Self-guided Sightseeing Tour #2 in Cologne, Germany

The Kölnischer Kunstverein is an art museum in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany. It is named after the historical art society of the same name.

Wikipedia: Kölnischer Kunstverein (EN), Website

The Basilica of the Holy Apostles is a Romanesque church in Cologne (Köln), located near Innenstadt's busy Neumarkt (Köln). The former collegiate church is dedicated to the twelve Apostles. It is one of the twelve Romanesque churches built in Cologne in that period.

Wikipedia: Basilica of the Holy Apostles, Cologne (EN), Website

The Gloria-Theater is a multi-purpose theatre and event space, originally a cinema-theatre, in the centre of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on Apostelnstraße north of the Neumarkt, near the Basilica of the Holy Apostles.

Wikipedia: Gloria-Theater (Cologne) (EN), Website

The Käthe Kollwitz Museum in Cologne owns the largest collections of works by the German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) and has maintained close links with the Kollwitz family. The museum is owned and operated by the Kreissparkasse Köln savings bank.

Wikipedia: Käthe Kollwitz Museum (Cologne) (EN), Website

The Richmodis-Haus is a commercial building in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord, at Neumarkt 8-10/corner of Richmodstraße 2. A special feature of this house with a stone façade is the octagonal Richmodis Tower, renovated in 1928, where two horses' heads look out of the upper window. These horse heads go back to the old Cologne Richmodis legend about Richmodis von Aducht.

Wikipedia: Richmodis-Haus (DE)

The Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum is a museum of ethnography in Cologne, Germany. It was reopened in 2010. The museum arose from a collection of over 3500 items belonging to ethnographer Wilhelm Joest. After his death in 1897, the collection was left to his sister Adele Rautenstrauch.

Wikipedia: Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum (EN), Website

The Schnütgen Museum in Cologne is devoted to Christian religious art, mainly medieval, but some parts of the collection, such as its textiles and prints, extend from antiquity to the modern period. In 1906, the collection of Alexander Schnütgen was donated to the city, and the collection has continued to expand, so that until the opening of a new building in 2010, only about 10% of its 13,000 items could be displayed. Now some 2,000 objects are on display in 1900 sq. metres of gallery space, with an additional 1300 sq. metres for special exhibitions. Schnütgen (1843–1918) was a Catholic priest and theologian; according to the museum website "Up to now people tell stories about his zealous and sometimes crafty collection tactics".

Wikipedia: Schnütgen Museum (EN), Website

St Peter's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, run by the Jesuits. The painter Rubens was baptised in the church and his father was later buried there. Rubens' Crucifixion of St Peter is on display in the church. It was commissioned in 1638 by the Cologne art collector and businessman Eberhard Jabach and was hung in the church in 1642 after Rubens'death. The building also houses the 'Kunst-Station Sankt Peter', a centre for contemporary art, music, and literature.

Wikipedia: St Peter's Church (Cologne) (EN), Website

The Karl Rahner Academy is a Catholic city academy in Cologne. It sees itself as an independent discussion forum in the "Kulturquartier am Neumarkt" in the centre of Cologne and is aimed at people who are interested in theological, philosophical, cultural and social issues. A high proportion of participants with a university degree are reached, even beyond the borders of the city of Cologne and the Catholic Church.

Wikipedia: Karl-Rahner-Akademie (DE)

The name Opernterrassen is a former commercial building and restaurant at Brüderstraße 2–4 in Cologne, which belonged to the ensemble with opera house and playhouse created by Wilhelm Riphahn. With its large glass surfaces and terrace porch, it was considered a "typical gastronomy pavilion of the 50s".

Wikipedia: Opernterrassen (DE)

Schauspiel Köln is a theatre and company in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It forms together with the Cologne Opera and other houses the Bühnen der Stadt Köln. The listed building has 830 seats in the Grand House, 120 in the locksmith and 60 in the refreshment room. In addition, the listed 'Halle Kalk' has 200 seats, it was used until closing in the summer of 2015 because of the danger of collapse. Since the 2013/14 season Depot 1 and Depot 2 have been used as interim venues during the extensive renovation of the Schauspielhaus on the site of the former Carlswerk in Schanzenstraße in Cologne-Mülheim.

Wikipedia: Schauspiel Köln (EN), Website

Theater am Dom is a theatre in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Wikipedia: Theater am Dom (EN), Website

St. Columba was a virgin and martyr of the early church. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church; her feast day is December 31.

Wikipedia: St. Kolumba (DE)

The Antoniterkirche is a Gothic church building on the Schildergasse in central Cologne, Germany, named after the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony who founded it between 1350 and 1370–1378. Now used by the Protestant Church, it is the second most-visited church in the city after Cologne Cathedral. The Resistance fighter Freya von Moltke was baptised there.

Wikipedia: Antoniterkirche (Cologne) (EN), Website

The Floating Angel, also known as the Floating Angel or Güstrow Memorial, is a bronze sculpture created by Ernst Barlach in 1927, the first cast of which has been lost and of which three bronze recasts and a plaster cast exist today.

