Cologne Town Hall Figures

Cologne's  Rathaus  or town hall is "Germany's oldest city hall,  with a documented history spanning some 900 years". The Gothic main tower dates from the 1400s; its five stories are adorned on all sides  with 124  stone statues of historical figures; they are modern, most apparently dating from the 1990s, but impressive nonetheless.  The main figure is Rudolf I (1218-1291), Count of Hapsburg. Around the corner, holding a falcon, is Friedrich II (1194-1250), a powerful Holy Roman Emperor. He was a falconer, and in fact wrote the first treatise on the subject of falconry,  De Arte Venandi cum Avibus ("The Art of Hunting with Birds").  The extra shows the tower at night (only the top four floors), with the cathedral in the background,