2011 Germany €2 UNC Issue "Federal States: North Rhine-Westphalia - Cologne Cathedral"

• Mint: All 5 German mints
• Denomination: €2
• Quality: Uncirculated
• Issue limit: 30 million pcs.
• Alloy: Base Metal
• Diameter: 25.75 mm
• Weight: 8.5 grams
• Design: Heinz Hoyer
• Box/Capsule: No/No
• Certificate: No

Additional Information

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The sixth release in the annual German Federation series features the westernmost, most populous, and economically most powerful state of Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia.

North Rhine-Westphalia is situated in western Germany and shares borders with Belgium in the southwest and the Netherlands in the west and northwest. With a population of approximately 18 million, North Rhine-Westphalia is centered around the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, which includes the cities of Bonn, Cologne (Köln) and Düsseldorf, the state's capital. As the most urbanized federal state in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia possesses the country's highest density of cultural, educational and research institutions, the densest transport infrastructure and the highest number of multinational corporations, contributing approx. 22% to Germany's gross domestic product.

The reverse of the coin shows the Cologne Cathedral - a monument of Christianity, of German Catholicism in particular, of Gothic architecture and of the continuing faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. Dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the cathedral is a World Heritage Site since 1996, one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark, visited by 20,000 people every day. Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete.