Traumathek is a film rental store I first read about in Hidden Cologne, an English-language city guide published by Stadtrevue. The first time I went to Traumathek, I was actually pondering whether to have a drink before dinner or to continue exploring Cologne. After deciding to quickly check Traumathek which was close by, I was delighted to discover that it is in fact the perfect place to have a drink before dinner: indeed, in addition to being a film rental store, Traumathek also has a Filmcafé offering hot and cold drinks.
Traumathek was established in 1994 and not only offers movies to rent but also vinyl soundtracks, film books, and film posters to purchase. They also have a cinema, called Studio Argento after the director Dario Argento, where there are evening film screenings, readings, and panels. To get a sense of what kinds of films they show, the last time I visited they were showing Crimes of the Future by David Cronenberg and Varda par Agnès by Agnès Varda. Studio Argento can also be rented for private events.