History of Cologne - French Occupation

French Occupation

The French Revolutionary Wars resulted in the occupation of Cologne and the Rhineland in 1794. In the following years the French consolidated their presence. In 1798 Cologne became an arrondissement in the newly created Département de la Roer. In the same year the University of Cologne was closed. In 1801 all citizen of Cologne were granted the French citizenship. In 1804 Napoléon Bonaparte visited the city together with his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais. The French occupation of Cologne ended in 1814.