The Cologne Tower (german: KölnTurm) is a 44-
storey office skyscraper in the Köln-Neustadt-Nord district of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
that stands high, or , including its antenna. Construction of the tower lasted from June 1999 to November 2001. It is the second-tallest building in the city (after the
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
), the second-tallest in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
(after the
Post Tower in
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
), and the twelfth-tallest in Germany. The Cologne Cathedral is considered a building in Cologne but outside of North-Rhine-Westphalia due to th
canon law of the Catholic Church
Because of the tower's location near Cologne's
MediaPark
The MediaPark is an urban regeneration neighborhood in Cologne, Germany, completed by the turn of the millennium. It was set up to accommodate companies of the media and communication industry, as well as cultural institutions, a hotel and some a ...
, it is home to several media sector companies.
The observation deck and restaurant, located on the 30th floor, were opened to the public in June 2006.
Architecture
The reinforced concrete building was built in cooperation between the architectural firm Kohl & Kohl and Parisian architect
Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and '' Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has o ...
. It contains a suspended centre core and the edge between floors to Pendelstützen. The floor plan of the tower is divided into three areas, with an mast to the upper end.
The glass facade of the building was designed with reflected light in mind. Pictures of the Cologne Cathedral and the skyline of Cologne's Old Town were applied to the glass via screen-printing. Depending on light exposure, different combinations of these images appear on the building.
Transmitter
From the antenna on top of the tower, three FM frequencies are broadcast mainly for the northern districts of Cologne: 98.6 MHz/0.4 kW WDR 2 Regionalfenster Cologne, 87.6 MHz/0.3 kW WDR Eins Live, and 89.9 MHz/0.03 kW Germany Kultur. Despite the low power levels, the height of the antenna allows all frequencies to transmit to the northern suburbs. In 2002, the Cologne Tower replaced the former FM transmitter site on the nearby Hansahochaus on Hansaring.
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Germany
This is a list of the tallest buildings in Germany that stand at least tall. Only habitable buildings are ranked, which excludes radio masts and towers, observation towers, steeples, chimneys and other tall architectural structures. For those, ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cologne Tower
Buildings and structures in Cologne
Skyscrapers in Cologne
Jean Nouvel buildings
Tourist attractions in Cologne
Skyscraper office buildings in Germany
Office buildings completed in 2001