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They come to see its famed cathedral, take a boat ride on the Rhine, stroll or cycle on the wide river promenade or even select a bottle of cologne in the city so not- ed for its fragrances. But for Jewish travelers, Cologne has still more attractions and sites. It's a city with an event- ful Jewish past — the first Jews came here with the Romans — and also one where a modem Ger- man Jewish community is thriv- ing. Even before I walked along the Rhine or took a boat cruise, I headed for the City Hall Plaza in the heart of Cologne's city center, where the ornate city hall with its dramatic tower was a striking sight. So was a modem glass pyramid in the center of the plaza. This pyramid was built by the city to enclose an ancient mikvah that was excavated on this site. "It attracts a lot of attention," said Evelin Rose, a guide for the city of Cologne. "Tourists always stop and ask, 'What's that?"' They can find the answers on the display panels near the pyra- mid, which explain that the mik- vah, dating from 1170, was part of the medieval Jewish quarter lo- cated on this site. "In the Middle Ages this was one of the oldest and most signif- icant Jewish communities in Ger- many," Ms. Rose read, translating from the German. The plaque also explains that the Jews living in this medieval quarter were an integral part of the city, and in fact, helped to de- fend it in 1106 and 1180. Modern visitors can not only see the pyramid and the plaque, but they can also descend and get a first-hand look at the mikvah that Jewish women used cen- turies ago. First, Evelin Rose went to the city hall desk to get the key which provides access. Visitors can also do this themselves, providing they leave their passports at the re- ception desk. Then we descended the deep stairwell, which is almost 50 feet in depth. We descended slowly, and then, at the bottom, we stood surrounded by thick stone walls, looking at the well which was once filled with rain water for Jewish women to come for their ritual im- mersion. In the deep silence, the echoes of history resonated. For a few moments, we simply stood quiet- ly, absorbing the silence of the stone walls and the mood of the past. Nearby, a posted display pan- el gave highlights about the rit- ual bath and also about the medieval Cologne Jewish com- munity, described as "the spiri- tual center of Rhineland Jews." Eventually, these medieval Jews, along with Protestants, were expelled and forced to live outside of Cologne after 1424 — until Napoleon gave them free- dom in 1804. The mikvah was covered after the expulsion. It was discovered during excavations, which began in 1953 and took four years. Still later, an architect was commis- sioned to design the modem glass pyramid. Outside again on the cobble- stoned plaza, we continued our tour of Jewish Cologne as we strolled along the city's lively pedestrian shopping street, Ho- hestrasse. At one corner, Ms. Rose pointed out a plaque which com- memorates the Zionist meetings held here between 1904 and 1911, when Cologne was headquarters of the World Zionist Organization. As we walked, she also point- ed out the Solomon Oppenheim Bank, a prominent bank again under Jewish ownership. Next stop was the wide plaza in front of Cologne's opera house, the Offenplatz, which is named for composer Jacques Offenbach, son of a Cologne cantor. The opera house itself stands on the site of what was a major Cologne syna- gogue — built by the same archi- tect who completed Cologne's great cathedral. A plaque honors this site, too. The synagogue took four years to build and was completed in 1861. But like many other Ger- man synagogues, it was com- pletely destroyed on Nov. 9, 1938, date of the infamous Kristall- nacht, when synagogues and Jewish businesses throughout Germany were destroyed. But Cologne does have one synagogue which survived the Holocaust. And after visiting the sites of the past, I was eager to see it. A quick tram ride brought me to Roon- strasse. On the corner, at No. 50, it was impossible to miss the sight of the majestic Roonstrasse Synagogue. With its Moorish and Ro- manesque design, and its soaring dome, it was an impressive sight indeed.