Heumarkt

Cologne's second-largest and one of its oldest squares in the old town – with an equestrian monument, Christmas market and winter ice rink.

Square Old town Christmas market Cologne carnival

Heumarkt is Cologne's second-largest and one of its oldest squares. It lies centrally in the old town, near the Rhine, framed by lanes, brewpubs and through roads.

At a glance

Location: old town, near the Deutz Bridge and Rhine
History: a central marketplace since the Middle Ages
In winter: a large Christmas market with an ice rink
Eye-catcher: equestrian monument of Friedrich Wilhelm III

Source: Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-06-24

From Roman harbour to festival square

In Roman times a branch of the Rhine with a harbour lay here – during subway construction in 2007 a Roman cargo ship even came to light. Heumarkt and the adjoining Alter Markt long formed a single space. Today Heumarkt is a lively place: a stage and meeting point during carnival, and in Advent the setting for one of the city's loveliest Christmas markets, complete with an ice rink.