Original House of Echt Kölnisch Wasser and Famous Eau de Cologne
Rubbed in the hands, lightly moistening the temples, or mixed with water or wine, 4711 promised delightful moments as a fresh-scented travel and life companion as early as the 18th century. The location of the 4711 house on Glockengasse contributed to the steep success story of the fragrance water: the headquarters of the Mülhens perfume factory was then located opposite the horse post office—the long-distance coaches of the time, with all the associated smells, crampedness, and discomfort. What better place for a business selling refreshment for the body, mind, and soul? For arrivals and departures.
Even today, numerous people, about 100,000 a year—including travelers—visit the fragrance house in a neo-Gothic style for various reasons. The modern flagship store at Glockengasse 4 brings the history, brand, and composition of 4711 as "aqua mirabilis" closer to you through a shop, a small museum, historical tours, fragrance seminars, and fragrance menus.
Fragrance House: New Scents, Historical Exhibits, and 4711 Fountain
For many decades the epitome of a Kölnisch Wasser, 4711 today is also an umbrella brand for various fragrances you can test and purchase in the ground floor shop. In the small museum upstairs, you can learn more about the long history of the traditional scent through historical exhibits and advertising posters from recent decades.
A small highlight is the 4711 fragrance fountain, from which you can help yourself according to your mood and fragrance. If your curiosity is not satisfied after a first visit, you have the opportunity to participate in a historical tour, a fragrance seminar, or a fragrance menu at the fragrance house.
The old 4711 house was completely destroyed in the war in 1943, as were the factory facilities in Cologne-Ehrenfeld. In the 1950s, the production facilities in Ehrenfeld were rebuilt in the company's colors of Bremer Blue and Gold and are now partially under monument protection. In 1963, the current new building Glockengasse 4 was constructed in a neo-Gothic architectural style.
Hourly Carillon: Between 9 am and 7 pm
The carillon of the fragrance house is very popular—every full hour between 9 am and 7 pm, three melodies from 20 bells sound, including always the “Marseillaise” and “Der Treue Husar,” with the third carillon varying according to the season. You can best listen to it outside in front of the fragrance house, as Napoleon figures rotate to the melodies, reminding that 4711 would not have existed in its current form without the French.
What Does 4711 Smell Like?
Fresh, fruity-citrus, slightly spicy: The exact formula of 4711 is secret and unchanged since 1792. But the scent notes are known: As a top note, bergamot, lemon, and orange are supposed to enchant you first when you smell 4711. After the top note evaporates, the heart note unfolds with fragrant lavender and rosemary. A hint of neroli and petitgrain accompany you as a base note long after application.
An Eau de Cologne and Echt Kölnisch Wasser
With its light fragrance concentration, 4711 is classified as an eau de cologne, first developed by the Italian Johann Maria Farina and then established as a term for scented water. A scented water can only be called “Echt Kölnisch Wasser” if the essential production takes place in Cologne, as is the case with 4711.
4711: How the Perfume Got Its Name
4711 was the first brand to use numbers instead of a name, but it wasn't always that way. In 1799, the merchant Wilhelm Mülhens marketed his fragrance water as Kölnisch Wasser with the designation "Franz Maria Farina – Klöckergasse No. 4711 in Cöln a. R." because the Carthusian monk Franz Maria Carl Gereon Farina had given him the formula as a wedding present. This led to many legal disputes with the Farina perfumer family. In subsequent years, the original numbering of the house during the French occupation developed into the brand name 4711.
Today: A Brand of Mäurer & Wirtz
The fragrance business 4711 was sold by the Mülhens family in 1994 and changed hands several times in the following years. Since 2006, it has belonged to the Stolberg fragrance house Mäurer & Wirtz, which polished the image and created further 4711 creations, allowing tradition and modernity to merge and statements like “You smell like my grandma” and “The finished touch for your party look” to coexist. You may quickly find your fragrance using the fragrance finder, which you can then test directly in the fragrance house.
Excursus: Can You Actually Drink 4711?
You can! It was even originally sold as an internally applied remedy. Mixed with water or wine, it was considered a remedy for heart conditions and headaches until Napoleon wanted all medicine formulas disclosed. You can guess how the story ended: from medicine to scented water for external use—and the formula remained secret and still is today. When switched to scented water, the horizontal transportable bottle was replaced by the upright Molanus bottle, which still exists today.
If you're lucky, you might find the "Blue-Gold Cocktail" on a cocktail menu in Cologne: consisting of Danziger Goldwasser, Curacao Blue, vodka, a dash of 4711—topped up with sparkling wine or champagne to explore 4711 gustatorily.
