World-famous sights and unique locations in cologne
Historical and lively places like the Alter Markt and the Rathausplatz, the UNESCO World Heritage Cologne Cathedral and the Lower Germanic Limes, the Via Culturalis, unique museums, the Praetorium, historical and cultural sights like the future MiQua (medieval quarter) but also unique occasions like the Heinzel Christmas market, the Cologne Carnival or the CSD and also culinary (high) pleasures you can experience directly from your Legend Hotel.
Just step out of the peace and security of the Legend Hotel and dive directly into the world of experience. In the immediate vicinity of the hotel you can expect, among other things:
THE COUNCIL TOWER
The council tower is decorated with 124 council figures. The facade of the first floor is adorned with rulers and persons similar to rulers. From the first to the third floor you can find personalities who were important for the history of Cologne. On the top floor of the tower, the Magi Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar watch over you. You can get especially close to them on our roof terrace. Discover this Cologne sight directly from the Legend Hotel.
In the roof of the tower you will find the famous Glockenspiel. The 48 bronze bells sound only four times a day and enchant the surroundings of the town hall with a total of 24 changing pieces of music.
From your rooms in the Legend Hotel you will enjoy, among other things, a special view of this historic city hall tower, its figures, as well as other historic places and sights of Cologne. You will learn the background and the meaning of this in your room.
THE HISTORIC CITY HALL
The historic city hall or domus civium - the "house of the citizens" - is one of the most important sights of Cologne and is the direct neighbor of the Legend Hotel. It is considered to be the oldest city hall in Germany - first documented mentions can be found between the years 1135 and 1152. It is particularly known for its particularly magnificent town hall arbor that you can admire when entering the Legend Hotel.
In addition to being a popular tourist attraction, the historic town hall is also a venue for civil weddings in Cologne. The Legend welcomes you and your company in the PVLS Restaurant/Bar.
COLOGNE DURING ROMAN TIMES AND THE BUILDING OF THE PRAETORIUM
Roman times, the site of today's Alter Markt was located in front of the Rhine wall and was used as a harbor. The history of Cologne begins in the time around the birth of Christ with the decision of the Roman Emperor Augustus and his governor Agrippa to move the Ubians from the right to the left bank of the Rhine.
This happened right here at Cologne's first address: the Praetorium, the foundation of which the Legend Hotel adjoins today. Thus a highly developed Roman provincial city Oppidum Ubiorum was created, the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne), later named after his granddaughter Agrippina minor
THE VIA CULTURALIS
The culture trail, which connects Cologne Cathedral and the Romanesque church of St. Mary in the Capitol, spans a city quarter that is unique in Europe and the world in terms of its significance for Cologne's urban history and its density of cultural components. The heart of the project is the area around the historic city hall. The Via Culturalis describes the project to make the above-ground, below-ground and above-ground time levels and time traces of two millennia of urban and cultural history visible and comprehensible in public space.
THE OLD MARKET (“ALTER MARKT”)
The Alter Markt was first mentioned as Mercatus Coloniae in 922 AD. Originally, Alter Markt and Heumarkt were connected with each other. In Roman times, there was a branch of the Rhine here about 12 meters below the present surface of the square, which bordered the Roman city wall. It was used as a harbor, which could accommodate up to 200 ships.
Today, the 265-meter-long Alter Markt, with an area of 5,460 square meters, is the largest square in Cologne's old town next to the Heumarkt. The Alter Markt plays a central role in Cologne's carnival, because this is where the new carnival season is opened with live concerts on November 11 at 11:11 a.m. every year since 1953, and the street carnival on Weiberfastnacht.
GREAT ST. MARTIN’S CHURCH
Cologne's most famous sight - the cathedral - makes the city world-famous. Of at least equal cultural and historical importance, however, is the urban ring of 12 Romanesque churches that surrounds the Old Town.
The most characteristic of these churches is certainly Groß St. Martin, which rounds off the triad with the cathedral and the council tower on the banks of the Rhine, visible from afar. However, the foundation of the church in honor of St. Martin of Tours by the Archbishop of Cologne Brun (953-965), whose legend of St. Martin is still strongly rooted in the city of Cologne, is regarded as certain.
THE ARCHEOLOGICAL ZONE – THE MIQUA
Directly in front of the Legend Hotel is the so-called archaeological zone of Cologne. This is an archaeological excavation area of about 6,000 m² on and around the Rathausplatz in the center of the city of Cologne.
The area is archaeologically relevant to the Roman period, Jewish history and the Middle Ages in Cologne. A museum for the Jewish history of the city is being built on the Rathausplatz, which was left undeveloped after the destruction of World War II.
THE COLOGNE CATHEDRAL – LANDMARK AND PILGRIMAGE SITE
The Cologne Cathedral, which can be excellently seen from the roof terrace of the Legend Hotel, is only about 300 meters away and is one of the most popular sights in Europe. It is considered one of the largest Gothic cathedrals and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cologne Cathedral is also home to the largest and most artistically sophisticated reliquary from the Middle Ages: the Shrine of the Magi.
The architecture, the numerous windows, the treasury, excavations, the towers as well as the interior itself make the Cologne Cathedral such an important sight.
Cologne museums in the area
The Museum Ludwig, the Roman-Germanic Museum and the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum are just a few museums in the direct vicinity of the Legend Hotel that are famous far beyond the city limits. If you are interested in modern art since the beginning of the 20th century and would like to visit one of the most important museums in this field worldwide, we recommend the Museum Ludwig.
In the Roman-Germanic Museum you can take a journey back in time to Roman Cologne as well as its surrounding area and learn more about the city's history from the Paleolithic Age onwards. In the oldest museum of the city, the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, you will be presented with classical, important paintings from the 13th to the early 20th century.
