The City Of Scent: A Fragrant Journey Through Germany

Cologne is a German city noted for its pleasant fragrance. The popularity of fragrance in Germany dates back to the 18th century when Giovanni Maria Farina created a fragrance described as the essence of 'an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain'. He named it Eau de Cologne as a tribute to the city which had welcomed him and had given him citizenship.

Cologne Eau de Cologne originated in Germany

The popularity of fragrance in Germany dates back to the 18th century, where there are conflicting stories as to the true origin of Eau de Cologne. It seems that in the 18th century, Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian perfumer, left his native Italy for Cologne, Germany, where he created a fragrance described as the essence of ‘an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain. He named it Eau de Cologne as a tribute to the city which had welcomed him and had given him citizenship – not an easy task for foreigners at the time. The fragrance gained wide acclaim and was used by the royal courts of Europe.

Cologne was invented in Germany in 1709 and gained great popularity as a refreshingly light alternative to the stronger scents produced in France, who had remained the centre of perfumery for many years previously. This was driven by the perfumed court of the Sun King Louis XIV, in an age where all scents were extracted from natural sources using only pure essential oils. Perfume was used as a status symbol, and smelling pleasant was a luxury restricted to royalty and the nobility.

Since the creation of fragrance, perfume bottles have been designed to contain precious scents. The earliest examples of perfume bottles come from Ancient Egypt, initially crafted from clay or wood.

The word ‘cologne’ comes from the German city of Cologne, where Farnia was living at the time. Perfume is a general term for a substance that gives a pleasant smell to one’s body, therefore cologne is a type of perfume that is typically fresh and citrusy in character due to a lower percentage of scented essential oils. Cologne is one of the oldest terms for perfume, used to scent the skin, but through the decades it has adopted different meanings.

Thanks to these major discoveries, perfume was exported throughout Europe and became popular in the Middle Ages. Arab perfumers settled in Spain where they revealed their know-how, making Granada and Seville central cities in terms of fragrance production. Perfume then took a new path, to France, Italy and Germany. For decades, France has been a reference in the field of perfume. And for good reason, certain cities in our country have played a major role in its history over the years. This is of course the case of Grasse, still considered today as the world capital of perfume.

Giovanni Maria Farina created Eau de Cologne

Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian perfumer, created Eau de Cologne in Germany in the 18th century. Farina left his native Italy for the German city of Cologne, where he created a fragrance described as the essence of 'an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain'. He named it Eau de Cologne as a tribute to the city which had welcomed him and had given him citizenship. The fragrance gained wide acclaim and was used by the royal courts of Europe.

The popularity of fragrance in Germany dates back to the 18th century, where there are conflicting stories as to the true origin of Eau de Cologne. Cologne was invented in Germany in 1709 and gained great popularity as a refreshingly light alternative to the stronger scents produced in France. Since the creation of fragrance, perfume bottles have been designed to contain precious scents. The earliest examples of perfume bottles come from Ancient Egypt, initially crafted from clay or wood.

The word 'cologne' comes from the German city of Cologne, where Farina was living at the time. Perfume is a general term for a substance that gives a pleasant smell to one’s body, therefore cologne is a type of perfume that is typically fresh and citrusy in character due to a lower percentage of scented essential oils. Cologne is one of the oldest terms for perfume, used to scent the skin, but through the decades it has adopted different meanings.

Perfume was exported throughout Europe and became popular in the Middle Ages. Arab perfumers settled in Spain where they revealed their know-how, making Granada and Seville central cities in terms of fragrance production. Perfume then took a new path, to France, Italy and Germany. For decades, France has been a reference in the field of perfume. And for good reason, certain cities in our country have played a major role in its history over the years. This is of course the case of Grasse, still considered today as the world capital of perfume.

Cologne popularity grew in the 18th century

The popularity of fragrance in Germany dates back to the 18th century where there are conflicting stories as to the true origin of Eau de Cologne. It seems that in the 18th century Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian perfumer, left his native Italy for Cologne, Germany, where he created a fragrance described as the essence of ‘an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain.’ He named it Eau de Cologne as a tribute to the city which had welcomed him and had given him citizenship – not an easy task for foreigners at the time. The fragrance gained wide acclaim and was used by the royal courts of Europe.

