Offenbachplatz

A cultural square in the centre with the opera and playhouse – the post-war modernist Riphahn ensemble, named after Jacques Offenbach.

Square Art & culture

Offenbachplatz in the heart of the inner city is Cologne's theatre square: home to the Cologne Opera and the Schauspielhaus, both built to plans by Wilhelm Riphahn.

At a glance

Location: city centre, on the Nord-Süd-Fahrt
Buildings: opera house (1957) and playhouse (1962) by Riphahn
Named after: the composer Jacques Offenbach
Style: post-war modernism

Source: Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-06-24

Stages and remembrance

The opera-and-playhouse ensemble is regarded as an important work of post-war modernism. The name honours the composer Jacques Offenbach, born in Cologne in 1819, and at the same time recalls the Glockengasse synagogue destroyed in the 1938 pogrom, where Offenbach's father was cantor. The square is thus a cultural venue and memorial in one.