Hohe Straße

The line of the street follows the Roman Cardo maximus, the ancient city's main north-south axis. The Romans called it Strata lapidea, meaning paved street – it was surfaced almost end to end and was probably the only paved road in the early settlement.

At its junction with today's Schildergasse, the ancient Decumanus maximus, stood the forum, the central marketplace. Along the street ran military facilities such as barracks, large kitchens, grain stores and workshops. Notably, the full granaries at the legion's base could secure emergency supplies for around two years.

From the 19th century the street grew into a major commercial thoroughfare. Trade in luxury goods took hold here – fashion, eau de Cologne, cigars and books. Well-known names such as Farina (eau de Cologne) and the tobacco merchant Joseph Feinhals shaped the scene.

In 1863 the "Königin-Augusta-Halle" opened as the city's first metropolitan shopping arcade – after the Sillem's Bazar in Hamburg, it was the second significant shopping arcade in Germany. Leonhard Tietz's department store eventually gave rise, via several changes, to today's Galeria store. The Stollwerck arcade is the only surviving shopping arcade from the elegant pre-war period.

Because of high rents, high-turnover chain stores – often franchises – dominate, while traditional specialist shops have become rare. The mix ranges from department stores to shoe and fashion outlets, opticians, perfumeries, bookshops and jewellers. Due to the narrow street and dense pedestrian flow, outdoor dining is found almost only in the side streets. Of the roughly 90 retail units, just under 30 percent offer more than 500 square metres of floor space.