Bubenheimer Flesche

Remains of the escarpe of the Bubenheimer Flesche

The Bubenheimer Flesche was part of the Prussian fortress Koblenz and belonged to the system of Feste Kaiser Franz . From the Flesche , which was completed in 1822 in what is now the Koblenz district of Lützel , only remnants remain after it was razed in 1920 and finally destroyed in 1969. It is named after the neighboring district of Bubenheim .

history

The system Feste Kaiser Franz in the 1880s

The Bubenheimer Flesche was built in the years 1816/17 to 1822 on the east side of the Petersberg , an elevation on the left bank of the Moselle, and together with the fortress of Kaiser Franz formed the core of the system.

It was only after 1850 that major changes and corrections were made to the work. So was z. B. the wall traversed and regulated in the years from 1864 to 1866, in 1877/78 the collapsed left flank was rebuilt. Flesche was finally closed in 1890 with the other works in the system. On the left side, the wall was removed and the ditch filled in with the earth. There was space here for three powder magazines that had previously been in Neuendorfer Feld.

After the First World War , the Flesche, like the other fortress works in Koblenz, fell under the provisions of Article 180 of the Versailles Treaty and had to be deconsolidated. The softening work in Koblenz began at the Bubenheimer Flesche, where the first work took place around mid-July. In preparation for the planned blasting work, the first blasting attempts took place here in early September 1920. The demolition work on the Flesche was finished around mid-November 1920. Among other things, the reduit and a subsequent mortar battery have been preserved. The debris of the remaining parts, which were blown up and broken off, remained in place.

In the 1930s, the Lützeler Volkspark was built on this rubble landscape, including the remains of the fortress . For this purpose, the entire site was straightened and redesigned as part of job creation measures. The Reduit has housed a restaurant since 1937 , and a wintering house for plants was built in the mortar battery in 1938 .

During the Second World War , the Volkspark fell victim to the bombing war . After 1955, the park was only rebuilt in a simplified form. The Lützeler Friedhof was built in the lower part facing the railway. As early as 1953 the restaurant had reopened its doors in the only slightly damaged Reduit. In the 1960s it was a popular restaurant and a beat club . When the restaurant finally closed in 1967, the building was initially empty. In the absence of other usage concepts, the city of Koblenz finally had the redoubt, including the mortar battery, destroyed in 1969 in order to prevent the building from coming down further and unwanted people moving in. The remains remained in the park and were covered with earth, so that a hill rises here today.

The last visible remains of the Bubenheimer Flesche are today in the Lützeler Friedhof. Part of the escarpe on the right face and parts of the right flank battery have been preserved here. The outer wall of the communication to the Kaiser Franz festival has also been preserved , while the corridor behind it was made unusable by being blown up in sections as early as 1920. There are currently plans to upgrade and redesign the Volkspark by building a lookout tower. In the course of this planning, there is also discussion to dig up or remove the remains of the redoubt.

construction

The Flesche was oriented to the northwest towards Bubenheim. The surrounding ditch was secured by two ditch weirs and by crenelated escarps and counter-mounts. The right moat weir, which is still partially preserved today, is almost completely free at the end of the moat. In the throat of the work was a reduit in the form of a three-quarter circle, which was open to the feast of Kaiser Franz. This was followed by a mortar battery towards the tip of the bottle. The Bubenheimer Flesche was connected to the fortress of Kaiser Franz via a hollow corridor, the so-called communication. This provided enough space to move troops and even cannons from one fortress to another without being seen. From here, the fortress garrison was able to secure the throat of the two works and the area in between using loopholes.

literature

• Klaus T. Weber (dissertation): The Prussian fortifications of Koblenz (1815–1834). (Series: Art and Cultural Studies Research) 2003, ISBN 3-89739-340-9 .
• Rüdiger Wischemann: The Koblenz Fortress. From the Roman fort and Prussia's strongest fortress to the largest garrison of the Bundeswehr. Koblenz 1978 (Note: outdated in many ways, but still the best representation for an overview).
• Matthias Kellermann: From the fortress to the park: The Bubenheimer Flesche 1920–1969. In: Feste Kaiser Franz. On the history of the fortress and the Feste Franz system in Koblenz-Lützel. Festschrift for the 10th anniversary Feste Kaiser Franz eV ed. von Feste Kaiser Franz eV, Koblenz 2008, ISBN 978-3-934795-55-6 , pp. 81-98.
• Matthias Kellermann: The voluntary labor service on the Bubenheimer Flesche. In: Elsbeth Andre, Jost Hausmann, Ludwig Linsmayer (ed.): Yearbook for West German regional history. Koblenz 2010, pp. 343-359.
• Matthias Kellermann: 75 years Lützeler Volkspark. On the history of the park in Koblenz-Lützel. Edited by Feste Kaiser Franz eV Fölbach, Koblenz 2011, ISBN 978-3-934795-87-7 .
• Florian Teschke: A short history of the Bubenheimer Flesche. In: Feste Kaiser Franz. Published by Feste Kaiser Franz eV, editor: Matthias Kellermann, Koblenz 2014. ISBN 978-3-95638-403-5 .
• Matthias Kellermann: Koblenz Fortress and Ehrenbreitstein. Deconsolidation 1920-1922 - photographs by Joseph Ring. Koblenz 2018, ISBN 978-3-95638-413-4 .

Web links

Commons : Bubenheimer Flesche  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Förderverein Feste Kaiser Franz eV
• Koblenz Fortress
• Series of images from the database of the LMZ Rhineland-Palatinate (there labeled Feste Franz .)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Weber: The Prussian fortifications of Koblenz (1815-1834). P. 247 f.
2. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Bauko 4 CP. Lookout tower on the Bubenheimer Flesche ), accessed on February 16, 2008.

Coordinates: 50 ° 22 ′ 29 ″  N , 7 ° 35 ′ 22 ″  E