In a year where the numbers align like clockwork, 1. FC Köln have turned history into fabric. The 25/26 third shirt from hummel is more than a kit drop – it’s a living monument.
To celebrate 77 years of FC and 777 years since the foundation stone was laid for Cologne Cathedral, FC Köln and hummel have teamed up with one of the city’s most respected cultural institutions, the Kölner Dombauhütte – the Cathedral’s official construction and preservation authority – for a collaboration unlike anything seen before in football.
This wasn’t just about borrowing an aesthetic. FC and the Cathedral’s Dombaumeister (master builder) dived deep into the building’s architecture, history, and symbolism. Gothic window tracery, the mighty “Dicker Pitter” bell, the stone gargoyles and slender columns that define the Cathedral’s silhouette – all reinterpreted and woven subtly into the shirt’s fabric. The result is a design that feels both sacred and street-ready; heritage stitched with intent.
As FC Managing Director Philipp Liesenfeld puts it: “The Cathedral means connection and tradition. The Cathedral means home. It is the symbol of Cologne. The Cathedral carries the city far beyond its borders – and now, we wear it.”
From a distance, it’s a sharp, modern third kit. Up close, it’s a tactile history lesson. Each shirt comes in a collector’s box, complete with explanations of the Cathedral’s design elements, turning every unboxing into a moment of pilgrimage. More than that, a portion of every sale goes to the ZDV, helping preserve Cologne’s most famous landmark for future generations.
For Cathedral master builder Peter Füssenich, the parallels run deep: “777 years of the Cologne Cathedral and 77 years of 1. FC Köln – two monuments of the Cologne soul. One built of stone, the other of passion.”
It’s a relationship that’s been carved into Cologne’s identity for decades. The Cathedral sits proudly in the FC crest. After the club’s first German championship in 1963, a stone billy goat was added to its exterior. Two footballers in stone watch over its walls, and every year, the club begins its season with a special service inside its vast nave, the FC anthem echoing beneath vaulted ceilings.
Now, that bond steps onto the pitch. FC Köln’s 25/26 third kit isn’t just a shirt – it’s a chapter in the city’s shared story, where the roar of the Südkurve meets the chime of the “Dicker Pitter.”
Pick up the FC Köln 25/26 third shirt at hummel.net
