Museum sights in Cologne
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NS Dokumentationszentrum
Cologne's Third Reich history is poignantly documented in the NS Documentation Centre. In the basement of this otherwise mundane-looking building was the local Gestapo prison where scores of people were interrogated, tortured and killed. Inscriptions on the basement cell walls offer a gut-wrenching record of the emotional and physical pain endured by inmates. Executions often occurred in the courtyard.
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Museum Ludwig
The distinctive building facade and unorthodox roofline signal that the Museum Ludwig is no ordinary museum. Considered a mecca of postmodern art, it actually presents a survey of all major 20th-century genres. There’s plenty of American pop art, including Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes, alongside a comprehensive Picasso collection and plenty of works by Sigmar Polke. Fans of German expressionism will get their fill here as much as those with a penchant for such Russian avant-gardists as Kasimir Malewitsch and Ljubow Popowa.
Admission is also good for the Foto-Museum Agfa Foto-Historama, a collection of compelling historic photographs.
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Kolumba
Art, history, architecture and spirituality form a harmonious tapestry in this spectacular collection of religious treasures of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Called Kolumba, the building encases the ruins of the late-Gothic church of St Kolumba, layers of foundations going back to Roman times and the Madonna in the Ruins chapel, built on the site in 1950. It’s yet another magnificent design by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, 2009 winner of the Pritzker Prize, the ‘architectural Oscar’. Exhibits span the arc of religious artistry from the early days of Christianity to the present. Coptic textiles, Gothic reliquary and medieval painting are juxtaposed with works by Bauhaus…
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Römisch-Germanisches Museum
If you've never seen actual Roman mosaics before, be prepared to exclaim 'wow!' at the extraordinary Römisch-Germanisches Museum, adjacent to the Dom. Sculptures and ruins displayed outside are merely the overture to a full symphony of Roman artefacts found along the Rhine. Highlights include the giant Poblicius tomb (AD 30–40), the magnificent 3rd-century Dionysus mosaic around which the museum was built, and astonishingly well preserved glass items. Insight into daily Roman life is gained from such items as toys, tweezers, lamps and jewellery, the designs of which have changed surprisingly little since.
Plenty of remnants of the Roman city survive around the museum,…
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Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum
In a 19th-century customs building, the Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum is an imaginative, if Germany-focused, tribute to the sporting life from antiquity to today. There are exhibits on the 1936 Berlin and 1972 Munich Olympic Games and on such modern-day heroes as Steffi Graf and Michael Schumacher. Interactive displays allow you to experience a bobsled run or a bike race, and on the miniature football field on the rooftop you can kick with a view of the cathedral.
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Chocolate Museum
You don’t have to have a sweet tooth to enjoy the Schokoladen Museum, which looks like, well, a box of chocolates on its little island in the river. At this high-tech temple to the art of chocolate-making, exhibits on the origin of the ‘elixir of the gods’, as the Aztecs called it, and the cocoa-growing process are followed by a live-production factory tour and a stop at a chocolate fountain for a sample. Upstairs are departments on the cultural history of chocolate, advertising, and porcelain and other accessories. Stock up on your favourite flavours at the downstairs shop.
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Käthe Kollwitz Museum
The Käthe Kollwitz Museum has graphics and sculptures by the acclaimed socialist artist. A highlight is the haunting cycle called Ein Weberaufstand (A Weavers’ Revolt, 1897). Enter through an arcade, then take the glass-walled lift to the 4th floor.
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Museum Schnütgen
East of the Neumarkt, the Cultural Quarter encompasses the Museum Schnütgen, a repository of medieval religious art and sculpture. Part of the exhibit shows the beautiful setting of the Romanesque Cäcilienkirche (Cecily Church). Also part of the atrium complex is the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum.
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Museum für Angewandte Kunst
The Museum für Angewandte Kunst consists of a series of period rooms tracing European design from the Middle Ages to today. Keep an eye out for a 15th-century Venetian wedding goblet, a silver service by Henry van de Velde and life-sized animals made of Meissen porcelain.
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Kölnisches Stadtmuseum
The Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, in the former medieval armoury, explores all facets of Cologne history. There are exhibits on Carnival, Kölsch (the local beer), eau de cologne and other things that make the city unique.
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Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum
Opened in 2010, this museum boldly makes a statement with a huge rice boat from Sulawesi that fills the lobby. Over three floors there are exhibits on the cultures of the world; fear not about getting your knuckles rapped, these are interactive and you're encouraged to touch.
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Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
A famous collection of paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries, the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum occupies a postmodern cube designed by the late OM Ungers. Works are presented chronologically, with the oldest on the 1st floor where standouts include brilliant examples from the Cologne School, known for its distinctive use of colour. Upstairs are Dutch and Flemish artists, including Rembrandt and Rubens, Italians such as Canaletto and Spaniards such as Murillo. The 3rd floor focuses on the 19th century, with evocative works by Caspar David Friedrich and Lovis Corinth. There’s also a respectable collection of impressionist paintings, including canvases by Monet and…
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Foto-Museum Agfa Foto-Historama
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