German commemorative 2 euro coins - Nordrhein-Westfalen from the "Bundesländer" series
Commemorative 2 euro coins from Germany
The sixth release in the annual German Federation series features the westernmost, most populous, and economically most powerful state of Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia.Description: The inner part of the coin depicts the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) with the inscription Nordrhein-Westfalen underneath as reference to the German federal state (Bundesland). The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European Union flag combined with the year 2011 at the bottom of the ring.
Reverse: left from the coin centre face value: 2, on the right inscription: EURO; in the background of the inscription a map of Europe; in the background of the map vertically six parallel lines ending on both sides with five-pointed stars (the reverse is common for all euro coins)
Designer: Heinz Hoyer is credited with the design of the German 2011 €2 Euro Commemorative coin.
Issuing volume: 30 million coins
Date of issue: 28 January 2011
Face value: 2 euro
Diameter: 25.75 mm
Thickness: 2.2 mm
Weight: 8.5 gr
Composition: BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass
€2 Edge Inscription: The German €2 coin edge inscription is "EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT" (Unity and Justice and Freedom), followed by the German federal eagle.
Mint Marks:
A - Berlin National Mint ( Staatliche Münze Berlin ) in Berlin, Germany.
D - Bavarian Central Mint ( Bayerisches Hauptmünzamt ) in München, Germany.
F - Baden-Württemberg National Mint, Stuttgart Embossing ( Staatliche Münzen Baden-Württemberg Prägestätte Stuttgart ) in Stuttgart, Germany.
G - Baden-Württemberg National Mint, Karlsruhe Embossing ( Staatliche Münzen Baden-Württemberg Prägestätte Karlsruhe ) in Karslruhe, Germany.
J - Hamburg Mint ( Hamburgische Münze ), in Hamburg, Germany.
while B, C, E and H used to be mint locations that had been closed prior to the introduction of the Euro.
German Bundesländer series
Germany started the commemorative coin series Die 16 Bundesländer der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (The 16 States of the Federal Republic of Germany) in 2006, which will continue until 2021. Coins will be issued in the same sequence as the annual rotation of the presidency in the 'Bundesrat' (upper house of parliament), in which the 16 federal states are represented.The coins issued are: 2 euro 2006 Schleswig-Holstein, 2 euro 2007 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 2 euro 2008 Hamburg, 2 euro 2009 Saarland, 2 euro 2010 Bremen, 2 euro 2011 North Rhine-Westphalia, 2 euro 2012 Bavaria, 2 euro 2013 Baden-Württemberg, 2 euro 2014 Lower Saxony, 2 euro 2015 Hesse, 2 euro 2016 Saxony, 2 euro 2017 Rhineland-Palatinate, 2 euro 2018 Berlin, 2 euro 2019 Saxony-Anhalt, 2 euro 2020 Thuringia, 2 euro 2021 Brandenburg.
North Rhine-Westphalia - Nordrhein-Westfalen
Cologne Cathedral - Kölner Dom
Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) (Latin: Ecclesia Cathedralis Sanctorum Petri et Mariae, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus, English: High Cathedral of St. Peter) is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.
Construction of Cologne Cathedral commenced in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. It is 144.5 metres (474 ft) long, 86.5 m (284 ft) wide and its towers are approximately 157 m (515 ft) tall. The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires (after Ulm Minster) Its two huge spires give it the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir has the largest height to width ratio, 3.6:1, of any medieval church.
Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe".
In 1996, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites. In 2004 it was placed on the "World Heritage in Danger" list, as the only Western site in danger, due to plans to construct a high-rise building nearby, which would have visually impacted the site. The cathedral was removed from the List of In Danger Sites in 2006, following the authorities' decision to limit the heights of buildings constructed near and around the cathedral.
As a World Heritage Site, and with its convenient position on tourist routes, Cologne Cathedral is a major tourist attraction, the visitors including many who travel there as a Christian pilgrimage.
Visitors can climb 509 stone steps of the spiral staircase to a viewing platform about 98 m (322 ft) above the ground. The platform gives a scenic view over the Rhine.
On 18 August 2005, Pope Benedict XVI visited the cathedral during his apostolic visit to Germany, as part of World Youth Day 2005 festivities. An estimated one million pilgrims visited the cathedral during this time. Also as part of the events of World Youth Day, Cologne Cathedral hosted a televised gala performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Choir conducted by Sir Gilbert Levine.