Jewish Quarter History Walking Tour in Cologne’s Old Town｜Germany

Meet Cologne's Jewish community, the largest and oldest such community in Germany! Discover the remains of the medieval Jewish Quarter in Cologne's Old Town and learn about the city’s Jewish history, Kristalnaicht and Holocaust from an Expert-Guide. Experience Jewish Cologne!

Book our 2-hour Jewish walking tour to discover the traces of Jewish history and heritage in Cologne’s Old Town. Follow your Private Guide on a journey back to Roman times when the first Jews arrived in the city and discover how the city became a European center of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages. The tour will start in the Old Market, a historic market square that attracted many Jewish visitors over the centuries. Here, you will learn about the Crusades and medieval pogroms, and see the plan of the former Jewish Quarter, ""Judengasse”. The guide will show you the images of Good Heroes carved on the walls of the Gothic City Hall and some of the Stumbling Stones hidden throughout the Old Town that commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.

Another point of interest will be the phenomenal Cologne Cathedral, which was built by the same architect who designed the destroyed Glockengasse Synagogue and features an engraved stone with a letter of protection and privileges granted to the Jewish community in 1252. You will also pass the touching monument to Edith Stein, a beautified German Catholic nun who died in Auschwitz and the former Gestapo headquarters, and end the tour at the Offenbach Square, named after the influential Jewish composer Jacques Offenbach.

Book an extended 4-hour tour to enhance your experience with a visit to the NS Documentation Centre (EL-DE House) and hear the tragic story of Edith Stein and other victims of the Holocaust. Learn about National Socialism and the Secret State Police at the former Gestapo prison. See the original Gestapo offices and explore the prison cells and torture rooms in the basement to find over 1800 inscriptions made on the walls by the prisoners. Your Expert-Guide will help you understand the true extent of Nazi’s persecution of Jews and other minority groups.

Book a 5-hour tour to visit the NS Documentation Centre (EL-DE House) and discover more traces of Cologne’s Jewish heritage, including the Roonstrasse Synagogue. On this extended walking tour you will go further than the Old Town to see the only place of Jewish worship that survived Kristallnacht in 1938, making it the most enduring witness of the turbulent history of Jewish Cologne.

The 6-hour option is a Jewish History Tour with entry to the NS Documentation Centre (EL-DE House) and round-trip transfer. This option includes pickup and drop-off by private car. The 5-hour walking tour covers a long distance, so for your convenience, we can arrange private transfers between the meeting point and your Cologne accommodation. Book in advance to save time and effort. After the intensive tour, you won’t have to worry about finding public transport or a taxi.