If you arrive in Cologne by train at the main station, 4711 greets you in the form of a 1.5-meter-high illuminated sign, which has been shining from the glass facade onto the tracks and platforms for decades. Here we are again with the traveler, who 4711 has always been gladly recommended and given.[H2] Original House of Echt Kölnisch Wasser and Famous Eau de Cologne
Rubbed in the hands, lightly moistening the temples, or mixed with water or wine, 4711 promised delightful moments as a fresh-scented travel and life companion as early as the 18th century. The location of the 4711 house on Glockengasse contributed to the steep success story of the fragrance water: the headquarters of the Mülhens perfume factory was then located opposite the horse post office—the long-distance coaches of the time, with all the associated smells, crampedness, and discomfort. What better place for a business selling refreshment for the body, mind, and soul? For arrivals and departures.
Even today, numerous people, about 100,000 a year—including travelers—visit the fragrance house in a neo-Gothic style for various reasons. The modern flagship store at Glockengasse 4 brings the history, brand, and composition of 4711 as "aqua mirabilis" closer to you through a shop, a small museum, historical tours, fragrance seminars, and fragrance menus.
Fragrance House: New Scents, Historical Exhibits, and 4711 Fountain
For many decades the epitome of a Kölnisch Wasser, 4711 today is also an umbrella brand for various fragrances you can test and purchase in the ground floor shop. In the small museum upstairs, you can learn more about the long history of the traditional scent through historical exhibits and advertising posters from recent decades.
A small highlight is the 4711 fragrance fountain, from which you can help yourself according to your mood and fragrance. If your curiosity is not satisfied after a first visit, you have the opportunity to participate in a historical tour, a fragrance seminar, or a fragrance menu at the fragrance house.
The old 4711 house was completely destroyed in the war in 1943, as were the factory facilities in Cologne-Ehrenfeld. In the 1950s, the production facilities in Ehrenfeld were rebuilt in the company's colors of Bremer Blue and Gold and are now partially under monument protection. In 1963, the current new building Glockengasse 4 was constructed in a neo-Gothic architectural style.
Hourly Carillon: Between 9 am and 7 pm
The carillon of the fragrance house is very popular—every full hour between 9 am and 7 pm, three melodies from 20 bells sound, including always the “Marseillaise” and “Der Treue Husar,” with the third carillon varying according to the season. You can best listen to it outside in front of the fragrance house, as Napoleon figures rotate to the melodies, reminding that 4711 would not have existed in its current form without the French.
What Does 4711 Smell Like?
Fresh, fruity-citrus, slightly spicy: The exact formula of 4711 is secret and unchanged since 1792. But the scent notes are known: As a top note, bergamot, lemon, and orange are supposed to enchant you first when you smell 4711. After the top note evaporates, the heart note unfolds with fragrant lavender and rosemary. A hint of neroli and petitgrain accompany you as a base note long after application.
An Eau de Cologne and Echt Kölnisch Wasser
With its light fragrance concentration, 4711 is classified as an eau de cologne, first developed by the Italian Johann Maria Farina and then established as a term for scented water. A scented water can only be called “Echt Kölnisch Wasser” if the essential production takes place in Cologne, as is the case with 4711.
4711: How the Perfume Got Its Name
4711 was the first brand to use numbers instead of a name, but it wasn't always that way. In 1799, the merchant Wilhelm Mülhens marketed his fragrance water as Kölnisch Wasser with the designation "Franz Maria Farina – Klöckergasse No. 4711 in Cöln a. R." because the Carthusian monk Franz Maria Carl Gereon Farina had given him the formula as a wedding present. This led to many legal disputes with the Farina perfumer family. In subsequent years, the original numbering of the house during the French occupation developed into the brand name 4711.
Today: A Brand of Mäurer & Wirtz
The fragrance business 4711 was sold by the Mülhens family in 1994 and changed hands several times in the following years. Since 2006, it has belonged to the Stolberg fragrance house Mäurer & Wirtz, which polished the image and created further 4711 creations, allowing tradition and modernity to merge and statements like “You smell like my grandma” and “The finished touch for your party look” to coexist. You may quickly find your fragrance using the fragrance finder, which you can then test directly in the fragrance house.
Excursus: Can You Actually Drink 4711?
You can! It was even originally sold as an internally applied remedy. Mixed with water or wine, it was considered a remedy for heart conditions and headaches until Napoleon wanted all medicine formulas disclosed. You can guess how the story ended: from medicine to scented water for external use—and the formula remained secret and still is today. When switched to scented water, the horizontal transportable bottle was replaced by the upright Molanus bottle, which still exists today.
If you're lucky, you might find the "Blue-Gold Cocktail" on a cocktail menu in Cologne: consisting of Danziger Goldwasser, Curacao Blue, vodka, a dash of 4711—topped up with sparkling wine or champagne to explore 4711 gustatorily.
If you arrive in Cologne by train at the
main station, 4711 greets you in the form of a 1.5-meter-high illuminated sign, which has been shining from the glass facade onto the tracks and platforms for decades. Here we are again with the traveler, who 4711 has always been gladly recommended and given.
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