Landmark
74 places in Cologne
Alter Markt
Historic square in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord with a medieval-looking row of buildings — documented as Cologne's market since 922.
Bastei
since 1924Expressionist observation restaurant (1924) on a Prussian caponier — superstructure cantilevers 8 m beyond its footprint; closed since 2019.
Bayenturm
since 1220One of Cologne's few surviving medieval fortification towers, built c. 1220 on the Rhine — today home to the FrauenMediaTurm foundation.
Colonia-Haus
since 1973Germany's second-tallest residential skyscraper, right on the Rhine in Riehl — at 155 m with antenna, almost as tall as Cologne Cathedral (157 m).
Colonius
since 1981At 266 metres, the tallest telecommunications tower in North Rhine-Westphalia — its revolving restaurant and observation deck have been closed for years.
The Golden Bird
since 1989A gilded winged car has crowned the tower of Cologne's Zeughaus since 1991 – an artwork by HA Schult and Elke Koska.
Deutz Bridge
The world's first steel box girder bridge (1947/48) – linking Heumarkt with Deutz; the Roman bridge once stood a few metres further north.
DITIB Central Mosque Cologne
since 2017Central mosque of DİTİB in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, inaugurated in 2018 in the presence of Erdoğan — with two 55-metre minarets and a grand domed hall.
Düxer Bock
The unofficial heraldic animal of Deutz: this fountain monument commemorates an old Cologne legend about a tailor and a tax collector.
Ebertplatz
Square on Cologne's ring boulevards in Neustadt-Nord, laid out in the late 19th century where the city's demolished fortifications once stood.
Eigelsteintorburg
since 1228One of four surviving gates of Cologne's medieval city wall — both Maria de' Medici and Napoleon once entered the city through this very gate.
Flora
since 1864Cologne's botanical garden centred on the 1864 glass festival hall 'Flora' — a Lenné-designed park with over 10,000 plant species across more than 11 hectares.
Fordturm
Former 112 m steel lattice tower in Cologne-Deutz, crowned by a rotating "Ford" globe — built in 1950 and demolished just thirteen years later.
Groß St. Martin
since 1150Romanesque basilica in Cologne's Old Town with a cloverleaf-shaped east choir and striking crossing tower — built over Roman foundations.
Hahnentorburg
since 1220Medieval twin-tower gate at Rudolfplatz — Cologne's western gateway, through which crowned kings entered the city after their coronation in Aachen.
Hansahochhaus
since 1925Cologne's first skyscraper from 1925 — briefly the tallest building in Europe at completion, built in the Brick Expressionist style.
Cologne-Merkenich Combined Heat and Power Plant
At 250 metres, this power plant's chimney is Cologne's second-tallest structure after the Colonius tower — and the city's primary source of district heating for its northern districts.
Heizkraftwerk Köln-Niehl
Rheinenergie's gas-fired combined heat and power plant in Niehl — supplying Cologne's city centre with district heating, with Germany's largest heat pump planned next door.
Helios (Electrical Engineering Company)
since 1882Electrical engineering pioneer from Ehrenfeld — its 44 m Heliosturm, a faux lighthouse, still defines the neighbourhood today.
Herkules-Hochhaus
since 1972Nicknamed the 'Parrot House' for its vivid coloured façade, this 1972 residential tower in Neuehrenfeld stands 102 m tall — Cologne's ninth-highest high-rise.
Hohenzollernbrücke
since 1911Germany's busiest railway bridge spanning the Rhine — a defining feature of Cologne's skyline alongside the Cathedral, and famous for thousands of love locks.
Kallendresser
Copper figure at Alter Markt that bares its backside to onlookers — a Cologne satirical motif with roots in the Middle Ages.
Klein St. Martin
since 1460A lone tower surviving from a demolished Cologne parish church — once crowned with a tall Gothic spire visible across the Rhine skyline, today capped by a flat pyramid.
Cologne Bridge Green
The patina-green chromium oxide hue coating Cologne's Rhine bridges, introduced in 1929 at the request of Konrad Adenauer.
