Cologne City Museum

In 2024, the museum moved into its new location on Minoritenstraße, just a stone’s throw from the cathedral. Look forward to an innovative – and surprising – permanent exhibition that tells the story of the city of Cologne in a whole new way, showcasing all its facets, contradictions, and diverse perspectives. It also takes a look at the city’s present and future!

Instead of the familiar thematic focuses of historical museums, the emphasis here is on emotions. The overarching themes of the exhibition areas are questions such as “What do we love?”, “What scares us?”, “What moves us?”, or “What do we believe in?”. Events and objects from the city’s history are thus juxtaposed in an unusual way. What frightened people in the Middle Ages, 200 years ago, and 50 years ago? What developments or events united the people of Cologne in the past, and what unites them today? 

The collections of the Cologne City Museum comprise around half a million objects – from the Middle Ages to the present day.