ST. MARTIN’S, COLOGNE.

COLOGNE was originally a Roman station, founded byMarcus Agrippa. It then became the Oppidum Ubiorum,Agrippa having transferred the Ubians thither from theopposite bank of the Rhine. Under Claudius it was enlargedby a Roman colony in honor of Agrippina who was born there,and hence it obtained the name of Colonia Agrippina. Underits successive masters the Franks, the Germans and its ownArchbishops it experienced every vicissitude of fortune. Itis now the chief seat of administration of the Prussian Duchiesof Cleves and Berg. Independent of the splendid gothiccathedral, several of the churches and abbeys in Cologne arewell worthy of notice, both for their antiquity and thesingularity of their architecture. The Church of St. Martinis one of the most curious specimens of the style of buildingin the early ages succeeding the Roman sera. The spot onwhich it stands was formerly insulated by the Rhine.