Cologne Off The Beaten Path Tips by diocletianvs Top 5 Page for this destination

Hansahochhaus (Saturn Tower)

I am known as the lover of the early high-rise buildings so Maybachstrasse 115 was a must address for me. The Hansahochhaus skyscraper was built in 1925, designed by Jakob Koerfer. At the time of construction, the 17-storey clinker building reaching 65 metres height was Cologne's first high-rise building, and simultaneously the highest skyscraper in Europe.

Today, it is a business and administration building. There is large Saturn CD shop occupying several lower levels of the building.

Other Contact: Maybachstraße 115

Website: http://www.saturn.de

Mediapark

MediaPark is the recent urban development project in Cologne constructed in the 1990s on the 200,000 m2 area of the former area occupied by the railway freight depot. The complex consists of several centres for information, communication and media technology, a large park with a lake, and a large cinema (Cinedom).

Today roughly 5,000 people work here in some 250 companies that are located in the MediaPark. There are approximately 4.5 million visitors per year.

The urban development concept was designed by the German-Canadian architect E. Zeidler, and buildings were realised by renowned architects. The highest building of the complex, The Köln Turm skyscraper, was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.

MediaPark was the last on my list of things I was showing to Sabsi - we were there on Saturday evening and the area was very alive thanks to numerous small restaurants and the giant multiplex cinema.

Website: http://www.mediapark.de

Die Bastei

The Bastei is small architectural masterpiece situated on the Rhine embankments north of the center. This former restaurant was built by architect Wilhelm Riphahn in 1924. It is a round building with a pointed, tented roof in the centre. In front of the main hall there is a terrace which goes around with a fan-shaped flat roof with a glass balustrade.

Once a restaurant with a rich tradition, Die Bastei is today operated by Cologne Fair and only occasionally there are some events organized in this architectural jewel situated directly above the Rhine. Even if you stand below it, the views of the Rhine, the bridge and the towers of Cologne churches are amazing.

Other Contact: Konrad- Adenauer- Ufer

Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst

I was more attracted to see the building of the Museum for East Asian Art than the collection itself. The building was designed in by Kunio Maekawa (1905-1986) who was a pupil of Le Corbusier. Its pure lines, ingenious use of materials and overlapping of volumes draw sources both from old Japanese traditions and from modern architecture. The building is centred round a landscaped garden in the tradition of Japanese gardens of meditation created by the Japanese sculptor Masayuke Nagare (born 1923) and the whole complex is situated at the edge of the wide strip of parks and lakes.

The Museum itself houses Chinese, Korean and Japanese art. It was founded in 1913 and was the first museum of its kind in Germany. The core of the permanent collection is the Japanese collection of the founder of the museum Adolf Fischer (1857-1914) and his wife Frieda Bartdorff (1874-1945).

Other Contact: Tel 0221-94 05 18-0

Phone: Universitätsstraße 100

Website: http://www.museenkoeln.de/museum-fuer-ostasiatische-kunst/