Severinstorburg

The Severinstorburg rises as a heavy, square brick tower guarding what was once the southern edge of Cologne. During the Middle Ages, this gate served as the grand entrance for kings and emperors arriving from Bonn. When Charles the Fifth visited in fifteen twenty, he entered the city here with such a massive retinue that the gatekeepers had to dismantle parts of the neighboring wall just to let his entourage squeeze through the bottleneck and into the city.