Leaning Tower of Cologne (St. John the Baptist)

The conspicuously tilted tower of the old church of St. John the Baptist in the Südstadt – Cologne's little ‘leaning tower'.

Curiosity Severin quarter Hidden gem

The Leaning Tower of Cologne is the noticeably tilted tower of the church of St. John the Baptist on Severinstraße. The church is one of the oldest in the city and stands in the heart of the lively Severin quarter.

Source: Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-06-24

At a glance

Church: St. John the Baptist, one of Cologne's oldest
First recorded: 948, a parish church since 1080
Location: Severinstraße, Südstadt
Notable: a conspicuously leaning tower

Cologne's leaning tower

While Pisa is world-famous, Cologne too has its "leaning tower": the tower of St. John the Baptist tilts visibly to one side. The Romanesque church in the Severin quarter looks back on over a thousand years of history and is a charming, often overlooked destination away from the main tourist trails.