The history of 4711 Original Eau de Cologne / 4711 Cologne water from Cologne

So many directly connect “4711 the real Cologne water” with Cologne. To my positive surprise, there were several pictures hanging of 4711 on the 5th floor of the Lindner Cologne City Plaza Hotel, my floor. And, did you know an important “Fun Fact” about the real Cologne water 4711? Such a great bond with Cologne, and then, it was not even invented and mixed by a primordial Cologne. The Italian perfumer Johann Maria Farina from the Milan area moved to Cologne in 1714 and named his elixir after his new home, Cologne, Eau de Cologne. This term is now widely used for perfumes, but the 4711 is the only true Eau de Cologne, or to German colognes. “My scent is like an Italian spring morning after the rain, orange, grapefruit, lemon, bergamot, cedar, lime, and the flowers and herbs of my home.” Of course, such a scent was at that time breaching, even though one considers that the body hygiene of today is in no way comparable with the then. His 4711 Eau de Cologne quickly established itself at all royal houses in the eighteenth century, and Napoleon also ordered at Farina in Cologne. By the way, today’s 4711 Echt Kölnischwasser is still manufactured according to the same recipe that has been over 300 years old. Johann Maria Farina would never have dreamed of that. And indeed, he would have never dreamt of what happened to his scent, as it was copied by another company, 4711, that still market 4711 Original Eau de Cologne as “theirs”.
If you want to learn more about the real Cologne water, you should plan a visit to the 4711 house in the city centre of Cologne.