Wikipedia: Der Schwebende (DE)

Palatium is the name of a commercial building in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord, which is located on Schildergasse near Hohe Straße.

Wikipedia: Palatium (Köln) (DE)

Jupp Schmitz was a German entertainer, pop singer and Krätzchen singer. Among his best-known songs are Am Aschermittwoch ist alles vorbei, Wer soll das zahl? and There is still soup there.

Wikipedia: Jupp Schmitz (DE)

Josef Cardinal Frings was a German Roman Catholic clergyman, Archbishop of Cologne and Cardinal.

Wikipedia: Joseph Frings (DE)

MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archaeological Quarter of Cologne is a museum under construction that will house an approximately 6,000 m² archaeological excavation area on and around the Rathausplatz in the center of the city of Cologne. The site displays archaeological relics from the entire 2000-year history of the city. The Roman period and the medieval Jewish quarter are particularly relevant. On the town hall square, which was no longer built on after the destruction in the Second World War, a museum for the Roman and Jewish history of the city is currently being built.

Wikipedia: Archäologische Zone Köln (DE), Website

The Fragrance Museum in the Farina House is within sight of the Cologne City Hall and opposite the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne and is housed in the birthplace of the Eau de Cologne in the original production rooms of the 18th century.

Wikipedia: Duftmuseum (DE), Website

The Gürzenich is a festival hall in the center of the old town of Cologne. The name of Gürzenich is the name of which the profile structure was built in the 15th century on which the property was built. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the building complex for concerts, congresses, social and cultural events has been used.

Wikipedia: Gürzenich (DE)

Klein St. Martin was a parish church in Cologne, which, together with the collegiate church of Groß St. Martin and many other churches and buildings, determined the Cologne Rhine panorama. The church was abolished during secularization and demolished around 1824. The church tower was preserved and rebuilt after destruction in the Second World War.

Wikipedia: Klein St. Martin (DE)

The Cologne gauge is located in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord on the left bank of the Rhine and measures the water level of the Rhine at river kilometre 688. It is one of 22 gauges on the Rhine and, along with the Kaub gauge, the most important. It is operated by the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority.

Wikipedia: Pegel Köln (DE)

Hänneschen-Theater is a traditional puppetry-theatre in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1802. The stage is situated in a building on Eisenmarkt in downtown Cologne. The pieces are set in Knollendorf, a fictional village somewhere in the outskirts of Cologne. The popular puppets represent fictional characters who embody typical traits of cologne people, so Tünnes and Schäl, Hänneschen and Bärbelchen, as well as other unique characters. In addition to the ever-changing pieces that are staged for adults and children, the puppet shows are also an important part of the Cologne Carnival. The carnival puppet session is each year a loving parody of a conventional Carnival session.

Wikipedia: Hänneschen-Theater (EN), Website

Das als Baudenkmal geschützte heutige Brauhaus Gilden im Zims am Kölner Heumarkt, ist ein im Stil der Spätrenaissance errichtetes Bürgerhaus aus der Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts.

Wikipedia: Gilden im Zims (DE)

The Gaffel Haus is the oldest building on the Alter Markt in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord and has been home to a brewery of the Cologne private brewery Gaffel since 1987, which today bears the name "Zum Prinzen".

Wikipedia: Gaffel Haus (DE)

The Kallendresser has played a role as a figure in Cologne since the Middle Ages. It can be found, for example, on the consoles of the figures in Cologne's town hall tower, which depict men stretching their bare buttocks towards the viewer.

Wikipedia: Kallendresser (DE)

Hänneschen-Theater is a traditional puppetry-theatre in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1802. The stage is situated in a building on Eisenmarkt in downtown Cologne. The pieces are set in Knollendorf, a fictional village somewhere in the outskirts of Cologne. The popular puppets represent fictional characters who embody typical traits of cologne people, so Tünnes and Schäl, Hänneschen and Bärbelchen, as well as other unique characters. In addition to the ever-changing pieces that are staged for adults and children, the puppet shows are also an important part of the Cologne Carnival. The carnival puppet session is each year a loving parody of a conventional Carnival session.

Wikipedia: Tünnes and Schäl (EN)

The Great Saint Martin Church is a Romanesque Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. Its foundations rest on remnants of a Roman chapel, built on what was then an island in the Rhine. The church was later transformed into a Benedictine monastery. The current buildings, including a soaring crossing tower that is a landmark of Cologne's Old Town, were erected between 1150-1250. The architecture of its eastern end forms a triconch or trefoil plan, consisting of three apses around the crossing, similar to that at St. Maria im Kapitol. The church was badly damaged in World War II; restoration work was completed in 1985.

Wikipedia: Great St. Martin Church, Cologne (EN)

Senftöpfchen is a theatre in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Wikipedia: Senftöpfchen (EN), Website

The Heinzelmännchen are a helpful household spirits or kobolds associated with the city of Cologne in Germany, akin to brownies of Scotland.

Wikipedia: Heinzelmännchen (EN)

The Blau-Gold-Haus is an office and commercial building in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord, Domkloster 2, in the immediate vicinity of Cologne Cathedral. It was completed in 1952 and has been a listed building since 1991, was gutted in 2010–2012 and converted into a hotel. It is considered an important example of German post-war modernism.

