When night falls on Cologne and Cologne residents head for the restaurants, bars and clubs on Aachener Straße, a spectacle in neon colours begins that has become iconic for the city and the district.
When the Reissdorf brewery installed its neon sign on Aachener Straße in 1968, it was not yet foreseeable that it would become a monument. Even then, the technology of illuminated advertising was state of the art. What we have here is not a static advertisement, but a moving animation. The figure puts on the Kölsch, drinks, fills up and puts the glass down again. The clou of the production is that the gender of the figure changes with each repetition of the process. It is the small elements that make the difference: the curls on the head, the bow tie on the neck and the heel of the shoe make it clear to the observers whether it is "he" or "she" who is drinking their Kölsch. In the end, the message is clear: everyone is drinking Reissdorf Kölsch, and preferably together.
Naturally, all that Kölsch drinking does not leave an advertisement unscathed. Every year, the technology has to be overhauled and checked so that people can continue to drink delicious Kölsch without interruption.
When the Reissdorf brewery installed its neon sign on Aachener Straße in 1968, it was not yet foreseeable that it would become a monument. Even then, the technology of illuminated advertising was state of the art. What we have here is not a static advertisement, but a moving animation. The figure puts on the Kölsch, drinks, fills up and puts the glass down again. The clou of the production is that the gender of the figure changes with each repetition of the process. It is the small elements that make the difference: the curls on the head, the bow tie on the neck and the heel of the shoe make it clear to the observers whether it is "he" or "she" who is drinking their Kölsch. In the end, the message is clear: everyone is drinking Reissdorf Kölsch, and preferably together.
Naturally, all that Kölsch drinking does not leave an advertisement unscathed. Every year, the technology has to be overhauled and checked so that people can continue to drink delicious Kölsch without interruption.
Good to know
Eligibility
Suitable for any weather
for Groups
for individual guests
Suitable for the Elderly
Directions & Parking facilities
The Rudolfplatz stop is in the immediate vicinity of the monument. This can be reached by underground and tram lines 1, 7, 12, 15 of the KVB. It is also possible to get there by bus. From the bus stops it is only a 180 m walk along Aachener Straße.
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