Water tower Cologne

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The listed former water tower in Cologne 's Altstadt-Süd district , built from 1868 to 1872, is one of the oldest preserved water towers and has been used as a luxury hotel since 1990 .

Building history

Hotel in the water tower, aerial view

The steadily growing population of the city of Cologne required an improved drinking water supply . Together with the Alteburg waterworks (Bonner Straße), the water tower was to be a coordinated waterworks for the first time in Cologne since Roman times to centrally regulate the water supply within the city. Therefore, on May 12, 1864, the London engineer John Moore was awarded the contract to design a water tower for 2,000 thalers. His proposal was for a capacity of 500,000 cubic feet (15,460 cubic meters), which could serve 170,000 residents. The actual construction after the start of construction in September 1868 turned out to be much smaller. The cylindrical water tower in Cologne's Kaygasse 2 was 35.6 meters high with a diameter of 34 meters and held 3,650 cubic meters of water. This water tank was at a height of 25 meters and was made of forged and riveted steel sheets. With this capacity, it was not only the last to be built, but also the largest flat-bottom container in Germany. At the same time, the Cologne water tower was the first in Germany to have a double tank (i.e. an inner and outer, concentric tank). The building served as a supporting structure for the external water tank on top. The inner support system had the task of supporting the water tank and consisted of radial and circular wall sections. When it was completed in 1872, it was the largest water tower in Europe. The design features are borrowed from both the Rhenish Romanesque and classicism. It is a round brick building (called "kölsche Engelsburg") with a recessed uppermost gallery floor, structured by round windows and blind arches. The water tower served the fresh water supply until around 1930 and was the first central water supply in the Rhineland.

Use after World War II

Hotel in the water tower

It was damaged during the Second World War . With the top floor removed, a height of 27 meters remained. Initial plans envisaged a conversion into a “robot parking garage”, but this was not implemented. So the former water tower remained an "ugly ruin" for many years. Finally, investors found themselves in 1985 who planned to convert it into a luxury hotel for a cost of 20 million DM. The Cologne-based architect Konrad L. Heinrich, who specializes in the hotel industry, began the renovation in 1985 and took into account monument preservation requirements such as the restoration of the roof arcades and compliance with the tectonically strict shape. On January 11, 1990, the most unusual hotel in Cologne was completed. It is a five-star superior luxury hotel with a total of 88 rooms (44 double rooms, 10 single rooms and 34 suites). It has seven function rooms with a size of up to 244 m², the lobby is eleven meters high and equipped with accessible bridges. The interiors come from the Parisian designer Andrée Putman (* 1925, † 2013). The operator was the “Hotel im Wasserturm GmbH & Co. KG”. In March 2018 the hotel was acquired by the Leipziger Vicus Group AG .

A gourmet restaurant, which had been awarded two Michelin stars and 18  Gault Millau points, was housed on the top floor, which was put on as a glass hood , but had to close in July 2013 for reasons of profitability. In August 2014 the restaurant “Himmel un Äd” opened and in November 2014 it received a Michelin star .

The hotel in the water tower has been operated by the GCH Hotel Group since 2019 .

monument

It is a monument within the meaning of Section 2 Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Monument Protection Act (DSchG NW). The official justification reads: "The public interest necessary for the qualification as a monument is given, since this monument is important for human history and for cities and settlements as well as artistic, scientific and urban planning reasons for its preservation and use." Two years before it was converted into a hotel, the water tower was placed under monument protection on September 1, 1983; see the list of architectural monuments in Cologne's Altstadt-Süd district (monument number 1599).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexander Kierdorf, Cologne - An Architecture Guide , 1999, p. 51.
  2. ↑ Best view . Deutsche Bauzeitung: Trade journal for architecture and construction technology, Volume 130, 1996, p. 107.
  3. ↑ Peter Fuchs (ed.), Chronik zur Geschichte der Stadt Köln , 1991, p. 174.
  4. ↑ 150 Years of the Historical Archive , City of Cologne, 2007, p. 100 (PDF; 3.2 MB)
  5. ↑ Helmut Cremer, En d'r Kayjass No. 0 , 2012, p. 21.
  6. ↑ Peter Fuchs (Ed.), Chronik zur Geschichte der Stadt Köln , 1991, p. 323.
  7. ↑ report k: Hotel im Wasserturm has new owner , accessed on March 27, 2018
  8. ↑ Hotel: Wasserturm closes star restaurant , Kölner Stadtanzeiger from May 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ Michelin stars for "Himmel un Äd" and "maiBeck" , Kölner Stadtanzeiger from November 6, 2014.
  10. ↑ Hotel in the water tower. Retrieved January 9, 2020 .

Web links

Commons : Wasserturm Köln  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 55 '53.8 "  N , 6 ° 57' 5.2"  E