Since the times of the Romans,
Cologne has been, world-wide, a im- portant place for
goods trading and an important meeting point for
business. Today, the KölnMesse and KölnKongress carry
that tradi- tion successfully further. The KölnMesse (a
large multi-hall trade fair structure) started in 1922
under the, then, mayor Konrad Adenauer who was the first
chancellor of the Federal Republik of Germany after
World War II. Today, the trade fair company operates as
one of the
four largest trade
fair spaces in the world with an area of 286,000
sq.m in 14 large halls. Regularly, there’s about
40 trade fairs arranged. Of those, 25 belong to
the world’s most important trade fairs, among
which include the Anuga (food), the Inter-
national Furniture Trade Fair, photokina, Orgatec
and the Art Cologne. The halls fill
with about 38,000 exhibitors and about 2 million
visitors from 170 countries. In the immense Congress
Center on the same property, there are about 2,000
congresses and industry events held each year with a
total of 600,000 visitors. Over and above that, there is
further capacity in hotel halls or in former
manufacturing plant halls, which have been renovated to
accommodate the newest technical needs for meetings of
all sorts. And for the titanic events, there is the oval
hall in the KölnArena with over 18,000 seats under one
roof.
If you wish to have a contact to
the KölnMesse company, call 821-0 or visit www.koelnmesse.de.
In case of special questions to Cologne's congress
capacities, call 821-2121.
Tips for Cologne's trade fair
visitors
TRANSFER
TO FAIR
From Airport Köln/ Bonn: The
new train line links the airport with the centre every 15 min. and stops at the Köln-Deutz
station. Taking a taxi (20 Eu- ros) saves lots of
time and is comfortable. From Airport
Düsseldorf: Trade
fair busses to Cologne tra- vel from morning to
mid-day to Cologne Messe.
The price there and back is about €8. The trip
takes about one hour. Main
station Cologne: Take a train to the
station "Appell- hofplatz", change here
at same track into line 3 or 4 and get off train at
"Messe
Osthallen".
THE
FAIR PREMISES The Messe
site has 14 halls, which are classi- fied into
"Rhine Halls" and "East Halls".
The Rhine Halls consist of halls 1-8 and halls
9-14 make up the East Halls. From the city center
of Cologne, one can travel along the Rhine with
the number 1, 3, 4, or 9 trains to the premises,
which lie on the right bank. For halls 1-8 one
should exit the trains at the “Bahnhof Deutz/
Köln Arena",
which is served by all four lines (1, 3, 4, and
9). On the way to the East Halls 9-14 take line 3 or 4
and get off at "Messe Osthallen" (East Halls).
CHECK
IN For the
trade fairs, usually only industry are
allowed entry. In order to gain entry, one must
show a form of industry identity at the counter.
The entry prices vary with each trade fair and with the length of time
spen- ding there, number of persons in the group and
if the tickets
were purchased in advance or as the trade fair
counter the day of. Pri- vate guests entering
on public showing days can usually enjoy a price
discount. These credit cards are accep- ted
for payment: Eurocard, Mastercard and American
Express.
The Flora Park Terraces
It’s difficult to say where the
absolute best space for a middle-sized congress in
Cologne could be held. One of the most beautiful place,
however, is the Flora in the city district of Riehl. In
the middle of the historic garden area with wondrous
flowerbeds and a large spring fed fountain, lies the
former Palm House with five halls for 30 to 1,200
people. The park salon can accommodate approximately
150
guests on its 160 sq.m. surface
and is equipped with a cocktail bar and an open
fire place. On two sides the lay parquets in the
salons which open to the ground level glass door.
The flag ship among the Flora rooms is the
historic festival hall for 1,200 guests, which is
often the scene of recep- tion for galas. Frome
here on out, one has
the view, through the glass terrace
door, of the spring fountain and the flowers. Over the
room once span a large glass roof, over which, after
1945, white shingles were laid and remain today. Because
of that the almost 7 m tall hall emanates some of the
original construc- tion’s flair; while the façade has
remained the same. The Flora with its garden and
building was built in 1863 in the image of the Crystal
Palace in London’s Hyde Park and serves now as a place
for industry and art exhibits.
