Golden hour in Cologne in January

Cologne lies at 50.94° N, in the upper mid-latitudes, with long, slanted evening light in summer. Its longest measured day falls on Thu 18 June 2026 with 16h 32m of daylight, and its shortest on Sun 20 December 2026 with 7h 55m — a difference of 8h 37m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in Cologne runs for roughly 53 minutes at the height of summer, 44 minutes around the March equinox and 60 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is actually widest in the colder months, which makes winter evenings unusually forgiving here.

The sun sets toward 310° NW in late June and toward 232° SW in late December, a shift of about 78° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In Cologne, the sky reaches full darkness between evening and morning twilight year-round.