When we organized the first concert in the then newly built concert hall of the Stadtgarten over 30 years ago, we had at best a vague idea of what lay ahead of us. Our idea was to do something that had never been done before in our country: an independent concert program featuring contemporary improvised music that was content-oriented and did not focus on audience numbers or public subsidies, but still offered musicians guaranteed minimum fees and was professionally managed.
Today, 31 years later, the Stadtgarten Cologne is one of Europe’s internationally recognized venues for contemporary and improvised music, regularly mentioned in the listings of the American Down Beat magazine, and has been a regular winner of the German government’s venue program award (“APPLAUS”) since its introduction, even being named “Venue of the Year” in 2016. The Stadtgarten Köln now hosts over 400 events a year from all areas of contemporary music. The international reputation we enjoy today is primarily the result of the high proportion of sophisticated, experimental programs.
Wheelchair users should use the entrance at the corner of Spichernstraße and Venloer Straße. From there, a ramp leads to the Stadtgarten area. Some paths are covered with gravel, at least in parts. The path to the concert hall is gravel-free. There is a disabled toilet for the entire Stadtgarten area directly next to the concert hall on the ground floor. The toilet room is spacious, so there is also room for an assistant. For seated concerts, the concert hall has two wheelchair spaces. The corresponding seats in the hall are marked. The Stadtgarten does not have its own parking spaces.