Kiosk -capital

Of kiosk culture & Büdchen love

Cologne has the highest concentration of Büdchen in the entire state of North Rhine-Westphalia. More than 1,000 kiosks keep the city well supplied with a wide range of beverages, sweets and other types of food, odds and ends of every kind, and even offer mini-events in tiny spaces. Some Büdchen are simple and functional, others stand out because of their extraordinary charm. In any case, one’s local Büdchen is always more than just an auxiliary fridge or an expanded sales counter. In short, Cologne has a fine Büdchen culture, which is also the basis of a characteristic local pastime: “büdchen-hopping”. You can experience Cologne’s fondness for its Büdchen at first hand by joining one of the city tours that focus on its best-known kiosks: the “Büdchentour”.

A simple illustration of a face drawn with a line. — © Shutterstock, Elizaveta Ruzanova

Multifaceted and steeped in tradition — Cologne’s Büdchen scene

Like the Cathedral and the Rhine, Büdchen are a fixed part of Cologne’s cityscape. These neighbourhood kiosks enrich the city’s culture by offering spaces for friendly chats and casual encounters.

In terms of their architecture, Büdchen are easy to spot, even though there’s no standard traditional design. That makes the Büdchen timeless — along with their lasting and resistant alternative to design styles and trends — even though their range of goods is constantly adapting to the available space and the social environment.

Cologne kiosks

A selection of the lovable institutions

Büdchen are spaces for urban communication — a force for integration in the neighbourhood

A seemingly random but significant detail of Büdchen culture is the absence of social barriers. Here there are no visible or invisible barriers between different social scenes. At the Büdchen, everyone is equal and everyone is welcome. When people leave their packages or housekeys here to be picked up, drink their coffee in the morning or share a beer with the neighbours after work, everyone’s part of a loosely defined community or a temporary but friendly affinity group.

Cologne’s Büdchen: steeped in tradition, hip and sociable

Each individual Büdchen is energized by the personality of its owner. For example, some Büdchen appear especially creative — painted to look like a wooden hut, a welded ship container or a charming corner shop. Some offer an upscale culinary culture that ranges from gourmet coffee roasted on site to vegan ice cream, organic ginger drinks and high-quality baked goods.

And there are even Büdchen where people dance, such as Cologne’s arguably craziest kiosk, the La Ola Büdchen. It’s a neighbourhood meeting place with flickering disco lights and occasional party events (which can also be privately booked). Many Büdchen have even been the focal points of their respective neighbourhoods for many decades, such as the Büdchen on the Eierplätzchen, which was unfortunately closed down in 2022. All of these features make up Cologne’s kiosk culture.

From the charm of the casual to the mythically immortalized spot

Cologne’s kiosks have even become part of the collective history of their respective communities. For example, some newlyweds like to invite their wedding guests to share a Kölsch beer at their local Büdchen instead of toasting the couple with a bourgeois glass of Sekt in front of the Town Hall. The famous Cologne-dialect band Bläck Fööss — whose name means “bare feet” — have devoted two of their songs to Büdchen: “Kaffeebud” and “Bickendorfer Büdchen”. The funny part is that the Bickendorfer Büdchen doesn’t exist — it’s Cologne’s 1,001st kiosk, so to speak. An imaginary Büdchen — as an eternal cultural meme.