KölnTurm
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.
since 2001
Rising above Cologne's Mediapark, the KölnTurm stands 148.1 metres tall (165.5 metres including its antenna), making it the city's tallest office building. Within North Rhine-Westphalia, it ranks second only to the Bonn Post Tower.
At a Glance
- Type
- High-rise with office, congress, and conference spaces
- Location
- Mediapark, Neustadt-Nord district (Innenstadt borough)
- Height
- 148.1 m; 165.5 m with antenna
- Floors
- 43, served by six lifts (5 m/s)
- Architects
- Kohl & Kohl (later Kohl:Fromme) and Jean Nouvel
- Completed
- 21 November 2001, built in just two and a half years
- Highlight
- Rooftop terrace on the 30th floor, open to restaurant guests
The KölnTurm's glass façade features screen-printed and kiln-fired images of Cologne Cathedral and the old-town skyline that shift in colour and form depending on the light – making the building, in a sense, a canvas displaying its own city.
Things to do here
- Marvel at Cologne's tallest office tower from below
- Spot the Cologne Cathedral motifs fired into the mirrored glass facade
- Photograph the tower from different angles
- Experience the 30th-floor rooftop terrace during a restaurant visit
- Stroll through the Mediapark and take in the modern architecture
Size comparison
Height compared with other landmarks in Cologne.
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
Construction
Groundbreaking took place on 1 June 1999, and the tower was inaugurated just two and a half years later on 21 November 2001. The reinforced-concrete structure was a collaboration between the Cologne-based architecture firm and Paris-based Jean Nouvel. Loads are carried by a central core, with pendulum columns extending to the floor edges. Three distinct floor-plan zones stack the building's height, topped by an 18-metre transmission mast.
Glass Façade
The tower's signature mirrored appearance comes from a specialised technique: images screen-printed onto the glass and fired in shift in colour and form depending on the light. The motifs depict Cologne Cathedral and the skyline of Cologne's old town beneath a cloudy sky.
Light Installation
Between 2003 and 2022, artist Heinz Mack illuminated more than 350 spotlights across the façade — spanning floors 31 to 41 — in a wide dot-grid pattern. A computer system produced rhythmic sequences of light moving between floors and their horizontal chains of lights. On 10 January 2025, the installation ran one final time before being switched off permanently.
Use and Broadcast
The KölnTurm is designed to strengthen Cologne's profile as a media hub, offering office, congress, and conference space to companies in the industry. Since 2002, the antenna mast at its peak has broadcast FM frequencies primarily towards the city's northern districts, taking over from the lower former transmitter site at the neighbouring Hansahochhaus. The site also carries digital radio (DAB/DAB+).
Timeline
- 1995Construction of KölnTurm begins
- 1996Construction work interrupted
- 1999-06-01Foundation stone laid
- 2001-11-21KölnTurm inaugurated
- 2002KölnTurm replaces Hansahochhaus as FM transmitter site
- 2003Heinz Mack light sculpture activated on the facade
- 2010-08-02FM broadcast on 89.9 MHz (Deutschlandradio Kultur) discontinued
- 2012-08-29DAB channel switched from 12D to 11D
- 2022Heinz Mack light sculpture deactivated
- 2025-01-10Light sculpture switched on once more, temporarily
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Kölnturm
50670 Köln
Hours
Mo: 08:30–18:00
Di: 08:30–18:00
Mi: 08:30–18:00
Do: 08:30–18:00
Fr: 08:30–18:00
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-06-24)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-24, rev 262588591)
- Official website (retrieved 2026-06-24)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26
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