Richmodis-Haus

The legend has genuine historical roots. During the 14th century, roughly half of Cologne's population — around 20,000 people — died of the plague. In the chaos of mass death, post-mortem examinations were far from rigorous, and it was not unheard of for the living to be buried prematurely.

The Richmodis story remains alive in Cologne today. It inspired Richmodis Kölsch, a beer brand revived by REWE in 2012 whose logo features the two white horses and the building. In 2004, BAP frontman Wolfgang Niedecken set the tale to music in the song "Zwei Päädsköpp ahm Nümaat" (Two Horse Heads on the Neumarkt).

The site's history stretches back to the Middle Ages. In the early 16th century, Emperor Maximilian I commissioned a grand residence here — complete with tower, oriel windows, grand halls and a private chapel — that served as an imperial lodging under names such as "Hackeney'scher Hof" and "Palatium." Its three-winged palace featured a 28-metre-high octagonal spiral staircase tower, the first of its kind in Cologne. Emperor Charles V stayed here on several occasions; his brother Ferdinand I also lodged here from 5 January 1531, when he came to Cologne following his election as King of the Romans. The house chapel held an altarpiece painted in 1515 by Joos van Cleve, now in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Over the centuries the buildings and tower were torn down and rebuilt multiple times; the current structure dates from 1928/29.