Cologne Cathedral
since 1248Gothic cathedral and shrine of the Three Kings — at around 157 metres one of the tallest churches in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Cologne Cathedral Crane
since 1357A wooden slewing crane that stood atop the unfinished south tower of Cologne Cathedral for more than 500 years and shaped the city's skyline – until it was dismantled in 1868 to make way for construction.
Kölner Dreigestirn
Trio of Prince, Peasant, and Virgin that leads Cologne Carnival — appointed fresh each year by the Festival Committee.
Kölner Seilbahn
since 1957Gliding over the Rhine: since 1957, this six-minute cable car ride has offered sweeping views of Cologne, the Old Town, and the Cathedral.
Cologne Zoo
since 1860Founded in 1860 in the Riehl district, Cologne Zoo is Germany's third-oldest zoo — famous for its century-old baboon rock.
Kölnisch Wasser
Cologne's iconic fragrance water, created by Farina in 1709 as Eau de Cologne — home to the legendary brands 'Farina gegenüber' and 4711.
KölnTriangle
Triangular skyscraper in Cologne-Deutz with a fully glazed observation deck "Cologne View" at just over 100 metres, offering panoramic views across the city.
KölnTurm
since 2001Cologne'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.
Kranhäuser
Three striking high-rises in Cologne's Rheinauhafen whose inverted-L silhouette mimics harbour cranes extending their jibs toward the Rhine.
Lanxess Tower
since 1969Striking 95-metre office tower in Cologne-Deutz, originally built as Lufthansa's headquarters and now home to the global HQ of Lanxess AG.
MediaPark
Car-free media business park on a former freight yard — built around a central square with an artificial lake, crowned by the soaring Kölnturm.
Messeturm Köln
since 1928An 85-metre brick tower from 1928 in Deutz — crowned by a three-faced Hermes sculpture and united with the Rheinhallen by its striking Expressionist façade.
Museum Ludwig
since 197620th- and 21st-century art on Cologne's Cathedral Plateau — home to Europe's largest Pop Art collection and the world's third-largest Picasso collection.
Musical Dome
Musical venue under a blue dome roof by the Rhine near Cologne's main station — home to long-running hits like 'We Will Rock You'.
Platzjabbeck
Late-medieval wooden figure on Cologne's town hall tower that, since 1913, opens its mouth and sticks out its red tongue on every full hour.
Pollonius
115-metre telecommunications tower in Cologne's Porz district, named as a nod to its taller 'big brother', the Colonius tower.
Historic City Hall
Germany's oldest city hall – with a Gothic council tower, a Renaissance loggia, and over 800 years of documented building history in Cologne's Old Town.
Rheinauhafen
Former Cologne harbour with the iconic Crane Houses – today a residential and commercial quarter on the 'Werthchen' peninsula in Altstadt-Süd.
Cologne-Rodenkirchen Rhine Bridge
since 1941Germany's first true suspension bridge: 567 m across the Rhine, opened in 1941 as the 'Adolf Hitler Bridge,' destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in 1954.
RheinEnergieStadion
since 1921Home ground of 1. FC Köln in Müngersdorf — rebuilt in 2004 as a dedicated football stadium and one of twelve 2006 FIFA World Cup venues.
Richmodis-Haus
Cologne landmark with two stone horse heads in its octagonal tower — rooted in the haunting legend of Richmodis von Aducht from the Black Death era.
Römerbrücke
since 310The first permanent bridge across the Rhine near Cologne — built under Emperor Constantine I from 310 AD, at the site of today's Deutzer Brücke.
Romano-Germanic Museum (RGM)
since 1946Cologne's archaeological museum — world's largest collection of Roman glass and the Dionysus Mosaic near the cathedral (currently at the Belgian House).
Roncalliplatz
The square around Cologne Cathedral traces a dramatic transformation from a densely built medieval neighbourhood to an open national monument.
Ruhender Verkehr
A car fully encased in concrete on Hohenzollernring – Wolf Vostell's ironic 1969 action sculpture about parking.
