A Central Location in the Largest Economic Region in Western Europe
Cologne is the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, the largest German Federal State. Twenty million people live within one hour's drive from Cologne. The dynamic Rhine-Ruhr region is one of the central locations in Europe for industry, trade, the economy, science and research.
Together with the adjacent Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg, it generates more than 40 per cent of the European Union's total gross domestic product. At the same time, the Federal State and its structures have undergone a transformation in recent decades. Where coal and steel once predominated, are now centres of growth sectors, specialising in multimedia, telecommunications, media and culture.

A European Interface
Cologne has been one of the most important European traffic junctions for more than 2,000 years, once forming a key intersection of the major roads of the Roman Empire, and is located on the main historical mediaeval trade routes.