Cologne (Köln) - Overview:
Cologne is situated on the banks of the Rhein River just a few hours from the Dutch, Belgian and French borders and is the largest city in the Nordrhein-Westfalen region, with a population of approximately 1 million people.
The city's service sector has become increasingly important in recent decades and currently employs over two-thirds of the total workforce. There are more than 60 banks, numerous insurance companies and thousands of industrial and trade associations present in Cologne, as well as a large administration and numerous industry-dependent services ranging from accountants and auditors to advertising agencies and lawyers.
The city also maintains a significant and diverse industrial sector incorporating the automotive industry, chemicals, electrical and mechanical engineering, food production and pharmaceuticals. Cologne has also become Germany's leading city for film, radio and television production.
As part of the Nordrhein-Westfalen region, the city benefits from access to a large pool of well educated and skilled workers. The region has Europe's highest concentration of research and higher education institutions, with half of the country's 10 largest universities located there along with 63 technology centres and over 20 research institutions. In total, the region has approximately half a million students studying in its universities and technical colleges.
Cologne also benefits from an excellent transport infrastructure. The city's ring road intersects with 10 motorways, while the main railway station has over 1,200 train arrivals a day. High-speed trains link the city with major European destinations including Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, London and Paris, at hourly intervals. Cologne/Bonn Konrad Adenauer Airport and Düsseldorf Airport are situated just 14 kilometres and 55 kilometres away from the city respectively and together offer flighst to and from approximately 200 destinations around the world. In addition, after Duisburg, the port of Cologne is the second largest port on the Rhine in the North-Rhine/Westphalia region. It is comprised of 6 ports capable of handling a variety of cargo from containers to mineral oil and chemical products.
Within the city and the surrounding area there is an extensive public transport system made up of buses and trams and an S-Bahn and U-Bahn train system.
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