Leaning Tower of Cologne (St. Johann Baptist)
In 2004, its 44 m tower tilted 77 cm westward — earning the church the nickname 'Leaning Tower of Cologne' and making international headlines.
Schmitz Column
A sculpture in Cologne's Old Town in front of Great St. Martin Church that marks the city's 50-metre elevation point and playfully commemorates the Schmitz family and the Moon landing.
Severinsbrücke
since 1959Cable-stayed bridge with a single A-shaped pylon over the Rhine to Deutz — Cologne's first entirely new bridge built after World War II.
Severinstorburg
since 1230One of only four surviving medieval city gate towers in Cologne — a landmark of the Severinsviertel and today a vibrant community venue at Chlodwigplatz.
St. Agnes
since 1896Cologne's largest church after the Cathedral: a Neo-Gothic hall church that gave its name to the surrounding Agnesviertel district.
St. Aposteln
since 1020One of Cologne's twelve great Romanesque churches — known for its trefoil-shaped trichoral apse at Neumarkt and celebrated as the city's premier music church.
St. Cäcilien – Museum Schnütgen
since 801One of Cologne's twelve great Romanesque churches — home to the Museum Schnütgen for medieval art since 1956.
St. Georg
since 105911th-century Romanesque collegiate church rising above a columned crypt with Roman spolia — one of Cologne's twelve great Romanesque basilicas.
St. Gereon
since 1201Romanesque church in Cologne with a ten-sided domed rotunda from the Hohenstaufen era — the largest surviving free-vaulted central-plan building of the Middle Ages north of the Alps.
St. Kunibert
since 1215Youngest of Cologne's twelve Romanesque churches — with original 13th-century windows preserved in wartime storage, rising just north of the Cathedral.
St. Maria im Kapitol
since 1100Cologne's largest and oldest Romanesque church — built on the foundations of a Roman temple, featuring a trefoil choir and a thousand-year-old carved wooden door.
St. Maria in Lyskirchen
The smallest of Cologne's twelve great Romanesque churches — the only one with largely intact 13th-century vault frescoes.
St. Mariä Himmelfahrt
since 1629Baroque former Jesuit church near Cologne Cathedral — for centuries the city's largest after the Cathedral, and one of Cologne's few surviving Baroque landmarks.
St. Mauritius
Romanesque pier basilica in the Altstadt-Süd district, consecrated in 1141 — the first church in Cologne with a fully vaulted nave and side aisles.
St. Severin
One of Cologne's twelve great Romanesque churches, grown from a late-antique burial chapel — home to the relics of Saint Severin.
St. Ursula
since 401Romanesque basilica near Cologne Cathedral housing the Golden Chamber — the largest ossuary north of the Alps, with roots in Roman Cologne.
Stapelhaus
Standing on the Rhine bank in front of the choir of Groß St. Martin, the Stapelhaus recalls Cologne's medieval staple right and is today regarded as a symbol of the trading metropolis.
Taubenbrunnen
since 1953Cologne's first post-war fountain and the city's first abstract fountain: designed in 1953 by Ewald Mataré as a drinking trough for the Cathedral pigeons.
Tauzieher
since 1908Shell limestone sculpture at the Rheinauhafen — Cologne's first freestanding sculpture in public space, standing around 6½ metres tall.
Tünnes und Schäl
Traditional Cologne brewhouse at Alter Markt, named after the beloved puppet duo from the Hänneschen Theatre — hearty local food and Kölsch on tap.
Uni-Center
since 1973One of Europe's largest residential buildings: the Y-shaped tower in Sülz combines 968 apartments with a 134-metre central core.
Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
Cologne's oldest museum — home to the world's most extensive collection of medieval painting and Germany's largest Impressionist collection.
Cologne Water Tower
A historic water tower in Cologne's Altstadt-Süd, a five-star luxury hotel since 1990 — the city's most unusual place to stay.
Weckschnapp
Medieval tower of Cologne's Kunibert fortifications on the Rhine — a surviving piece of the city wall and setting of a chilling legend.
