Cologne Cathedral

632 Years to Finish, Free to Enter (For Now)

The foundation stone was laid in 1248. The building was completed in 1880. In between, work stopped for roughly 300 years, the cathedral was used as a stable during the French occupation, and the medieval crane that sat on the unfinished south tower became such a fixture that it appeared on Cologne’s city seal. When the twin spires were finally capped in 1880, at 157 metres they were briefly the tallest structures in the world.

That is the structure you are standing in front of. The largest Gothic church in northern Europe, built around a set of bones transferred from Milan to Cologne in 1164 and said to belong to the Three Wise Men.

One note for 2026 visitors: from July 1, Cologne Cathedral charges EUR 12 for tourist entry to the main nave. Admission remains free for anyone attending services, praying, or lighting a candle. This is a recent change and worth knowing before you arrive assuming the entrance is free as it has been for centuries.

Why the Cathedral Exists

Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, gave the Archbishop of Cologne the relics of the Magi in 1164 after taking them from the church of Sant’Eustorgio in Milan. Within decades, Cologne had become one of the major pilgrimage destinations in Europe. The cathedral was built specifically to house those relics in a setting of appropriate scale.

The reliquary that holds them, the Shrine of the Three Kings, sits above and behind the high altar. It is the largest medieval reliquary in the Western world, a triple sarcophagus in gilded silver and gold, encrusted with gems and enamel panels. Construction began in approximately 1180, under the direction of the goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun, and was completed around 1225. The three crowns on Cologne’s coat of arms reference the Three Kings, a piece of civic identity that has persisted for eight centuries.

What to Look At Inside

The Richter Window is the most discussed addition to the cathedral in centuries. In 2007, Gerhard Richter, one of Germany’s most significant living painters at the time, designed a window for the south transept measuring 106 square metres. It consists of 11,263 squares of glass in 72 colours, each 9.6 centimetres square, arranged in a computer-generated random distribution based on a photograph of one of Richter’s paintings from 1974. Unlike traditional stained glass, the squares are held together with silicone rather than lead, allowing light to interact differently across the surface throughout the day. Richter worked without a fee; the EUR 370,000 production cost was covered by approximately 1,200 private donors.

The window replaced wartime glass destroyed in World War II. The previous replacement had been a colourless ornamental glazing that flooded the transept with harsh light. Cardinal Meisner of Cologne publicly criticized the finished Richter window, saying it would be better suited to a mosque. The cathedral chapter, which had actually commissioned it, disagreed. The window is remarkable and the controversy is now part of what makes it worth stopping at.

The Stained Glass Windows throughout the cathedral span medieval, 19th-century neo-Gothic, and modern periods. The Bayernfenster (Bavarian Windows) in the south aisles, donated by King Ludwig I of Bavaria, are the most elaborate of the 19th-century additions.

The Treasury, housed in a separate space reached from inside the cathedral, contains the Shrine of the Three Kings, a 10th-century Milan Cross, a 3rd-century Roman cameo repurposed as a reliquary, and several pieces of Carolingian and medieval goldsmithing. It is one of the richest ecclesiastical treasuries in Germany and rarely crowded. Combined tower-and-treasury tickets cost EUR 14.

The Tower Climb

The South Tower climb is 533 steps via a narrow medieval staircase and arrives at a gallery with views across the Rhine, the old town, and on clear days into the low hills beyond. Adults pay EUR 8; children aged 6 to 17 pay EUR 4. The tower is open from 09:00 to 18:00 from March through October and 09:00 to 16:00 from November through February. Tickets are sold at the south tower entrance, no advance booking needed, though weekend queues can be 20 to 30 minutes.

The tower is genuinely narrow in places. People with claustrophobia should know this before committing to the staircase.

Beyond the Cathedral

The Romano-Germanic Museum directly beside the cathedral is built around a Roman mosaic found in situ in 1941, the Dionysus Mosaic, 70 square metres of 3rd-century AD floor uncovered during wartime air-raid shelter construction. The museum was undergoing renovation and operating from a temporary location in the Belgisches Haus for several years; check current status before visiting as it has been moving back to its main building in phases.

Museum Ludwig across the square from the cathedral holds one of the major Pop Art collections in Europe, including a strong Picasso collection and significant works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Sigmar Polke.

The Rhine promenade is immediately behind the cathedral. A walk north along the riverbank takes you past the Hohenzollern Bridge, where the city’s lock tradition began (the padlocks are now removed periodically but reappear quickly), and toward the Deutzer Bridge with the best view back toward the cathedral and old town skyline.

Where to Eat and Drink

Cologne’s defining food experience is Kölsch, the local pale ale served in straight 200ml glasses called Stangen, carried in circular wooden trays called Kranz by waiters who replace your glass automatically until you signal you are done by placing your coaster on top. Every traditional brewery and Brauhaus does this.

Fruh am Dom on Am Hof, directly beside the cathedral, is the most conveniently located and one of the oldest Brauhauser in the city. It serves traditional Rhenish food alongside its Kölsch: Himmel und Aad (black pudding with mashed potato and apple sauce), Halven Hahn (rye bread with cheese, confusingly not chicken despite the name), and Sauerbraten. It is touristy but not a tourist trap, locals eat here too.

Peters Brauhaus on Mühlengasse is a reliable alternative with a slightly less central location and marginally shorter queues.

For something beyond Brauhaus cooking, the Belgian Quarter (Belgisches Viertel), about 20 minutes on foot from the cathedral, is Cologne’s most interesting food and bar neighbourhood, with independent restaurants, good coffee, and a younger crowd.

Where to Stay

Excelsior Hotel Ernst on Domplatz has faced the cathedral since 1863. The position is unrivalled; the rates reflect it (from around EUR 280 per night in summer). The hotel’s Hanse Stube restaurant is one of Cologne’s longstanding fine-dining rooms.

Hotel im Wasserturm is built inside a converted 19th-century water tower in the Friesenstrasse area, about 15 minutes on foot from the cathedral. The circular rooms on the upper floors are genuinely distinctive. Rates from around EUR 170.

For budget options, several well-reviewed hostels operate in the Deutz district across the Rhine, with direct views of the cathedral and a quick tram connection to the centre.

Getting There

Cologne Hauptbahnhof is directly beneath the cathedral, you exit the train station and the building is in front of you within 60 seconds. High-speed ICE trains connect Cologne to Frankfurt in approximately 1 hour 10 minutes, to Brussels in under 2 hours, and to Amsterdam in roughly 2 hours 40 minutes. Cologne-Bonn Airport (CGN) is 15 kilometres from the city centre; the S-Bahn S13 connects the airport to the Hauptbahnhof in about 15 minutes.

Buy the treasury ticket, skip the cathedral audio guide in favour of the signage panels (which are well-written), and climb the tower before 10:00.