Great St. Martin Church

Great St. Martin Church in Cologne (Groß St. Martin) is one of the city's twelve great Romanesque churches, and its massive crossing tower is the second landmark on Cologne's riverfront skyline after the cathedral. Rising above the colorful gabled houses of the Fischmarkt in the Old Town, the former Benedictine abbey offers a quiet, atmospheric counterpoint to the crowds at the cathedral and hides Roman ruins beneath its floor.

From Roman Warehouses to a Monastery

The site was used long before the church existed. In the 1st century AD, a Roman sports ground with a pool probably stood on what was then an island in the Rhine; by the mid-2nd century, large warehouses had replaced it. Archbishop Brun founded a religious community here around 953–965, and in 989 it became a Benedictine monastery run by Irish and Scottish monks.

After a fire in 1150, rebuilding started with the striking cloverleaf choir, and the new church was consecrated in 1172. The abbey was dissolved in 1802 when Napoleon's administration secularized church property in the Rhineland. Bombing in World War II gutted the church, and reconstruction took decades: it only reopened on January 13, 1985. Since 2009, the Monastic Communities of Jerusalem, a French Catholic order, have lived here and sing their daily prayers in public.

What to See

• The crossing tower: About 75 meters (247 feet) high and flanked by four slender turrets, best seen from the riverbank or the opposite side of the Rhine.
• The cloverleaf choir: Three rounded apses form the east end, a hallmark of Cologne's Romanesque style.
• The interior: Rebuilt in a deliberately plain style that lets the arches and stonework speak.
• The excavations: A staircase in the north aisle leads down to Roman foundations beneath the church.

Opening Hours and Admission

As of October 2026, the church is closed on Mondays and open Tuesday to Thursday 1–5:25 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 1–5:25 p.m., and Sunday 1–6 p.m. Sightseeing is not possible during services and prayer times. The underground excavation area can be visited outside prayer times until 5 p.m. on weekdays and until 6 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. Admission to the church is free. Allow 30 to 60 minutes. Information is mainly in German, so a guidebook or audio tour app helps.

How to Get There

The church sits in the heart of Cologne's Old Town, about a 10-minute walk from Köln Hauptbahnhof (Cologne Central Station) past the cathedral. The nearest tram stop is Heumarkt. Cologne is around an hour from Frankfurt by ICE high-speed train and about 15 minutes from Cologne Bonn Airport by S-Bahn, making it an easy day trip; the Deutschlandticket covers local trains and trams. Parking in the Old Town is limited, so public transit is the better choice.

Is It Worth Visiting?

Yes, especially if you want to see Cologne beyond the cathedral. Combine it with a stroll around the Fischmarkt and Alter Markt squares and their traditional brewpubs, a walk along the Rhine promenade to the Hohenzollern Bridge, or a riverside walk south to the Chocolate Museum.