Prayer Times in Cologne

About Prayer Times in Cologne

Cologne (Köln) in western Germany is home to approximately 120,000 Muslims — around 12% of its one million residents — with one of the most prominent Muslim communities in Germany. The city has a large Turkish population, rooted in the guest worker migration of the 1960s, alongside Moroccan, Lebanese, and more recently Syrian communities. Cologne is the headquarters of DITIB (Diyanet İşleri Türk-İslam Birliği — Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institution for Religion), the largest Islamic organisation in Germany, which manages over 900 mosques across the country.

Cologne mosques affiliated with DITIB follow the Turkish Diyanet calculation (Fajr at 18°, Isha at 17°), while Arab-community mosques typically use the Muslim World League method. At 50.9°N, Cologne's prayer times vary considerably through the year — Fajr ranges from approximately 2:55 AM in summer to 7:05 AM in winter, and Isha from about 11:10 PM to 5:00 PM. The combination of very early Fajr in midsummer and very late Isha means the fasting day during Ramadan in June can exceed 19 hours.

The DITIB Central Mosque Cologne (Kölner Zentralmoschee), completed in 2018 after years of public debate, is one of the largest mosques in Western Europe and a landmark of German Islamic architecture — its glass dome and two 55-metre minarets stand prominently near the Ehrenfeld railway station. The mosque complex includes a cultural centre, library, and community facilities. The controversy surrounding its construction and the subsequent national dialogue about its place in German society made it one of the most discussed mosques in European history. It was designed by the German architect Paul Böhm and can accommodate over 1,200 worshippers.