Culture in Cologne

The most famous museum in Cologne is the Chocolate Museum. Therefore, it has a place in our top attractions for sure.

In hardly any other museum is modern art from the 20th and 21st centuries displayed as comprehensively and prominently as in the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. It is one of the most important art museums in Europe. Here you will find the most important representatives of these times. Superlatives such as "third largest Picasso collection in the world" or "one of the best collections on German Expressionism" describe the high status of this Cologne art temple. The Ludwig Museum is therefore a "must see" for all art lovers who visit the cathedral city.

The Museum of Applied Arts in Cologne collects objects of daily use and art from the Middle Ages to the present and thus conveys what defines people in their external representation. Works of art of the respective time are juxtaposed to the objects in order to discover parallels in the way of expression.

The oldest museum in Cologne is the Kolumba . It is the art museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne and houses collections from late antiquity to the present day. Sculptures, paintings and objects of art reflect their respective eras in search of beauty, proportion and expression as connecting elements of artistic creation. The name Kolumba has existed since 2007 and is based on the modern new building of the museum on the site of the late Gothic St. Columba church, which was destroyed in the war.

If you want to learn more about the archaeological heritage of the city of Cologne and especially about the historical origins as a Roman city, then the Roman-Germanic Museum is the right place for you. Located directly next to the Cologne Cathedral, it is unmistakable for every Cologne tourist. From prehistory to the Middle Ages, visitors take an exciting journey through time into the historical past of the Rhine metropolis. The most prominent testimonials include the reconstructed tomb of the legionnaire Poblicius (around 40 AD) and the Dionysus mosaic with scenes from the world around 220/230 AD.

Käthe Kollwitz is one of the most famous German artists of the 20th century. Many copies of her significant work of often serious, sometimes frighteningly realistic lithographs, etchings, engravings, woodcuts and sculptures found a museum home in the Käthe Kollwitz Museum in Cologne. It houses the world's largest Kollwitz collection on approximately 1,000 square meters of exhibition space in Cologne's old town.

Cologne's entertainment offerings are world-famous and make the cathedral city a pleasure. Music, theater, musicals, cabaret and simply everything that good entertainment has to offer is part of the repertoire of the Rhine metropolis. Stars and asterisks also put the doorknobs in their hands here.

Everything that has rank and name in the music scene is usually also documented in Cologne in the tour calendar. Every day, a number of large and small music events are offered in the cathedral city, from rock to classical.

The Metallica concerts in Cologne are cult - at least for fans of hard heavy metal sounds. The "metallers" travel to Cologne's Rheinenergie Stadium in special trains and buses to rock with the band's living legends in the usually sold-out stadium with around 45,000 spectators. The “Four Horsemen”, as the Metallica Quartet is also known by its fans, goes on a world tour again and again - and Cologne is one of its most prominent stations.

Cologne is also always an important tour station for the politically very opinionated Irish rock band " U2 " - for example in the Lanxess Arena in the Deutz district on the right bank of the Rhine. The spectacular concerts, which are always sold out, are accompanied by perfect light shows and are a mixture of rock opera, agitprop and cinema.

Wide brim, sunglasses, long hair and skintight jeans. These are the visual hallmarks of rock legend Udo Lindenberg . When he comes to Cologne, he rocks the Lanxess Arena with a brilliant show. At 70 he is still at the top of the musical show business. With its hits, the Rock'n Roller remains timeless.

In the Deutz district on the right bank of the Rhine, right next to the Rheinpark and close to the shore, you will find the Tanzbrunnen Cologne, an open-air event venue with a special flair. The fountain system on the circular area with the star wave tent is one of the city's distinctive trademarks. At events, six large folding umbrellas protect the public from wind and weather if necessary. Together with the theater next door, around 60 events with local and international stars take place here every year.

The Boulevard Theater Theater am Dom can be found in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord . It is known for its humorous staging of everyday curiosities and behaviors. Married dramas are just as much a part of this as other situations in daily life with all sorts of potential for conflict. In the rather small theater with 380 seats, well-known actors and directors have been proving their skills for more than four decades.

If you love masterfully staged cabaret, you shouldn't leave Cologne without visiting The Mustard Potty. The cabaret and cabaret theater, which became known across the borders of Germany, owes its existence to the Munich couple Fred and Alexandra Kassen, who founded the well-known artist group "Stachelschwein" in Munich-Schwabing and laid the foundations for the mustard potty in Cologne in 1959. Today the theater is a firmly established institution in the heart of Cologne's old town and has been presenting a varied and high-quality stage program for almost 60 years.