City streets,  Germany,  Monday walks,  Rivers

Beside the Rhine in Cologne

January 27, 2026 / 31 Comments

The river Rhine, it is well known,

Doth wash your city of Cologne;

But tell me, nymphs! what power divine

Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Our main reason for visiting Cologne last December was football, to watch Newcastle United play Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League (a 2-2 draw, if anyone’s interested!) And of course there were Christmas markets to enjoy. But we also wanted to see something of the city.

The morning after the match was lovely and sunny, with a chilly wind but some warmth in the sun, so we set out on a walk by the river Rhine.

On our way down to the river we passed Groß St. Martin church, dating from the 13th century. We didn’t stop to go in but did explore the small square in which it sits, An Groß St. Martin. There was a small sculpture of Saint Martin giving his cloak to the beggar, and a fountain, the Tierbrunnen, which unfortunately was dry.

Sculpture of St Martin, An Groß St. Martin
An Groß St. Martin seen from the river bank

From the river bank we had some good views of the church and of the cathedral beyond. There were some attractive buildings including one labelled as dating from 1234, although I suspect considerably restored if not rebuilt. The city was one of Germany’s most heavily bombed by the Allies, with 95% of its city centre destroyed in over 260 air raids. Incredibly though, the cathedral was relatively unscathed.

Riverside buildings, old and modern

We followed the river south until we reached the Deutzer Bridge. We climbed spiral stone steps to reach the road and cross the river at this point.  From the bridge we had some great views of the river and could see several cruise ships moored just below us. 

Cologne Cathedral and An Groß St. Martin from the far side of the Rhine

The right bank of the Rhine

Once on the far side we followed the river bank again, going north along the Rheinboulevard. This was built in 2016 to provide vistas of the city and (in warmer weather) places to sit while soaking up the view. We passed the ruins of an old Prussian fort, built on the site of a Roman one, Divitia, and got more excellent views, especially of the cathedral. 

When we reached the next bridge, the Hohenzollernbrücke, we climbed the stairs, passing a wedding shoot on the way.

The Hohenzollernbrücke

Hohenzollernbrücke

This bridge was built between 1907 and 1911 to carry both road and rail traffic, although today it carries only rail and pedestrians. According to Wikipedia it is the most heavily-used railway bridge in Germany with more than 1,200 trains crossing daily. I was surprised to learn that during WW2 it survived numerous bombing raids only to be blown up by German military engineers to slow the progress of Allied troops during the closing months of the war.

Four equestrian statues of Prussian kings and German emperors stand at either end of the bridge. My photo below is of Emperor Wilhelm I. According to the Visit Cologne website:

The equestrian statue of Wilhelm I is made of bronze and stands on a massive granite base. It was created by the renowned sculptor Friedrich Drake. Emperor Wilhelm I sits in a majestic pose on the horse, wearing a military uniform. All of this underscores his significance as a statesman and military leader. The monument was inaugurated and unveiled in 1867.

It adds that, ‘Wilhelm I ordered the monument to be unveiled at night in 1867 as he was not fond of statues. He preferred to avoid attention on his person.’

The statue of Emperor Wilhelm I

Today the bridge is covered with more ‘love padlocks’ than I have ever seen in one place, by far. The local tourist board suggests that the number probably exceeds several hundred thousand. It also says that ‘Deutsche Bahn does not currently consider the love locks to be a danger to the bridge’. I enjoyed reading some of the messages and photographing a (very) small sample.

Love locks on the Hohenzollernbrücke

The bridge is aligned to offer views of the cathedral as you approach the city centre side, although these are (I think unfortunately) partly obscured by the modern building of the Museum Ludwig.

Approaching the cathedral

We had visited the cathedral the previous day, and today we had plans to meet up with our friends for lunch. But for anyone following in our footsteps I can recommend going inside, as it would make a lovely end to this walk. And the cathedral is a good place to finish, whether you go inside or not. There are plenty of places near by for a drink, a snack or a full meal with which to round off this Monday Walk for Jo.

I visited Cologne in December 2025

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