Kölner Seilbahn
Gliding over the Rhine: since 1957, this six-minute cable car ride has offered sweeping views of Cologne, the Old Town, and the Cathedral.
since 1957
The Kölner Seilbahn crosses the Rhine by gondola and is primarily a tourist attraction; since its opening it has carried over 20 million passengers.
At a Glance
- Type
- Cable car over the Rhine (formerly Rheinseilbahn)
- Length
- 935 metres
- Journey time
- approx. 6 minutes
- Opened
- 1957, for the Federal Garden Show (Bundesgartenschau)
- Location
- between Riehl and Deutz, near the Zoobrücke
- Operator
- part of Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB) since 1998
- Status
- listed monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
Among the very first passengers when the cable car opened in 1957 were Federal President Theodor Heuss and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer – with Adenauer, as a former Mayor of Cologne, effectively returning to his old home city.
Things to do here
- Float across the Rhine and enjoy the ride
- Marvel at the view of the old town, cathedral and Rheinpark
- Photograph Cologne from a bird's-eye view
- Experience the historic cable car from 1957
- Spot the artistically designed gondolas
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
History
Ahead of the 1957 Federal Garden Show, the Zollstock firm Julius Pohlig was commissioned by a 1955 council resolution to link the Rheinpark with the left-bank grounds of the Zoo and the Flora. Construction began in February 1956, with almost all the technology sourced locally: the pendulum supports (up to 35 tonnes) from Pohlig AG, the cables from Felten & Guilleaume's Mülheim plant, and the stations designed by a municipal architect. On 17 April 1957, Mayor Theo Burauen and Zoo Director Wilhelm Windecker opened the line — Federal President Theodor Heuss and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer were among the first passengers.
Closure and Reconstruction
In 1963 the cable car was shut down and dismantled because a pylon of the new Zoobrücke blocked the route. A council resolution in 1964 paved the way for its return with a revised alignment: the left-bank pylon was rotated slightly, the right-bank support shifted southward, and the route extended to a station set deeper within the Rheinpark. The line is now 250 metres longer than originally planned and passes over the Claudius Therme thermal spa. Operations resumed in 1966.
Today
Since 1998 the cable car has been part of the Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe group. Since 2008, couples can marry in a golden wedding gondola; in 2010, Cologne singer and painter Wolfgang Niedecken decorated three gondolas. Alongside its mainly tourist role, a proposed 33-kilometre cable car network as a supplement to Cologne's public transport system is under discussion.
Did You Know
During the 1957 Federal Garden Show the cable car carried 1.35 million guests, and its capacity of 2,400 passengers per hour was considered a world record at the time. In 2014, Storm Gonzalo caused a cabin to come off the cable, leaving six people stranded; a family of four was rescued by abseiling from roughly 40 metres above the Rhine onto a fireboat after nightfall. In 2017, a cable became entangled with a gondola and fire crews rescued 65 people from 32 gondolas.
Timeline
- 1955City council resolution (21 July): commission awarded to Pohlig for construction
- 1956Construction begins in February
- 1957Opened 17 April; Federal Garden Show from 26 April – 1.35 million passengers
- 1963Operations ceased 3 September due to Zoo Bridge construction, dismantled
- 1964City council resolution (23 July): reopening with modified route
- 1966Reopened 22 August after extension to 935 metres
- 1998Integrated into KVB group
- 2014Incident on 21 October: cabin derails from cable, 6 passengers evacuated
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Riehler Str. 180
50735 Köln
Hours
Mo: 10:00–18:00
Di: 10:00–18:00
Mi: 10:00–18:00
Do: 10:00–18:00
Fr: 10:00–18:00
Sa: 10:00–18:00
So: 10:00–18:00
Contact
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Official website (retrieved 2026-06-25)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-06-24)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-24, rev 263964587)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26
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