Alter Markt

The Alter Markt (Kölsch Alder Maat) is a history-steeped square in Cologne's northern Old Town, known for its colourful, medieval-looking row of houses.

At a glance

• Location: Altstadt-Nord, right next to the Heumarkt
• Size: 265 m long, 5,460 m² – after the Heumarkt, the largest square in the Old Town
• Traffic: largely car-free; Rathaus underground station
• Kölsch name: “Alder Maat”

The city's oldest market square

The Alter Markt is considered Cologne's most tradition-rich square. It owes its name to being mentioned around 150 years earlier than the Neumarkt (“new market”). Originally, the Alter Markt and Heumarkt formed a single large marketplace.

Roman traces

In Roman times a branch of the Rhine ran here, alongside the Roman harbour – roughly where the city hall stands today. During construction of the north–south light-rail line in 2007, a Roman cargo vessel (50–100 AD) was uncovered twelve metres down, which had once carried stone for building the city.

Culture

The carnival song “Die Hüsjer bunt om Aldermaat” (1938) by Gerhard Jussenhoven and Jupp Schlösser celebrates the square's colourful houses.