewish community in Cologne, or the bombardment of the city during the Second World War, but these topics are approached intelligently and sensitively.
Unusually for a travel guide, the personal voice of the author comes through, revealing a deep interest in the places explored and in sharing the experience. The style of writing is clear and engaging, although, maybe, there are too many exclamation marks used to signal the most curious facts.
The guide is very attractive visually, with the addition of unique photos (many taken by the author), and the quality of the paper is particularly good. Only in Cologne is a book made to last, not to be discarded after the journey, a book to be used for future reference and to go back to if you are lucky enough to be able to revisit Cologne.
Note:
I am very grateful to Duncan J. D. Smith for providing me with a free copy of Only in Cologne in exchange for an honest review.
A good travel book combining versatility and well-researched content is essential to enhance this experience, and this is precisely what I have found in Only in Cologne. This guide is very rich in historical information, with 84 chapters with such intriguing titles as “Is That Really a Church?” or “A Lighthouse Far From the Sea”. These 84 chapters are distributed in 6 sections: 3 are devoted to the city centre (in case you are short of time or prefer to concentrate on the most well-known areas), and 3 more to the suburbs, where, if you take public transport, you can have “A Taste of the Country” or visit “A Hidden Roman Tomb”. In addition to these sections, there is an introduction by the author, and appendices containing information about opening times, as well as a bibliography, a clear indicator that we have an authoritative guide in our hands.
Potentially, 84 chapters can feel like a lot of information, but it is not necessary to go through all of it, if you don’t wish to do so. The beauty of Only in Cologne is that it directs you precisely to those aspects of the city that you are most interested to see. If you are a railways enthusiast, this book will tell you where to go, including the less obvious sites, as well as giving you a wealth of historical and technical details. You will find what you need if you like Romanesque churches, Roman remains, world cultures, puppets or aviation.
However, you will also find chapters covering the essential sights in Cologne, from the cathedral to the old Gestapo headquarters, the EL-DE-Haus at Appellhofplatz. There are two maps included, as well, although you can supplement them easily with a bigger updated version available at hotels or the tourist information office. There they can also give you more information about current cultural, musical or sporting events.
Even though you can dip into the guidebook for what you need, it can be rather rewarding to read it through from chapters 1 to 84. These sections are arranged in a subtly progressive way that gives you an outline of the history of the city. For instance, the site selected to start with (“The Ruins of Colonia Agrippinensis”) tells you about the origins of Cologne as a Roman settlement. Besides, Duncan J. D. Smith does not shy away from the more difficult subjects, such as the history of the Jewish community in Cologne, or the bombardment of the city during the Second World War, but these topics are approached intelligently and sensitively.
Unusually for a travel guide, the personal voice of the author comes through, revealing a deep interest in the places explored and in sharing the experience. The style of writing is clear and engaging, although, maybe, there are too many exclamation marks used to signal the most curious facts.
The guide is very attractive visually, with the addition of unique photos (many taken by the author), and the quality of the paper is particularly good. Only in Cologne is a book made to last, not to be discarded after the journey, a book to be used for future reference and to go back to if you are lucky enough to be able to revisit Cologne.
Note:
I am very grateful to Duncan J. D. Smith for providing me with a free copy of Only in Cologne in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 of 1 review