Wikipedia: Blau-Gold-Haus (DE)

The Pigeon Fountain is a fountain sculpture designed by Ewald Mataré and erected in 1953 in the Cologne district of Altstadt-Nord, located in front of the west side of Cologne Cathedral or the Domplatte.

Wikipedia: Taubenbrunnen (Köln) (DE)

The finials of Cologne Cathedral from the tops of the two towers at a height of 149 to 157 metres. A copy of this finial in original size, but made of concrete, has stood below the steps in front of the west façade of the cathedral since 1991.

Wikipedia: Finials of Cologne Cathedral (EN)

The former Hotel Fürstenhof is an office and commercial building in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord district. Due to its location directly opposite the cathedral, the building, which stands on the corner of Marzellenstraße 2–8 / Trankgasse, is one of the best-known secular buildings in Cologne. It was built in 1911 and 1912 according to a design by the Cologne architect Carl Moritz.

Wikipedia: Fürstenhof (Köln) (DE)

The Peristyle House with the Dionysus Mosaic is a Roman dwelling house, the remains of which were found in 1941 during the excavation of an air-raid shelter, the cathedral bunker, near Cologne Cathedral.

Wikipedia: Peristylhaus mit dem Dionysosmosaik (DE)

St. Peter's bell is bell 1 of the Cologne Cathedral bells. It was cast on 5 May 1923 by master bell founder Heinrich Ulrich (1876–1924) in the bell town of Apolda and has its home in the belfry of the south tower. With a mass of around 24,000 kilograms and a lower diameter of 322 cm, it was the largest bell in the world for more than 90 years – until November 2016 – swinging on a straight yoke.

Wikipedia: St. Petersglocke (DE)

Cologne Cathedral is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 6 million people a year. At 157 m (515 ft), the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church of any kind in the world.

Wikipedia: Cologne Cathedral (EN), Website

The Cologne Cathedral Treasury of the Metropolitan Chapter of the High Cathedral Church belongs to Cologne Cathedral. It is located on the north side of the cathedral. Large parts of the Cologne Cathedral Treasury are exhibited in it. Christian art from the 4th to the 20th century is shown there. The cathedral treasury was inaugurated on 21 October 2000 and was heavily criticised at the time. Many felt that the cube encased in dark bronze plates, which represents the entrance area to the cathedral treasury, was a foreign body in front of the Gothic north façade of the cathedral.

Wikipedia: Domschatzkammer Köln (DE)

St. Maria ad Gradus is the name of a former church located East of the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany, situated between the cathedral and the Rhine.

Wikipedia: St. Maria ad Gradus (EN)

The Kölner Philharmonie is a symphonic concert hall located in Cologne, Germany. It is part of the building ensemble of the Museum Ludwig and was opened in 1986. The Kölner Philharmonie is located close to the Cologne Cathedral and the Cologne Main Station. The ensemble was designed by the architects Busmann + Haberer in the 1980s.

Wikipedia: Kölner Philharmonie (EN), Website

Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Wikipedia: Museum Ludwig (EN), Website

The Musical Dome is a 1,640-seat theatre in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened in October 1996.

Wikipedia: Musical Dome (EN), Website

The equestrian statue of Frederick William IV of Prussia by the sculptor Gustav Blaeser, made of bronze, is located on the portal of the Hohenzollern Bridge on the right bank of the Rhine. The equestrian statue of his brother and successor Wilhelm I by Friedrich Drake stands only a few meters away on the other side of the railway line. Frederick William IV had been very committed to the completion of the cathedral building. Both monuments were originally located on the former cathedral bridge. The monument was inaugurated in 1867.

Wikipedia: Reiterstandbild Friedrich Wilhelms IV. (Köln) (DE)

KölnTriangle is a 103.2 metres (339 ft) tall building in Deutz, Cologne, and a prominent landmark in Cologne. The building was designed by Dörte Gatermann of Cologne-based architecture firm Gatermann + Schossig and completed in 2006. Its south facade consists of a double-facade, allowing natural ventilation even at high floors. Next to the high-rise structure, part of KölnTriangle is also a much larger six-story office block with a total gross floor area of 84,300 m2 (907,000 sq ft).

Wikipedia: Kölntriangle (EN)

The Staatenhaus am Rheinpark is an event building in Cologne-Deutz that is to be converted into Cologne's future musical theatre. The listed building from the 1920s with daylight exhibition rooms and brick façade is directly adjacent to the halls of the Koelnmesse, the Tanzbrunnen area and the Rheinpark. The two-aisled structure, consisting of a parallel hall and colonnade, is visually divided in the middle by an open arched building. Since 2016, it has been home to the Cologne Opera, which will use it as an interim venue until 2024, when the renovation of the Riphahnbau on Offenbachplatz is completed. An opening of the stages at the original venue on Offenbachplatz is planned for the 2024/2025 season.

Wikipedia: Staatenhaus am Rheinpark (DE)