Köln, Germany
Evergreen city guide with quick facts, travel, business, and culture.
Overview
Kölner Dom & the Shrine of the Three Kings
Roman Heritage
Museum Ludwig & the Art Scene
Kölsch & Karneval Culture
Cologne rises on the west bank of the Rhine around Germany's most-visited landmark, the Kölner Dom — a Gothic cathedral begun in 1248 and only completed in 1880, its twin 157-metre spires the tallest in the world until the Washington Monument surpassed them, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Inside, the Shrine of the Three Kings, a gilded reliquary from around 1225, is said to hold relics of the Magi and drew medieval pilgrims from across Europe, making Cologne one of Christendom's great pilgrimage cities alongside Rome and Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral survived the extensive rebuilding the city underwent after the Second World War as its most recognisable symbol, standing today amid a mostly reconstructed old town whose surviving Romanesque churches — twelve in total, another UNESCO-recognised ensemble — trace Cologne's importance as a medieval trading and religious centre. Founded in 38 BC as the Roman colony Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (the source of the city's name), Cologne preserves its Roman heritage at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, with mosaics, glassware and the reconstructed Roman sewer visible beneath the cathedral square. The Rhine promenade and the pedestrian Hohenzollern Bridge, its railings covered in thousands of padlocks left by couples, connect the old town to the modern Deutz district and the Rheinpark. Cologne's culture is inseparable from Kölsch, the light, top-fermented local beer served only in small 0.2-litre glasses in traditional Brauhäuser, and from Karneval, the weeks-long Carnival season culminating in the Rosenmontag parade — one of Germany's largest street festivals, drawing over a million spectators and reflecting a local character famously more relaxed and humour-loving than the German stereotype.
Discover Köln
The Kölner Dom, begun in 1248 and finally completed in 1880 after a six-century pause, is Germany's most-visited landmark and one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world, its twin spires visible from across the city and from trains crossing the Rhine bridges. The cathedral's centrepiece is the Shrine of the Three Kings, a monumental gilded and jewelled reliquary completed around 1225 by the goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun, traditionally said to hold the relics of the Magi brought to Cologne in 1164 — a relic that made the city one of medieval Europe's great pilgrimage destinations. Visitors can climb the South Tower's 533 steps for panoramic views over the Rhine and the old town, and the cathedral's treasury displays liturgical vestments, reliquaries and medieval manuscripts. UNESCO listed the cathedral as a World Heritage Site in 1996, citing both its architectural significance and its role as a testament to the enduring strength of European Christianity.
The UNESCO-listed Kölner Dom and its Shrine of the Three Kings anchor the city, alongside the Römisch-Germanisches Museum's Roman collection, the twelve Romanesque churches of the Altstadt, Museum Ludwig's modern art and the Rhine promenade with the padlock-covered Hohenzollern Bridge — two to three days covers the highlights comfortably.
Construction began in 1248 but stalled for centuries after the Middle Ages; the cathedral was only finally completed in 1880, following the medieval master plan almost exactly, making it a genuinely six-century building project.
Kölsch is a light, top-fermented beer that by regional law can only be brewed near Cologne. It is served in small 0.2-litre glasses called Stangen, continuously refilled by waiters in traditional Brauhäuser until you place a coaster on top of your glass to signal you are done.
6 embassies based in this city, grouped by region.