Cologne Cathedral Treasury
Set in medieval vaults beneath the north side of Cologne Cathedral, the treasury displays Christian art from the 4th to the 20th century.
On the north side of Cologne Cathedral, a cube clad in dark bronze plates leads down into the cathedral treasury. Across six underground rooms on three levels, large parts of the Cologne Cathedral treasure are on show – Christian art spanning the 4th to the 20th century.
At a Glance
- Location
- North side of Cologne Cathedral
- Owner
- Metropolitan Chapter of Cologne Cathedral
- Opened
- 21 October 2000
- Layout
- six rooms on three levels, underground
- Collection
- Christian art from the 4th to the 20th century
- Highlights
- Staff of Peter, Capella Clementina, reliquaries and crosses
- Director
- Leonie Becks since 2014
Location and Architecture
The treasury occupies medieval vaulted rooms and reaches down to the Roman city wall and a Roman sewer. The entrance cube with its dark bronze plates was heavily criticised at its opening: many felt it looked out of place in front of the cathedral's Gothic north façade.
Collection
On display are objects of Catholic liturgy along with reliquaries and crosses. Some pieces are still in use – such as the ceremonial monstrance in the Corpus Christi procession, a large emerald cross on All Saints' Day, and the Baroque shrine of Saint Engelbert I of Cologne, brought out on his feast day, 7 November.
Notable Objects
Among the outstanding pieces is the Staff of Peter, a plain wooden staff with an ivory knob from the 4th century and a metal cuff from the 8th century. Unique is the Capella Clementina in the vestments room: garments that Archbishop Clemens August commissioned in France for the imperial coronation of his brother Charles VII, including a cope, two deacon's vestments and five gold-embroidered mitres. The lowest level shows finds from two Merovingian-era graves excavated beneath the cathedral in 1959. An example of Cologne goldsmithing is the Apocalyptic Lamb by Johann Heinrich Rohr.
Good to Know
The treasure has survived several thefts. On the night of 2 November 1975, three burglars entered the old treasury – then considered optimally secured – through a ventilation shaft and stole monstrances, a pax tablet and twelve episcopal crosses, among other things; about 10% of the treasure is regarded as lost. In 1996 a valuable processional cross was stolen and later recovered.
Gallery
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Domkloster 4
50667 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
You might also like — related or nearby
Comments
- Loading comments…
Sources & links
- Official website
- Official website (retrieved 2026-07-09)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-07-09)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-09, rev 261149059)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-07-09
How this page is made
This page draws on open sources — Wikipedia, Wikidata, official websites and the city’s open data. Every statement is checked against the sources linked here, and pages are refreshed regularly.
Spotted a mistake anyway? Tell us below — we read every submission.