# Jews in Cologne (321)

URL: https://germany-history.com/timeline/321-jews-in-cologne
Location: Cologne
Categories: main-event

A decree of Emperor Constantine in 321 permitted Jews to be appointed to the city council of Cologne. It is the oldest written evidence of a Jewish community north of the Alps. In 2021 Germany marked 1,700 years of Jewish life on the basis of this document.

## Why it matters
It marks the beginning of a Jewish history in Germany spanning seventeen centuries.

## Sources
- [Wikipedia – History of the Jews in Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Germany)
- [Wikipedia – Cologne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica – Cologne](https://www.britannica.com/place/Cologne-Germany)