Cologne was invented in Germany in 1709 and gained great popularity as a refreshingly light alternative to the stronger scents produced in France, who had remained the centre of perfumery for many years previously. This was driven by the perfumed court of the Sun King Louis XIV, in an age where all scents were extracted from natural sources using only pure essential oils. Perfume was used as a status symbol, and smelling pleasant was a luxury restricted to royalty and the nobility.

Since the creation of fragrance, perfume bottles have been designed to contain precious scents. The earliest examples of perfume bottles come from Ancient Egypt, initially crafted from clay or wood.

Cologne is one of the oldest terms for perfume, used to scent the skin, but through the decades it has adopted different meanings. The word ‘cologne’ comes from the German city of Cologne, where Farnia was living at the time.

Jean-Marie Farina, an Italian perfumer living in the German city, made his name in 1709.

Cologne is one of the oldest perfume terms

Cologne is one of the oldest terms for perfume. The popularity of fragrance in Germany dates back to the 18th century, where there are conflicting stories as to the true origin of Eau de Cologne. It seems that in the 18th century, Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian perfumer, left his native Italy for Cologne, Germany, where he created a fragrance described as the essence of ‘an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain. He named it Eau de Cologne as a tribute to the city which had welcomed him and had given him citizenship – not an easy task for foreigners at the time. The fragrance gained wide acclaim and was used by the royal courts of Europe.

The word ‘cologne’ comes from the German city of Cologne, where Farnia was living at the time. Perfume is a general term for a substance that gives a pleasant smell to one’s body, therefore cologne is a type of perfume that is typically fresh and citrusy in character due to a lower percentage of scented essential oils. Cologne was invented in Germany in 1709 and gained great popularity as a refreshingly light alternative to the stronger scents produced in France, who had remained the centre of perfumery for many years previously. This was driven by the perfumed court of the Sun King Louis XIV, in an age where all scents were extracted from natural sources using only pure essential oils. Perfume was used as a status symbol, and smelling pleasant was a luxury restricted to royalty and the nobility.

Since the creation of fragrance, perfume bottles have been designed to contain precious scents. The earliest examples of perfume bottles come from Ancient Egypt, initially crafted from clay or wood. The popularity of fragrance in Germany dates back to the 18th century, where there are conflicting stories as to the true origin of Eau de Cologne. It seems that in the 18th century, Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian perfumer, left his native Italy for Cologne, Germany, where he created a fragrance described as the essence of ‘an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain. He named it Eau de Cologne as a tribute to the city which had welcomed him and had given him citizenship – not an easy task for foreigners at the time. The fragrance gained wide acclaim and was used by the royal courts of Europe.

Cologne is typically fresh and citrusy

Cologne is a German city that is known for its Eau de Cologne, a lighter fragrance blend of 2% to 4% perfume oils in alcohol and water. It was invented in the 18th century by Italian perfumer Giovanni Maria Farina for the royal courts of Europe. The word 'cologne' comes from the German city of Cologne, where Farina was living at the time.

The popularity of fragrance in Germany dates back to the 18th century, where there are conflicting stories as to the true origin of Eau de Cologne. It seems that in the 18th century, Farina left his native Italy for Cologne, Germany, where he created a fragrance described as the essence of 'an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain'. He named it Eau de Cologne as a tribute to the city which had welcomed him and had given him citizenship – not an easy task for foreigners at the time. The fragrance gained wide acclaim and was used by the royal courts of Europe.

Since the creation of fragrance, perfume bottles have been designed to contain precious scents. The earliest examples of perfume bottles come from Ancient Egypt, initially crafted from clay or wood.

Cologne was invented in Germany in 1709 and gained great popularity as a refreshingly light alternative to the stronger scents produced in France, who had remained the centre of perfumery for many years previously. This was driven by the perfumed court of the Sun King Louis XIV, in an age where all scents were extracted from natural sources using only pure essential oils. Perfume was used as a status symbol, and smelling pleasant was a luxury restricted to royalty and the nobility.

Frequently asked questions