Colonius

At 266 metres, the tallest telecommunications tower in North Rhine-Westphalia — its revolving restaurant and observation deck have been closed for years.

Skyline Architecture City centre Technology Monument History Landmark City history Permanently closed

The Colonius is a telecommunications tower on Innere Kanalstraße in Cologne's Neustadt-Nord district. It is the tallest telecommunications tower in North Rhine-Westphalia and the seventh tallest in Germany.

At a Glance

Type: Telecommunications tower operated by Deutsche Telekom
Location: Innere Kanalstraße, Neustadt-Nord, Innenstadt district
Height: 266 metres
Construction: From 1978, inaugurated 3 June 1981
Builder: Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG
Tower platform: At 166 metres, three storeys
Access: Two lifts (6 m/s), one additional lift to 174 m, staircase with 925 steps
Listed: On Cologne's monument register since May 2022

Did you know?

Since 1994, no tenant has been found for the revolving restaurant and former disco in the tower – the latter made headlines in the early 1990s when overcrowding triggered a panic among guests on New Year's Eve.

Source: Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-06-24

History and Height

The tower was completed in 1981 at a height of 252.9 metres. In the early 1990s, the spire was replaced with a taller one, raising the overall height to 266 metres. In April 2004, a helicopter was used to swap the spire again to enable digital television broadcasting in the Cologne–Bonn area, while the total height remained unchanged.

Tower Platform and Technology

The lower floors of the platform once housed a cafeteria with an observation deck and a restaurant with a rotating seating area — both now closed. The upper floor contains technical equipment belonging to Deutsche Telekom; until 1994, the company also operated a radio control centre here to monitor and manage transmitters and radio links. A Deutsche Telekom illuminated sign is mounted on the outside of the platform.

Северный Рейн-Вестфалия, Кёльн - телебашня Colonius — © Островский Александр, Киев · CC BY-SA 3.0

Revolving Restaurant and Nightclub

The two-storey visitor area is no longer open to the public. Since 1994, no tenant has been found for the revolving restaurant or the floor above it, which was once used as a nightclub. The nightclub made headlines in the early 1990s when a panic broke out among guests on New Year's Eve due to overcrowding. The observation deck has been closed since 1999.

Der Colonius ist mit seinen 266 Metern Höhe der höchste Fernmeldeturm in Nordrhein-Westfalen und der siebthöchste Fernmeldeturm in Deutschland. — © T.Voekler · CC BY-SA 3.0

Broadcasting Quirk

Although the Colonius is technically the most favourable FM transmitter site in Cologne, it is not currently used for local Cologne broadcasting. Instead, it transmits Radio Erft at 1.0 kW from 191 metres, directed toward the Rhein-Erft district. The tower also serves as a transmitter site for digital radio and DVB-T2 HD digital television.

Colonius und Telekom-Hochhaus Innere Kanalstraße Köln, gesehen von Köln-Zollstock. — © Rolf Heinrich, Köln · CC BY 3.0

Worth Knowing

At the Plan 08 architecture festival in 2008, the tower was transformed by a large-scale light installation. Since 2009, two architecture firms have occupied the entrance building. On 9 March 2025, the crime drama Tatort Colonius aired for the first time, parts of which were filmed inside the tower.