Cologne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city in Germany. It was founded by the Romans in 50 AD as Colonia Agrippina, and it became the capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. From 260 to 271 AD, Cologne was the capital of the Gallic Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century. In 462, the Franks conquered the city, and it became a part of Austrasia. In 716, King Chilperic II of Neustria defeated Charles Martel's Austrasians at Cologne, Martel's only defeat. In 843 AD, Cologne was granted to Lotharingia after the partitioning of Francia, and, in 953 AD, the Archbishopric of Cologne was granted secular power. In 1288, following the Battle of Worringen, Cologne became a free city, overthrowing the Archbishop's rule. Cologne became an important center of medieval pilgrimage, and it was also located at a vital crossroads for trade between Italy, Flanders, and Central Europe. Cologne remained a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire until the French Revolutionary Wars, when the French Republic and French Empire annexed Cologne to its Roer department. Cologne became a part of Prussia at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, but anti-Prussian resentment grew due to the Kulturkampf and anti-Catholic discrimination. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Cologne absorbed several nearby towns, and 61% of the city was destroyed by Allied strategic bombing during World War II, reducing the city's population by 95%. Starting in 1947, the city was extensively rebuilt, and its economy prospered during the 1980s and 1990s due to the growth of media companies and diverse traffic infrastructure in the city. By 2018, Cologne had 1,085,664 residents, while the metro area had 8,633,158 residents.
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