“Supervised drinking behind a fence”
Cult bars criticize the concept of 11.11 celebrations.
10/11/2025 – 10:44Reading time: 2 minutes
A large fence will close off part of Kwartier Latäng and the area around Zülpicher Straße from Monday. An open letter sharply criticized the city’s actions.
The restaurant owners and representatives of Kwartier Latäng met a few days before the start of the carnival on November 11. The concept of the city of Cologne has received sharp criticism. As in previous years, the responsible parties have announced that they will partially close the party zone on Zülpicher Straße with a fence and restrict access if necessary. “The city keeps us under control, like in a nightmare,” said the unofficial Kwartier Latäng account.
Based on the carnival song “Dennwenn et Trömmelche jeit” by the band “Räuber”, those in charge went on to write on Kölsch: “Supervised drinking depends on the fence, that’s what the administration staff wants.” On Zülpicher Strasse there is only “drinking, popping, vomiting and so on in the street”. Over the years, local residents and restaurateurs in particular have criticized the barriers and its focus on teenagers and young adults, some of whom are excessive on Zülpicher Straße.
Due to the large number of revelers, the city of Cologne has taken enhanced security measures on Zülpicher Straße in recent years to be able to control the influx of people. Those responsible in the Latäng district said: “Celebrating behind the fence only gives us nightmares.”
The call was supported, among others, by the “Das Ding” club and the “Oma Kleinmann” pub. Further support for the fire letter to the city is gathered in the comments. Operator “Das Ding” wrote: “The behavior of the city and politicians towards this problem is simply unbearable. Reluctance to find a solution and broken promises.” Daniel Rabe, operator of “Bagatelle,” added: “And this comes at a time when the city needs every penny of trade taxes from the companies located there.”
Those in charge complained that promises made at the round table on the topic were not kept – but these promises were not explained in detail. Due to the closure, several pubs have closed on 11/11 in recent years. also closed. However, in November 2024 and also at the street carnival in 2025, the number of revelers experienced a significant decrease.
Nevertheless, the city is sticking to its concept – albeit with clear limitations. The university prairie was supposed to be held on November 11th. no longer functions as an alternative area, but purely as a link between Luxemburger and Zülpicher Strasse. Celebrities can only stay there if Zülpicher Straße is closed. The area is only a third as large as in spring.
