1. FC Köln was formed in 1948 through the merger of two local clubs. The club won the Bundesliga’s inaugural title in the 1963-64 season.
1. FC Köln is a Bundesliga club based in Cologne, playing at the RheinEnergieStadion, with a capacity of around 49,698.
Seating Guide
About 15 minutes from the city center via tram line 1, with public transport fares included in the matchday ticket.
Tickets
The safest way to buy tickets is directly through the club’s official website. Popular matches tend to sell out quickly, so check availability as soon as your travel dates are set.
In 1950, a circus gifted a goat as a carnival prank — that goat became ‘Hennes,’ the living mascot now in its ninth generation, earning Köln the nickname ‘Die Geißböcke’ (the billy goats). The club anthem ‘Mer stonn zo dir, FC Kölle,’ sung in the local Kölsch dialect, along with the city’s boisterous carnival season, makes this one of the most distinctive clubs in German football.
RheinEnergieStadion · Aachener Straße 999, 50933 Köln, Germany
Tap the button below to see transit, walking, and driving directions from your current location to the stadium, via Google Maps.
💡 Insider Tips
🚌 Transport
From Neumarkt in the city center, take tram line 1 (toward Weiden) to the “RheinEnergieSTADION” stop, about 16 minutes (boosted to every 7–8 minutes on matchdays). The stadium sits in the Müngersdorf district west of Cologne’s old town.
🏨 Accommodation
The only real walking-distance option is Ferienwohnung Köln Junkersdorf (about 1km from the stadium, 12–15 minutes on foot); otherwise, staying in the old town and riding tram 1 (16 minutes) is the practical approach.
🎟️ Tickets
After members get priority sale, about 15,000 tickets per match go to general sale (ticket-onlineshop.com, no mail orders). German tickets carry the buyer’s printed name and can be checked against ID at the gate, so enter your real name accurately when booking. If sold out, check the official resale channel fcticketboerse.de (best checked a week before and the day before the match). The Südkurve (south stand) is reserved for Köln home fans, so visitors should aim for east or west stand seats.
🗺️ Tourism Tie-in
The club runs its own stadium tour (75–90 minutes, covering the locker room, dugouts, and press room) and an FC museum. Cologne Cathedral and the old town are about 16 minutes away on tram 1, making it easy to combine with the match.
🎁 Club Perks
Son Heung-min’s Bundesliga debut goal (October 30, 2010) came against 1. FC Köln. Separately, Korean-Japanese player Jong Tae-se transferred from Köln to Suwon Samsung in 2013, though he represented North Korea’s national team, not South Korea’s.
💡 Insider Tips
Payment inside the stadium is fully cashless (girocard, credit cards, Apple Pay, Bluecode, etc.). Don’t miss the pre-kickoff walk of live goat mascot Hennes IX around the pitch, a tradition dating back to 1950. The official beer is Gaffel Kölsch; arrive 45 minutes to an hour before kickoff.