Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: fire station

A settlement existed at the confluence of two large rivers, for many centuries, before Kaunas was first mentioned in written sources in 1361. At that time a brick castle was constructed. Only a year later the castle was captured after a siege and destroyed by the Teutonic Order. It was one of the most important victories of the Teutonic Knights in the 14th in Lithuania. The castle was rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1408 Kaunas was granted city rights by Vytautas the Great. Kaunas began to gain prominence since it was at an intersection of trade routes and a river port. In 1441 Kaunas joined the Hanseatic League. By the 16th century, Kaunas had a public school and a hospital and was one of the best-formed towns in Lithuania. In 1665, the Russian army attacked the city, and in 1701 the city was occupied by the Swedish Army. Fires destroyed parts of the city in 1731 and 1732. After the final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian state in 1795, the city was taken over by the Russian Empire. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon´s armee passed through twice, devastating the city both times. When In 1862, a railway connecting the Russian Empire and Imperial Germany was built, Kaunas was a significant railway hub. As WWII began, about 30,000 Jews were living in Kaunas, comprising about 25% of the city's population. Only very few survived the war. The firefighters of the 1. Fire Brigade, stationed here, are always on alert. 24/7.

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". In the 19th century the population of Cologne grew and under the Prussian government new quarters developed. What is now the vibrant "Suedstadt" quarter was planned end of the 19th century, after the medieval fortificationes were demolished. Factories existed inbetween the large residential blocks, where the workers lived with their families. That all needed a proper infrastructure and this building located Vondelstrasse 2-4, was the fire station "No.4 Cöln Süd" for a century. After renovation and rebuilding in 2004 the "Comedia Theater" and the restaurant "Comedia Wagenhalle" moved in.