Hahnen Gate, Cologne, Germany

Shortly after the Romans founded Cologne in 50 AD, they built a wall around the city. The wall was first expanded in the tenth century, and again in 1106, but due to the continuing growth of the city a new, 7 meters high wall was built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

The most important of the twelve gates that gave entrance to Cologne was the west gate, known as the Hahnentor. After their coronation in Aachen, German kings arrived in Cologne through this gate to revere the shrine of the Three Magi in the Cologne cathedral. The gate was built between 1235 and 1240 and was probably named after a citizen named Hageno, who owned the nearby land.

The Hahnentorburg has two semi-circular, crenellated towers. The city's coat of arms is depicted above the entrance. The tower was restored in 1890 by the city architect Josef Stubben; a memorial plaque commemorates the architect's construction of Neustadt (new city) between 1881 and 1898 outside the former city walls. The tower was severely damaged during the Second World War, but was later reconstructed.

References:

aviewoncities.com

User Reviews

Alexander Wilkinson (8 months ago)
Weeeeell. A nice landmark and nice cafes surrounding but not exactly a major attraction. Could do with a bit more explanation about what it is.

Philippe B. (8 months ago)
Surprising medieval door among modern buildings This door is one of the former seven entrances through the walls surrounding the medieval city of Cologne. The German kings used to enter the city through this door. Nowadays, it’s a nice to see piece of middle age in the downtown of a modern city.

Nigel Pawson (2 years ago)
Rudolphplatz Christmas market rather than the tower. We visited twice over a weekend due to rain and loved the market. We were greeted by a singing moose to the only market with 1.6 l flasks of glühwein

Pieter-Jan Elias (2 years ago)
One of the smaller Christmas markets in Köln, but in my opinion, one of the most beautifull with the Hahnentor towering above It! What an athmosphere! Very crowed on weekend in december! Great!

Manjiri B (2 years ago)
Nice to pass by. There is nothing to explore, but it's nice to see an old structural view in the middle of the modern city. If you are waiting to change trams or buses at Rudolfplatz, it's a nice view right in front of it.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

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Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.

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