Cologne City Museum, Cologne

Cologne City Museum ('Kölnisches Stadtmuseum') is the place to visit if you want to know what Cologne is all about. Here you will find this city’s history, details of lifestyle and all about the people who lived here right from the Middle-Ages. There are knight armors, small-scale town models and Otto engines that tell vivid stories that depict the very essence of this city. Also known as the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, it was founded in 1888 and shifted in 1958 to Zeughaus, the city’s armory. On your trip to the museum, remember to visit the adjacent Prussian, neo-classical building Alte Wache. Here you will find interesting exhibitions on the art and history of Cologne.

The museum's ground floor features the city’s political history right from the Middle Ages, while the upper floor displays its economic and cultural history. You can find at least 5,000 exhibits on display across the 2,000 sqm exhibition space. You will also learn about some of the unique characteristic phenomena of Cologne such as the local beer or Kölsch, nepotism or Klüngel, the internal combustion engine discovered here, Eau de Cologne, puppet theater or Hänneschen and carnival.

Why You Should Visit:
You will be surprised at how much you will learn about magnificent Cologne and about Germany itself.
Visiting this museum will help you appreciate what you will be seeing on the remainder of your visit to Cologne.

Tip:
Access to the museum is via the glass lift at the center of the Neumarkt Passage.
Taking the audio guide is always recommended -- unless, of course, you speak/read German.