About us
Behind historic walls – more than 550 years old – lies something unique: a successful blend of Cologne’s living history and top brewery cuisine.
History comes alive at the Gilden im Zims. With many memorabilia, the ‘home of Cologne’s heroes’ brings together well-known and lesser-known Cologne originals. In numerous pictures and exhibits, on glasses and beer mats, the modern brewery tells its guests the stories of Cologne’s folk heroes, of whom the people of Cologne say: ‘Dat wor ne Jode!’ (That was a good one!).
The first reference
Let’s turn the clocks back 850 years. The first mention of house no. 77 on Heumarkt dates back to 1163. Back then, it was called the “Minnefusshaus”. Around 400 years later, in 1568, councillor Wilhelm Peter Terlaen von Lennep had the house, then known as ‘Zum Sankt Peter’, with its magnificent facade rebuilt.
The founding
In 1920, Johann Zims acquires the building and opens a guesthouse. It quickly becomes very popular. The turning point comes in 1943: night-time air raids destroy the building. It burns down completely, only the facade remains intact. The Zims family takes refuge in the cellar – and is buried. After days of waiting, Johann Zims throws a coin into the cellar well. He has only one wish: to save his loved ones.
A miracle happens
They are all rescued, weakened but unharmed. The wishing well, as it is known, can still be admired in the cellar to this day. Full of endeavour, the family rebuilds the house in 1946. The guests were not long in coming. The famous cyclist Hans Zims, the ‘King of the Nights’, is joined by many sportsmen. This is how in the 1950s, Haus Zims became the ‘meeting place of the world of sports’.
Back to the present day
In 2006, grandson Hans-Willi Zims remodels the restaurant. During the modernisation, space was to be created in the cellar for a larger cold store. This is when he comes across the buried and forgotten vaulted cellars, the foundations of which date back to Roman times. The restoration work takes almost three years.
The new Gilden im Zims
The new Gilden im Zims has been open since 24 November 2009. On four floors and two terraces, it can accommodate up to 1,000 people in a modern yet authentical Cologne brewery atmosphere. In the ‘home of Cologne’s heroes’, guests can also learn a lot about Cologne’s originals.
