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stuff to do in.cologne

Buildings & Institutions

29 places in Cologne

Academy of Media Arts Cologne

since 1990
4.1(20)· Google

North Rhine-Westphalia's art and film school for media arts, founded in 1989, with interdisciplinary diploma programmes in the heart of Cologne.

Amtsgericht Köln

2.4(19)· Google

The largest court in North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany's second-largest district court after Munich — also handling cases from Cologne/Bonn Airport.

Catholic University of Applied Sciences North Rhine-Westphalia

since 1971
3.5(63)· Google

Church-affiliated university of applied sciences for social work and healthcare professions, sponsored by four dioceses across Aachen, Cologne, Münster, and Paderborn.

Cologne University of Music and Dance

since 1925
4.5(170)· Google

One of Europe's largest music academies and Germany's second-oldest, founded in 1845 after Würzburg.

Cologne Water Gauge

4.4(73)· Google

On the left bank of the Rhine in Cologne's northern old town, the Pegel Köln has recorded the river's water level at river kilometre 688 for centuries.

Cologne-Merkenich Combined Heat and Power Plant

4.4(9)· Google

At 250 metres, this power plant's chimney is Cologne's second-tallest structure after the Colonius tower — and the city's primary source of district heating for its northern districts.

Colonia-Haus

since 1973
4.3(151)· Google

Germany's second-tallest residential skyscraper, right on the Rhine in Riehl — at 155 m with antenna, almost as tall as Cologne Cathedral (157 m).

Deutz Gas Engine Factory

since 1864

On this historic industrial site in Cologne-Mülheim, regarded as the „birthplace of global motorisation“, the raum13 cultural initiative is now at work – amid listed buildings such as the Möhring Pavilion at the Mülheim harbour.

Gereon-Kaserne

since 1937
4.3(50)· Google

Bundeswehr barracks in Cologne housing the military leadership assessment centre — renamed from Mudra-Kaserne in 2022.

Gerling Ring-Karree

since 2001
4.1(277)· Google

A 55-metre office tower on Hohenzollernring designed by Norman Foster — with a hidden lake and garden reserved exclusively for residents.

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Germany's national aeronautics and space research centre is headquartered in Cologne-Porz — and its European Astronaut Centre is where ESA's astronauts train.

Historical Archive with Rhenish Image Archive

since 1857
5.0(1)· Google

Germany's largest municipal archive — collapsed during subway construction in 2009, reopened in a new building at Eifelwall in 2021.

Jewish Welfare Center

3.6(5)· Google

Jewish social facility of the Cologne Synagogue Community in Neuehrenfeld — housed in the historic buildings of the former Israelite Asylum for the Sick and Elderly.

Klosterhof (Cologne-Dünnwald)

3.5(2)· Google

The Klosterhof in Cologne-Dünnwald is the surviving, listed working estate of the former Dünnwald monastery; its eastern wing today serves as a residential and office building.

KölnTurm

since 2001
4.4(80)· Google

Cologne's tallest office building in the Mediapark (148.1 m) — glass façade with fired-on cathedral motifs and a rooftop terrace on the 30th floor open to restaurant guests.

Kreuzkirche

since 1913

Former Protestant church near Cologne's main station, now the Pathpoint Cologne youth hostel.

Landgericht Köln

2.4(295)· Google

One of Germany's largest regional courts – with a press chamber that journalists consider the strictest in the country.

Langeler Bogen Flood Retention Basin

A polder on the right bank of the Rhine that is deliberately flooded during high water events to lower the river level in Cologne.

Lanxess Tower

since 1969

Striking 95-metre office tower in Cologne-Deutz, originally built as Lufthansa's headquarters and now home to the global HQ of Lanxess AG.

Luftwaffenkaserne

since 1870
5.0(1)· Google

One of Germany's largest military bases at around 300 hectares — home to senior Bundeswehr commands, a NATO unit, and a Canadian operational hub.

Oberpostdirektion Köln

Regional postal authority for the Cologne area from 1850 to 1993, headquartered in the Altstadt-Nord district.

Pollonius

5.0(2)· Google

115-metre telecommunications tower in Cologne's Porz district, named as a nod to its taller 'big brother', the Colonius tower.

Rechtsrheinischer Kölner Randkanal

A twelve-kilometre underground relief canal that carries streams on the right bank of the Rhine from Bergisch Gladbach-Refrath all the way to Cologne-Stammheim, where they empty into the river.

RemediCool Cryotherapy Chamber Experts

4.9(39)· Google

RemediCool combines cryotherapy chamber technology with an app-based software solution – from algorithmic session time calculation to vital data tracking.

Rheinische Hochschule Köln

since 1971
3.9(95)· Google

Private university of applied sciences in Cologne, formerly Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln (RFH) and renamed in March 2024.

Ringturm

4.6(9)· Google

The Ringturm at Cologne's Ebertplatz is a 109-metre high-rise from 1973 that, since its conversion into apartments, stands as a striking architectural landmark in the Neustadt-Nord district.

TÜV Rheinland

since 1872
4.2(459)· Google

Independent testing and certification giant born from steam boiler inspection in 1872 — headquartered in the 114 m Am Grauen Stein tower in Cologne.

Uni-Center

since 1973
4.1(459)· Google

One of Europe's largest residential buildings: the Y-shaped tower in Sülz combines 968 apartments with a 134-metre central core.

Alte Wache (Waidmarkt)

A Prussian guardhouse from 1840/41 on the Waidmarkt, whose listed portico was dismantled and put into storage for possible reconstruction after the 2009 archive collapse.

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