Adress: Im Botanischen
Garten. If you wish to have a connect to the operating
company, call 28 35 50. Or visit tge company's website
at www.die-flora.de.
Trade fairs in Cologne (selection)
JANUARY
Intern. Furniture Fair
Annual. Two days also for private guests. Sweets fair
Annual. Only for industry guests. FEBRUARY Kind + Jugend I
Fashion for Children and Teenager. Twice a year
(see july). Only for industry guests. Practical World
Work tools and con- struction needs. Annual. No
privates. MARCH HomeTech
House appliances.
Every two years. Also for private guests.
MARCH
Art Fair Cologne, Cologne Arts & Antiquarian
Fair
Old and modern arts. Annual.
APRIL Anuga Foodtec
Food technology. Every three years. Only for
industry guests. JUNE Mediavision Cologne
Fair for TV and media technology. JULY
Kind + Jugend II
see February. AUGUST Popkomm. World's largest fair for pop music. Yearly.
SEPTEMBER spoga
+ gafa
Sport and garden articles. Yearly. Only industry
guests.
IFMA Cologne
Bike market. Annual. Also for privates.
photokina
World's trade fair #1 for photo branch. Every two
years. OCTOBER Anuga
Trade fair for nutrition.
Every two years. Industry guests only. NOVEMBER Art Cologne
World's leading market for Modern Art. Annual. more
Copyright 2005 - NICE CITY! Cologne
Congress capacities
The Gürzenich
The Gürzenich is counted as
Cologne’s good par- lor. The festival house was built in
the 15th cen- tury. Queens and kings were received here. The
location is one of a kind: the Dom and Central
Train Station are about a five minutes walk away. On the inside the
Gürze- nich is technically on the cutting edge. It offers five rooms
events with seats for 150 to 1,300
people. Contact:
Tel. 925 8 99 11.more
The Flora
Relatively near the city and
in the middle of the greens in an historic park with a spring
fed fountain and flower beds: on the premises of Cologne’s
Flora are “Historical Fes- tival Halls” of the Flora Park
Terraces for about 600 people. Next to it is the building from
1864 with four more rooms for 60-140 guests and out- side a
terrace of about 600 sqm. Contact: Tel.
283 55 0. more
The Balloni Halls
The Balloni-Halls are over a
hundred years old with modern industrial infrastructure and
found in the nice suburb of Ehrenfeld. There, stand two large
rooms for your selection: the hall with 140 and the hall with
500 square meters. Beside the rooms, the decora- tions and services for
events can be booked here, too. Contact: Tel. 51 70 76.
more
Communications- and media centre KOMED
The Mediapark is a visi- ble
sign of Cologne as the number one media city in Germany. Here,
most of the firms have their branch offices, like Viva-T.V.,
EMI or Agfa. In the creative environ- ment, KOMED offers rooms
for many different uses and of various sizes. Almost the
largest accommodates up to 300 guests, there to come 11
further seminar rooms for 25 up to 200 people. Contact:
Tel. 57 43 142. more
The E-Werk
Known throughout the region is
the name of
E-werk Cologne, which, since 1997, has held first
class concerts and main- tained a disco business which is
enjoyed in the over 100 year old halls of a former power
house. The E-werk can hold up to 600 seats in its 100-800 sqm
congress halls. Contact: Tel. 962790.
more
The Wolkenburg
Cologne was once the seat of
many cloisters. One of which was the cloister for the Bene-
dictine monks at the St. Mauritius church near Neumarkt.
Today the beautiful house with no interior walls is called
Wolkenburg and houses two halls in the middle age style for up
to 500 people, a restaurant and a jazz bar for 140-60 guests. Contact: Tel. 92 13 26
0. more
Hotels and other facilities
Many hotels offer rooms and
services for events, particularly the five large
buildings of the "Take Five" group. Crowne Pla- za, Hyatt,
Dorint Kon- gress, Maritim and Re- naissance Hotel. Infor- mation about that at (tel.) 221 233 25. Those seeking
more intimate space in smaller hotels should call the congress-department of the
Köln Tourismus. Contact: Tel. 221 233 26.
