Hostel die Wohngemeinschaft
Themed rooms, 1950s lounge, café-bar with live DJs — Cologne's design-hostel original
A design-led hostel on the southern edge of Cologne's Belgisches Viertel, with individually themed rooms, a 24/7 1950s-style lounge, and a café-bar that turns into a live-DJ club at night. 3856+ reviews, 9.0 rating, dorms from around 28 EUR.
Hostel die Wohngemeinschaft sits on Richard-Wagner-Straße at the southern edge of Belgisches Viertel — Cologne's design-and-cocktails neighbourhood. The hostel was a Cologne pioneer of the design-hostel format in the early 2010s, and it still does individually themed rooms better than any imitator: every room has a different concept, decorated room-by-room, with parquet floors and Cologne city views from the upper storeys. As the booking page warns: rooms are randomly assigned per category, so if you want a specific theme, message the hostel directly.
The ground floor café-bar is the heart of the building. By day it is a kaffeehaus serving good coffee, fresh pastries and cake; by night it converts into a popular club with live DJs and a younger Cologne-local crowd that drinks Kölsch alongside the hostel guests. A separate room functions as a small theater for poetry slams, gigs, and improv events — a properly Belgian-Quarter cultural mix.
The 1950s-style common lounge stays open 24/7 with free coffee, tea, DVDs and a bookshelf. There is a table-tennis room and a shared kitchen on a higher floor. Bathrooms are shared per hallway (not en-suite) — the hostel's main negative review note, but the cleanliness scores stay high.
Moltkestraße U-Bahn (line 4) is 2 minutes walk; Rudolfplatz U-Bahn (lines 1, 7, 9, 12, 15) is 4 minutes — that puts you in the Cathedral / Hbf area in 5 minutes by tram. Walking to the Cathedral takes 25 minutes through Innenstadt. Belgisches Viertel cocktail bars (Salon Schmitz, Hemingway, Jack's) are 5 to 10 minutes walk; Friesenstraße brauhaus crawl 8 minutes.
- 019.0 rating across 3856 reviews — the highest-rated hostel in Cologne
- 02Every single room individually themed and decorated — no two rooms alike
- 03In-house café-bar converts to live-DJ club; theater room hosts gigs and poetry
- 04Walking distance to Belgisches Viertel cocktail bars and Friesenstraße brauhauses
- 0524/7 1950s-style common lounge with free coffee, tea, DVDs and books
- Every room individually decorated on a different theme
- 24/7 1950s-style lounge with free coffee, tea, DVDs and books
- Café-bar with live DJs and a theater event space
- From 28 EUR / night dorm bed in walking distance of Belgisches Viertel
“Cozy place, great atmosphere, free tea and coffee in shared kitchen, free ginger shots every day as well. Superb location close to many bars, LIDL supermarket and any other shop you could need. Very friendly staff.”
“The bed in the room was big, something unusual but highly appreciated in hostels. The room was big enough for 6 beds, even the lockers were practical — you just need the same key for the room. The location was OK, close to a tram station; the metro station nearby was in remodelation but open.”
“Interesting setting for each room. Very well located. Very nice staff. Common bathrooms were always very clean.”
- Moltkestraße U-Bahn (line 4)2 min walk
- Rudolfplatz U-Bahn (lines 1, 7, 9, 12, 15)4 min walk
- Salon Schmitz cocktail bar (Aachener Straße)8 min walk
- Friesenstraße brauhaus strip8 min walk
- Cologne Cathedral25 min walk / 6 min by tram
- Belgisches Viertel design district5 min walk to Brüsseler Platz
