Culture bunker Cologne-Mülheim

The Kulturbunker Köln-Mülheim an der Berliner Straße is a former air raid shelter from the Second World War , which is now used as a cultural center. The bunker was placed under monument protection on July 1, 1980 (No. 635).

history

The bunker in World War II

The church-shaped high-rise bunker ( church bunker ) designed by the Cologne architect Hans Schumacher was built in 1942/43 (according to other sources, 1944) through the use of forced laborers, prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates. It has a total usable area of 1,710 m², for short-term stays of 2,845 people. The five floors were fully occupied in the event of an alarm. There were about 80 cells on two floors, each with bunk beds . There were firm reservations here, where people seeking protection “rented” themselves. The average area per person was 0.6 m².

The bunker after 1945

After the war ended, the bunker was run as the “Hotel Zapp” guesthouse with a dance hall for about ten years. As numerous meeting places in Mülheim had been destroyed by air raids, this was one of the few places where public and cultural life could develop again: Carnival , shooting festival , theater and dance events. In the 1960s, the bunker was used as a storage room, after which it was actually empty for more than two decades. It remained the property of the Federal Republic of Germany and was still dedicated to civil defense. When the Stern Cinema on Clevischer Ring was closed in 1985, the Mülheimer Frechheit cultural initiative was founded . Many Mülheim groups and individuals did not want to sit and watch as one of the last cultural places in Mülheim disappears from the scene. Until then, Cologne-Mülheim and its surroundings on the right bank of the Rhine were in a situation in which there were hardly any cultural activities, there was neither space nor offer. After various municipal offers, the association "Center for Labor and Culture eV" brought the bunker on the market square in Berliner Straße up for discussion and in 1987 the district council commissioned the city administration to negotiate a usage contract with the members of this association. Thanks to the founding of the sponsoring association “Kulturbunker Mülheim e. V. ", today" Kulturbunker Köln-Mülheim eV ", the massive concrete structure could be extensively renovated. In 1990 the building was given over to civil defense.

Use as a culture bunker

Since 1991 the Kulturbunker Köln-Mülheim has been managed by the association Kulturbunker Mülheim eV as a non-profit organization . The aim is to promote art and culture in the district in order to encourage encounters between members of different social classes, nationalities and age groups. The cultural program on offer includes exhibitions, theater performances, readings and seminars. In addition, rooms for creative activities, e.g. B. Atelier rooms, music rehearsal rooms and seminar rooms are kept ready and rented to artists and musicians. The culture bunker is supported by the culture office of the city of Cologne.

literature

Hiltrud Kier , Karen Liesenfeld, Horst Matzerath (eds.): Architecture of the 30s and 40s in Cologne. Materials on the history of building during National Socialism (= writings of the NS Documentation Center of the City of Cologne ; Vol. 5), Emons Verlag, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-89705-103-6 , p. 471.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Hiltrud Kier, Karen Liesenfeld, Horst Matzerath (eds.): Architecture of the 30s and 40s in Cologne. Materials on the history of building during National Socialism (= writings of the NS Documentation Center of the City of Cologne ; Vol. 5), Emons Verlag, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-89705-103-6 , p. 471.

50.96969 7.00856Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ′ 10.9 ″ N , 7 ° 0 ′ 30.8 ″ E

[1] Hiltrud Kier, Karen Liesenfeld, Horst Matzerath (eds.): Architecture of the 30s and 40s in Cologne. Materials on the history of building during National Socialism (= writings of the NS Documentation Center of the City of Cologne ; Vol. 5), Emons Verlag, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-89705-103-6 , p. 471.