Olivandenhof
Commercial building in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord with a climbing wall, rain and cold chamber, and diving pool – Europe's largest outdoor specialty store.
At the corner of Zeppelinstrasse and Richmodstrasse, the site's history stretches back to the 13th century – the current building merges this long past with a use as an experience-driven department store.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Commercial building, formerly a shopping centre
- Location
- Cologne Altstadt-Nord, corner of Zeppelinstrasse 9 / Richmodstrasse 10
- Area
- around 7,000 m² of outdoor retail space
- New building
- opened 29 September 1988
- Conversion
- 2004–2006 into a commercial building
- Architects
- Hermann Eberhard Pflaume, Helmut Hentrich
- Status
- listed heritage building in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Special feature
- experience test areas for outdoor equipment
After a 2006 renovation for an outdoor retailer, the building's former atrium was turned into a test pool for water sports gear, complete with a climbing wall and rain and cold chambers – making it, at 7,000 m², Europe's largest outdoor equipment store.
Name and Early History
The origin of the name "Olivandenhof" is not fully established. A house has been documented on this site since 1286, later associated with an elephant or a camel. From 1291 a Beguine community lived here, from which the name Olivengasse is thought to derive. From 1589 a monastery of the Franciscan Observants stood here with a chapel. In the course of secularisation the complex was dissolved in 1802 and subsequently served as, among other things, a grain store and barracks.
From Shopping Centre to Commercial Building
Hermann Eberhard Pflaume Jr. designed a predecessor building in 1912, completed in 1913; its war-damaged remains were occupied by the May furniture store in 1945. The firm Hentrich, Petschnigg & Partner planned a new building incorporating parts of the old façade, which opened in 1988. Between 2004 and 2006 the building was converted into a commercial property for the outdoor retail chain Globetrotter Ausrüstung.
An Experience World Inside
During the conversion, the escalators were removed and replaced by a staircase designed with jungle sounds. The former atrium at the centre of the building was turned into a pool where water sports equipment can be tested. A climbing wall, a rain and cold chamber, and a diving pool allow outdoor gear to be tried out directly on site.
Connection to the Neighbourhood
A 68-metre pedestrian bridge links the building, at a height of 12.50 metres, to the former Karstadt department store opposite. A glass canopy also spans Zeppelinstrasse between the two buildings.
Timeline
- 1286First mention of the „domus ad olvont“ at this site
- 1589Founding of the Franciscan Observant monastery „Conventus ad olivas“
- 1802Dissolution of the monastery during secularization
- 1913Completion of the predecessor building designed by Hermann Eberhard Pflaume jr.
- 1945War-damaged fragments occupied by the May furniture store
- 1988Opening of the new building as a shopping center (29 September)
- 1998Reopening after renovations (24 September)
- 2006Opening as a business building for Globetrotter Ausrüstung (March)
Gallery
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
You might also like — related or nearby
Comments
- Loading comments…
Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-13
How this page is made
This page draws on open sources — Wikipedia, Wikidata, official websites and the city’s open data. Every statement is checked against the sources linked here, and pages are refreshed regularly.
Spotted a mistake anyway? Tell us below — we read every submission.