Cologne’s cathedral chapter announced on Thursday that the city’s iconic cathedral will begin charging visitors an admission fee in the second half of this year. The new charge is intended to help cover rising costs of operating, maintaining and securing the historic site.
Entry will remain free for churchgoers, worshippers and members of the Central Cathedral Building Association. The exact price for tourists has not yet been set.
The 157‑metre (515‑foot) Gothic cathedral, whose construction began in 1248 and was completed in 1880, survived World War II and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It draws roughly 6.6 million visitors each year; Provost Guido Assmann said tourists make up about 99% of those visitors.
The chapter said the move follows six consecutive years of financial losses since 2019. Cathedral Administrator Clemens van de Ven warned, “We have reached a point where the reserves of Cologne Cathedral will be depleted in the foreseeable future,” and framed the fee as necessary to safeguard the building’s future.