Archaeological Zone - Jewish Museum

Cologne still boasts impressive relics of its Roman past, when the city served as the capital of the province of Germania Inferior. Among these relics is the Praetorium (governor’s palace) underneath the City Hall as well as a section of the Roman sewer. The Middle Ages are also represented in the future Archaeological Zone by a mikveh, the ritual Jewish bath. This mikveh served one of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in Germany.

These sites will all be incorporated into the future Archaeological Zone and the associated Jewish Museum, which will be located on and underneath the Rathausplatz. This is one of the most spectacular cultural projects in Cologne, involving the creation of a new museum complex on an area measuring about 7,000 m². Visitors to the original sites will find monuments from a span of two millennia. What will be presented here is the cosmopolitan heart of Cologne’s history, ranging from the impressive ruins of the Roman governor’s palace to the remains of one of Europe’s most important Jewish quarters.