Cologne University of Music and Dance
One of Europe's largest music academies and Germany's second-oldest, founded in 1845 after Würzburg.
since 1925
The Cologne University of Music and Dance is located in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord district and ranks among Europe's largest music academies. Until 2009 it was known as the "Hochschule für Musik Köln."
At a Glance
- Type
- State University of Music and Dance
- Location
- Altstadt-Nord, main building on Dagobertstraße
- Significance
- one of Europe's largest music academies
- Founded
- 1845
- Departments
- seven, plus branch campuses in Aachen and Wuppertal
- Main building
- Brutalist style, occupied since 1977
- Notable feature
- dance established as an academic discipline in 1995; Pre-College Cologne for gifted children and young people
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
Founding
Composer Heinrich Dorn, together with violinist Franz Hartmann, founded a "Musical Institute for Cologne and the Rhine Province" in 1845, housed in a building at Marienplatz behind St. Maria im Kapitol; nine students enrolled at its founding. This makes the institution Germany's second-oldest music academy after Würzburg (1804). When Dorn moved to the Berlin Opera in 1849, he proposed Ferdinand von Hiller as his successor, who opened a new conservatory at Marienplatz in 1850. During Hiller's tenure, 1,382 students passed through the school, including composer Engelbert Humperdinck.
From Conservatory to University
In 1925 the training split into the continuing Rhenish Music School and a newly established music academy, recognized as Germany's third State University of Music after Leipzig and Berlin. The building on Wolfsstraße was destroyed by bombing in 1943. In 1968 the state of North Rhine-Westphalia took over sponsorship. With the introduction of dance as an academic discipline in 1995, the institution was renamed "Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln" in 2009.
Architecture
The main building on Dagobertstraße is a notable example of Brutalist architecture in the Rhineland. The Cologne architectural collective Bauturm won the state-run competition in 1969 and completed the building by 1977. It received the Cologne Architecture Prize in 1975.
Campus in the Kunibertsviertel
The university's facilities, currently scattered across the city, are to be consolidated into a single campus in the Kunibertsviertel near the main building. For this purpose, the former building of the University of Public Administration on Thürmchenswall is being renovated, which will include a library spanning three floors. A new extension building will provide additional study spaces, a café, and a hall serving as both a concert and dance venue. The courtyard opening onto Dagobertstraße will become a publicly accessible green space with 32 newly planted trees. Completion of the extension is expected by late 2026 or early 2027.
Map
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Address
Unter Krahnenbäumen 87
50668 Köln
Contact
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Official website (retrieved 2026-07-17)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-06-30)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-30, rev 267202116)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-30
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