Barbarossaplatz
Traffic hub on Cologne's Kölner Ringe ring road, named after Frederick Barbarossa in 1883, with a tram stop encircled by multi-lane carriageways.
Barbarossaplatz is part of the Kölner Ringe, a 7½-kilometre ring road, and was named on 10 May 1883 after Frederick I, known as Barbarossa (Italian for 'red beard'). A tram stop at the centre of the square is enclosed on all four sides by multi-lane carriageways.
At a Glance
- Type
- Square and traffic hub on the Kölner Ringe
- District
- Südstadt, inner-city borough
- Dimensions
- approximately 100 metres long, around 50 metres wide
- Buildings
- including an 18-storey, 48-metre high-rise on Salierring (1972)
- Art
- two public sculptures (1976/77 and 1993)
In 2017, the Cologne band Querbeat dedicated an entire song to the square – "Guten Morgen Barbarossaplatz" – because the former city conservator Ulrich Krings had publicly called it "the most neglected square in the city."
Things to do here
- Take in the bustling traffic hub of Cologne's Ringe
- Discover the two sculptures "Attila" and "Steel-Watercolor-Triangle-Ring"
- Photograph the striking 48-metre tower at Salierring
- Watch the activity around the tram stop in the middle of the square
- Set off from here to explore the Südstadt and Cologne's Ringe
Location and Layout
At both ends of the square, side streets, sections of the ring road and federal roads converge at intersections; at the south-eastern end a tram crossing adds further complexity. The north-eastern side forms part of a continuous residential block, while the south-western side is a row comprising a twelve-storey high-rise and two smaller buildings. All earlier structures were destroyed during the war.
Buildings
The twelve-storey high-rise at Barbarossaplatz 2 was built in 1955/56 to plans by Ernst Nolte for the savings bank (Sparkasse), together with a four-storey annexe. On the corner of Salierring stands an 18-storey, 48-metre high-rise from 1972, with a grocery store on the ground floor and offices above.
Public Transport
At the square, city rail line 18 crosses ring lines 12 and 15, while line 16, arriving from the Köln/Dom stop, merges onto the ring road. The stop is split across two locations: platforms on Barbarossaplatz itself and on Neue Weyerstraße. The platforms on the square are step-free; the others are not.
Art and Perception
The square features sculptures by Paul Suter ('Attila', 1976/77) and Fletcher C. Benton ('Steel-Watercolor-Triangle-Ring', 1993). Together with Zülpicher Platz, Barbarossaplatz serves as a local retail centre for around 22,000 residents. The former city conservator Ulrich Krings once described it as the most neglected square in the city — a reputation the band Querbeat immortalised in their 2017 song 'Guten Morgen Barbarossaplatz'.
Timeline
- 1883Square named after Frederick I Barbarossa on 10 May
- 1955/195612-storey high-rise and annex built for the savings bank
- 197218-storey high-rise at Salierring 47–53 completed
- 1976/77Sculpture 'Attila' by Paul Suter installed
- 1986Terminal station Cologne-Barbarossaplatz taken out of service
- 1993Sculpture 'Steel-Watercolor-Triangle-Ring' by Fletcher C. Benton installed
- 200914-day ethnographic mapping of the square commissioned by the arts council
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Barbarossaplatz
Köln
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26
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