Skulpturenpark Köln
A roughly three-hectare park between the Zoobrücke bridge and the Rhine, where contemporary outdoor sculptures by German and international artists are partly renewed every two years.
Skulpturenpark Köln (Cologne Sculpture Park) is a green space of about 3 hectares featuring outdoor sculptures by German and international artists. Rather than a classic open-air museum, it sees itself as a place for engaging with contemporary sculpture.
At a Glance
- Location
- between the Zoobrücke bridge and the Rhine, diagonally opposite Cologne Zoo
- Size
- around 3 hectares with mature trees
- Concept
- no permanent exhibition; part of the works is replaced every two years
- Operator
- privately run, since 2008 by the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln foundation
- Access
- entrance on Riehler Straße and from Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer
- Parking
- designated parking under the Zoobrücke bridge
- Opened
- 1997
Concept
Unlike other sculpture parks, the site is conceived as a place for engaging with contemporary sculpture. There is no fixed permanent exhibition. Instead, part of the displayed sculptures is regularly replaced with new works after two years. The individual exhibitions are titled "KölnSkulptur" and numbered consecutively.
History
The initiator was art collector Michael Stoffel, who founded the Gesellschaft der Freunde des Skulpturenparks Köln e. V. for the purpose. In cooperation with the City of Cologne, the park was created directly next to the Stoffels' former home, today's foundation house on Elsa-Brändström-Straße. Michael Stoffel led the park until his death in 2005, after which his wife Eleonore Stoffel continued it until her death on 16 April 2007.
On the initiative of the Michael und Eleonore Stoffel Stiftung (MES), the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln was founded in 2008 and has managed the park ever since. Thanks to the MES board, the sculptures remain in Cologne as an "eternal" permanent loan from the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, while the rest of the collection went to Munich as a whole.
Location
From 1997, the site used a park with mature trees that had previously been a fallow green space in front of Cologne Zoo, between the Zoobrücke bridge and the Rhine. The conversion added new paths and an entrance on Riehler Straße diagonally opposite the zoo. A second access point is on Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer, with parking designated under the Zoobrücke bridge.
Exhibitions and Curators
The series began with KölnSkulptur 1 (1997–1999) and has continued since. The curatorial board initially consisted of a consortium; later Renate Goldmann, Friedrich Meschede and Thomas D. Trummer took on the role in succession. The anniversary exhibition KölnSkulptur #9 (2017–2019), marking 20 years, was curated by Chus Martínez, while KölnSkulptur #10 – ÜberNatur – Natural Takeover was designed by Tobias Berger. KölnSkulptur #11 opened on 23 June 2024 under Nikola Dietrich, who became artistic director of the Liste Art Fair Basel from September 2024.
Gallery
Map
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Address
Eingang/Entrance: Riehler Straße o. Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer
50668 Köln
Hours
Di: 11:00–19:00
Mi: 11:00–19:00
Do: 11:00–19:00
Fr: 11:00–19:00
Sa: 11:00–19:00
So: 11:00–19:00
Contact
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Official website (retrieved 2026-07-09)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-07-09)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-09, rev 259105709)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-07-09
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