Schildergasse (literal english: shields alley) is not only Cologne’s most frequented shopping street, but all of Germany’s (data 2014). Historically it is Cologne’s second oldest street, after Hohe Strasse, both together form Cologne’s shopping area. Originally Hohe Strasse was the north-south axis of roman Colonia, while Schildergasse was its east-west axis. Today Schildergasse runs from the Neumarkt (english: new market) in the west to the Hohe Strasse in the east.
Not much can be seen of this history today, world war 2 being the reason. In this panorama between Herzogstrasse on the left and Ludwigstrasse on the right, it is only the Haus Schierenberg (1894) that is left – named after its architect. Next to it, the Perlengäßchen is one of the narrowest streets of Cologne. The street itself is named after the sign painters that lived here in medieval times.
Today several large department stores and international labels can be found in the Schildergasse. In this stretch of the street we see: United Colors of Benetton, ginatricot, Deiter, Bershka, Berghoff, McDonald’s, Sport Scheck and s.Oliver. This Cologne-Streetline was presented in week 8 of our project 101 weeks 101 cities.
