Sun & light planner

Golden hour in Cologne

In mid-June golden hour in Cologne starts at 20:55 and lasts 53 minutes; in mid-December it starts at 15:27 and lasts 60. The tool is set to Cologne — pick your shoot date.

In Cologne the evening golden hour starts at 20:55 in mid-June (53 min) and at 15:27 in mid-December (60 min). Pick a date for the exact day.
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A row of buildings or a hill: about 5° for a four-storey block 100 m away.
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Europe/Berlin

  • golden (sun 6° to −0.8°)
  • dusk (−0.8° to −4°)
  • blue (−4° to −6°)
  • night
  • sun altitude
Golden hour, evening
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Blue hour, evening
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Golden hour, morning
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Sunrise
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Sunset
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Daylight
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Shadow of a 1.80 m person
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© OpenStreetMap · dashed: sunrise · solid: sunset · yellow: sun now · dark: shadow
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Golden hour in Cologne, month by month

The evening window in Cologne is longest in December (60 minutes) and shortest in September (43 minutes). Values for the 15th of each month, local time, daylight saving included.

Cologne, 2026: sun times on the 15th (Europe/Berlin)
MonthSunriseSunsetGolden hour, eveningLengthBlue hour untilDaylight
January08:3016:5515:59–16:5556 min17:338 h 25 min
February07:4617:4817:01–17:4848 min18:2210 h 02 min
March06:4818:3617:53–18:3644 min19:0911 h 49 min
April06:3920:2719:43–20:2744 min21:0213 h 48 min
May05:4421:1520:26–21:1549 min21:5615 h 31 min
June05:1821:4820:55–21:4853 min22:3516 h 30 min
July05:3621:4220:51–21:4251 min22:2516 h 06 min
August06:2020:5620:09–20:5646 min21:3314 h 36 min
September07:0819:4919:06–19:4943 min20:2212 h 41 min
October07:5518:4217:57–18:4245 min19:1510 h 47 min
November07:4916:4715:54–16:4752 min17:238 h 58 min
December08:2916:2715:27–16:271 h 00 min17:067 h 58 min

Where the sun goes down

Around the June solstice the sun sets in Cologne at 309° (NW), around the December solstice at 231° (SW) — 78° apart. A façade that gets backlight at the end of a summer day is lit from the side in winter, and a street that frames the sunset in July may not see it at all in January.

The highest sun of the year stands at 63° at noon, the lowest at 16°. Below about 15° the light turns warm and the shadows long enough to shape a face; the day chart in the tool shows when the sun crosses that line on your date.

Clock changes

Europe/Berlin changes the clocks on 29 March and 25 October 2026. On those dates every time in the table jumps by an hour overnight — a schedule copied from the week before the change puts the exterior an hour into the dark (or an hour too early).

Filming in Cologne: permits

Shoots on public ground in Cologne need a permit from the local authority (listed source: stadt-koeln.de / filmstiftung.de). If a golden-hour setup sits on public space, apply for a weather cover day at the same time — the light will not wait for the paperwork.

As of 2026-08

Frequently asked

When does golden hour start in Cologne today?

The tool above opens on today’s date for Cologne. As a guide: in mid-June it starts at 20:55, in mid-December at 15:27.

How long is golden hour in Cologne?

Between 43 minutes (September) and 60 minutes (December) in the evening, measured from 6° sun altitude to sunset.

Does a building to the west change this?

Yes. Set the obstruction slider to its angle: a four-storey building 100 m away is about 5° and ends direct sun noticeably before sunset. The tool shows how many minutes you lose.