Cultural Program and Events
As some of the more interesting tours require early registration, e.g. guided tours of the world-famous cathedral, we offer to make early reservations and coordination with the local tourist office.
Unless stated otherwise each guided tour will cost approximately 10€. The fee will be collected at the conference registration-desk.
All guided tours with the exception of the mineralogical museum in Bonn are planned for Wednesday afternoon, August 22nd. Exact time will be announced at the conference registration-desk.
Cologne Cathedral
Visit the most famous building of the city and find out why the people of Cologne wanted to build “the biggest church in the world”. How difficult it was to realize this enormous project and why it was completed in the 19th century, after the work had stopped for almost 300 years. You will see and learn about the wonderful stained-glass windows from various centuries, the impressive Gero cross, the oldest preserved large crucifix in the occident and the shrine of the Three Magi.
The meeting point will be the Cologne tourism office near the Cathedral (see this map).
The medieval centre of Cologne
Explore with the guide the area around the Cathedral and the old town. Many sights are concentrated within one square kilometre of the Cathedral, town hall and the old town with the romanesque church of Groß St. Martin. You can also take a look at the Roman Dionysos mosaic and the jewish ritual bath, the Mikwe.
The meeting point will be the Cologne tourism office near the Cathedral (see this map).
Roman heritage of Cologne (Roman Town Hall)
Several metres under Cologne’s present-day street level we will undertake a journey into the past, whose traces - integrated into modern buildings - have been brought back to life. Our journey takes you to the oldest seat of government in the city and through the Roman sewer system.
The meeting point will be at the cashpoint of the museum (Praetorium) in the "kleine Budengasse" (see this map).
The mineralogical museum at Poppelsdorfer Schloss
Since 1818 the mineralogical museum is situated at the Poppelsdorfer Schloss in Bonn. It is one of the oldest museums.
In earlier times it was a part of the Museum of Natural History in Bonn. The guided tour on thursday will give you a great introduction to the whole inventory of the museum. The exhibition ranges over four halls with different thematic focuses. The tour is for free but reservation is still required.The meeting point will be at the cashpoint of the museum in Bonn on Thursday, August 23rd at 4pm. (see this map).
Train connections can be checked at www.bahn.de. The train to Bonn takes about 30 minutes. Detailed information of local transportation in Bonn will be available here, soon.