Why this site exists

Almost everything here comes from freely available sources — Wikipedia and Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, the City of Cologne's open data, and Google Maps. Which raises a fair question: why does this site need to exist if it merely bundles information anyone could find for themselves? The answer begins with a distinction that matters more than it first appears.

Public is not the same as usable

The data is available — but scattered, in different formats and often in raw, technical form. A Wikipedia article here, an open-data table there; opening hours on Google, photos on Commons, coordinates in a geodatabase. To plan a single free afternoon you would have to search a dozen sources, reconcile them, resolve contradictions and decode specialist formats. We take that effort on once — so that everyone else can simply find a good place to go.

Turning data into a city guide

The real work is not collecting — it is editing. Each entry passes through the same careful steps:

• Editing instead of raw data: scattered facts become one clear, consistent entry per place — a concise overview plus themed sections, written in readable prose rather than keyword tables.
• Verified facts: every statement is checked against its source; in case of doubt we leave it out rather than guess. Subjective impressions from reviews appear only when clearly marked as such — never as established fact.
• Carefully chosen images: every photo is reviewed, unsuitable ones are removed and the most telling one becomes the cover — with author and licence always credited.
• Genuinely findable: categories, tags, full-text search, a map and a "by popularity" sort get you there faster than any raw list.
• Bilingual and built for the go: every entry in German and English, fast and legible on a phone.
• Kept current: texts, ratings and images are refreshed regularly, so nothing quietly goes out of date.

What this site stands for

It is free to use, with no paywall and no sign-up. It is data-frugal: no tracking cookies, and reach measurement runs anonymised and cookieless. And it is verifiable — every entry links back to its sources, so you never have to take our word for it; you can check for yourself.

In short

Open data is the raw material. The value only appears when it becomes something you actually enjoy using: complete, organised, verified and clear. That is precisely what this site is for.