The University of Cologne (German: Universität zu Köln) was the sixth university to be established in Central Europe[2] and, although it closed in 1789 before being re-established in 1919, it is now one of the largest universities in Germany with more than 48,000 students.
The university has been part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative since 2012, and as of 2015 it ranks 156th globally according to Times Higher Education.