Roman Cologne Walking Tour: From Cologne Cathedral to the Ubii Monument
Buy for a Group
Reviews
About the Tour
About the Tour
Travel 2,000 years into the past with me on a walking tour of Roman Cologne, founded by Emperor Augustus himself. The city’s first 500 years of occupation by the Romans permanently shaped Cologne, and saw it transform from an inconsequential outpost, to the capital of Lower Germania. On this walking tour, I’ll show you remnants of this ancient city that are hidden in plain sight.
We’ll begin our journey in front of the Kreuzblume beside the Cologne Cathedral, where you’ll hear about the city’s old northern gate. Our walk through the ages comes to an end near the Ubii Monument, the oldest stone tower in Germany. Along the way, I’ll tell you where to find original Roman stairs, and how to spot celebrated Roman soldiers, Marsilius and Agrippa, on the Gürzenich Köln's imposing Gothic facade. I’ll point out Great St Martin Church which was built in the Middle Ages on the foundations of a Roman warehouse, and in the former Roman temple district, St Maria im Kapitol.
You can look forward to:
- Finding out why Die Römische Hafenstraße in Köln (a Roman harbour road) was imperfectly rebuilt in Kurt Hackenberg Platz
- Locating the largest Roman palace in the Rhineland
- Hearing about an ancient Roman sewer that survived wars, floods, and the industrial revolution, but might soon succumb to German fire protection regulations
- Walking down one of the oldest continuously used roads in an urban centre north of the Alps
- Peering through the window of the Roman Germanic Museum to see one of the world’s largest and best-preserved Roman mosaics
- Finding an archaeological gem inside a metro station
- Learning what the 1969 moon landing has to do with the ancient Romans in Cologne
By the end of the tour, you’ll also know why the Romans founded a city so far from their home, and where to find remnants of their walls in places you may never expect.
Tour Producer
Tour Producer
Willem Fromm
I am a historian with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history from the University of Bonn, and a history podcaster.
Even as a little boy, I was already fascinated by the history of all kinds of places. I chewed my parent's ear off, I looked through the pane of glass into an ancient Jewish bathhouse in Cologne, wandered around as a little child on Forum Romanum, and climbed the Great Wall of China at 5 am in the morning to have it all for myself and not crowded with tourists.
Living all my life in Cologne, I started a history podcast about Cologne called "The History of Cologne" in late 2019. One year later, I started the German version of it called "Eine Geschichte der Stadt Köln."
I decided early on that my podcast about Cologne would be firstly in English, as my intention was to reach an international audience. Too often modern-day Germany is reduced in the media abroad to Berlin, Bavaria and Oktoberfest. I wanted to offer a different perspective. Focusing on the city with more history than any other major German city: the city of Cologne on the Rhine. Over 2,000 years old, founded by Emperor Augustus himself. Elevated to a Roman city by Empress Agrippina a few generations later. Bustling in the Middle Ages, being once the largest city in medieval Germany.
Preview Location
Preview Location
Location 7
Roman Harbor Street
What you see here is a Roman harbor road that once led down to the Rhine river. Please watch where you step. It can be very slippery after rain or when it's cold. Please take care!
The stones seem to ... Read More
View locations and route
How VoiceMap Works
Major Landmarks
Major Landmarks
-
Great St. Martin Church
-
Gürzenich Köln
-
The Praetorium, the Roman Governor's Palace of Upper Germania, Cologne
-
Basilica of St Mary in the Capitol
-
City Hall Cologne
-
Ubii Monument
-
Cologne Cathedral
-
Kreuzblume
-
House of Studies of the Romano-Germanic Museum
-
Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz
Getting There
Getting There
Route Overview
-
Start locationDomkloster 4, 50667 Köln, Germany
-
Total distance3km
-
Final locationAn d. Malzmühle 1, 50676 Köln, Germany
-
Distance back to start location882.05m
Directions to Starting Point
The tour begins right in front of Cologne Cathedral in front of the main gate. Look out for the "Kreuzblume", the big stone monument that stands in front of the Cathedral next to the stairs to Cologne Cathedral square.
Show Directions
Tips
Tips
Places to stop along the way
There are many bars and restaurants that you will see on the tour, e.g. the Alter Markt.
You will come across several romanesque churches, some of them nearly a thousand years old such as Great St. Martin
and St. Mary in the Capitol.
They are free of charge to visit but remember that they are active places of worship.
Best time of day
All day. You can also do the tour at night but maybe then you might miss a few details.
Precautions
As a city that attracts around four million guests from all over the world every year, it also attracts pickpockets to the old city on the Rhine. Please always take care of your valuables. Especially on Cologne's Cathedral Square. Well-known scams of thieves are: distracting you in a conversation while another person secretly empties your purse. With younger people, sometimes they'll dance up to you. Or stumble into someone. On escalators, too, there is a new trick of using the emergency brake to take advantage of the hustle and bustle to relieve yourself of your valuables. So please always be careful. As great as this city is, this is unfortunately also a part of it. Otherwise, the city is extremely safe. Only pickpockets are a well-known problem, as in all tourist cities.
Get The App
Get The App
Questions and Reviews
Questions and Reviews
