Cologne - Bruno Wolkenaer

Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany - and one of the oldest. A Germanic tribe, the Ubii, had a settlement here, this was named by the Romans "Oppidum Ubiorum". In 50 AD, the Romans founded "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium", the city then became the provincial capital of "Germania Inferior".

"Bruno Wolkenaer" was founded in 1910 and offered paint and varnish to the customers. From 1950 on the company specialied in artist´s materials. Appreciating the expert advice they got, numerous well known Cologne artists got their stuff here. The Wolkenaers got friends with their customers and from time to time acquired a piece from one of the costumers. The business closed down in 2008 and in 2018 Monika and Bruno Wolkenaer, who had run the business from 1960 on, sold about 150 works of art from their collection. A large part of the money that came in was donated to "Villa Kunterbunt", a therapy institition for mentally disabled kids.