If you want some peace and quiet and a nice place to wander around. Melaten Friedhof is the place to be. You´ll find beautifull tombstones and gravesites. It´s a nice oasis in Cologne. If you want to visit one cemetery, this is the one to visit.
Being myself from cologne and having a family plot there, I like to go to Melaten. Not only to pay a visit to the family plot but also to take a walk. Every tomb stone tells you a story and some of the 19th century plots are house like buildings, which were obviously reserved to the upper class at that time. The place started out in the Middle Ages as a Leprosy colony and was then transformed into a cemetery by the end of the 18th century. Go there for a walk, it's just 3 stops by tram from the city center
I agree to all the reviews of the tourists having visited this great place of peace.The cemetery is very easy to reach. Take from Neumarkt (the middle of the City)street car No.1 direction Junkersdorf or Weiden West. You must leave at thefourth stop ( Melaten ), cross the street and you are there. Opening time is different during the year. In any case it will be open from 9.00 until 4.00 pm (16.00).
What a wonderful find, located just blocks from our hotel (Ameron Hotel). We walked through the cemetery for exercise three mornings in a row and spent a total of 3 hours and still did not see the whole cemetery. Very peaceful and quiet (as you get away from the street). The ground keepers do an excellent job taking care of the grounds. The headstones and monuments are very impressive and offer many photo opportunities. Visit Melaten-Friedhof if you are looking for a peaceful place to stroll through, and bring a camera as there will be plenty to photograph.
The Melaten-Friedhof is more of a large quiet park in the University area. The graves are quite impressive, monument-like, and very well taken care of. However, walking around gets rather dull after 10 minutes and some graves are just distasteful.
(July 2011)We actually had taken the habit of walking during our city trips so this cemetery appeared to be quite a distance away from the center. Having said that, I would advise using public transportation to get there!This cemetery isn't like any other cemeteries I have seen before! A cemetery created inside a park. Really breathtaking statues and beautifully sculptured tombstones. It is very large so foresee to spend a good 2 hours there. Really worth the detour.
Beautiful place to go for a stroll. Would be a dream if no streets were close by. Upkeep is good. Burial culture reflects the society. Very interesting place...
Walking through Melaten is a very calming experience. The serene alleyways lined with impressive statues and age-old trees are really quite unique. The area is surprisingly big so reserve some time for a walk!
Wow. I wouldn't classify this as something to do as a tourist, I don't usually go to cities thinking of visiting their cemetaries, but since I had been a member of "Goth" scene for years (not anymore, though) I visited this cemetary to take some dark pictures (c'mon, who hasn't ever done it? ;-) ). It is very interesting and contains nice statues and graves.
I love to visit cemeteries as the offer interesting photographic and historical experiences. This is a very lovely manicured park like setting with beautiful gardens and amazing historical and beautiful statuary.