Westhovener Aue

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Lake in the Westhovener Aue

The Westhovener Aue, also called Westhovener Wigge , is a recreation area and former military site on the Rhine in the Westhoven district of Cologne .

location

The 0.7 km² floodplain borders in the north on Kölner Strasse and the site of the former Brasseur barracks , in the east on the sports field of SV Ensen-Westhoven on Oberstrasse, the Westhoven residential park and the Westhoven cemetery on Paulstrasse / Robertstrasse, and Armand-Peugeot-Str., In the south on the Rhine, in the north-west on the A4 motorway.

flora

valuable vegetation stocks

The renaturation measures of the former barracks site in 2004 and 2005 were based on the natural flora of the floodplain in terms of the selection of plants. In addition to the site conditions, the selection criteria included properties such as the formation of flowers and fruits and a source of food for animals. The remaining areas are left to free succession. The area of ​​the former Belgian barracks Brasseur , bordering the banks of the Rhine , was included in the scope and assigned to the development goal of maintaining and further developing a largely natural landscape .

fauna

In addition to water birds such as mallard , coot , Egyptian goose , Canada goose and mute swan (rarely guests), the part of the country is roamed by the red fox . The carp is most common in the lake , followed by pikeperch and bream . Two white koi can also be seen.

history

Defense ring

Intermediate plant IXa

In the western part of the floodplain, the IXa intermediate plant was built between 1876 and 1881 . It is part of the Cologne fortress ring and at the same time the southernmost installation on the right bank of the Rhine in this chain of Prussian military installations. This included the 1500 meters northeast, in the locked woodland between Porzer ring road , at the blue stone and the Mudra-Kaserne , located Fort IX .

Thanks to Konrad Adenauer's commitment, not all military installations had to be destroyed after the First World War. In this way, the intermediate plant and fort, adjusted for the essential fortification components, could be preserved. The military facilities have often been converted into recreational areas (e.g. green belts ).

National Socialism and World War II

In July 1935, construction began on a pioneer barracks between Kölner Strasse and the Rhine. Since no military facilities were initially allowed to be built in the Rhineland as a result of the First World War, but military structures have now been secretly set up, this was done under the guise of a state police facility and a new factory school for the Reichsnährstand with an agricultural research institute. The barracks area consisted of 63.5 hectares from the city of Cologne and several acres from the agricultural machinery company Massey-Harris . After the occupation of the demilitarized Rhineland on March 7, 1936, the 26th Pioneer Battalion moved into the barracks only 20 days later. The battalion had previously emerged from the Technical State Police Department 6 (Bonn) after it had been housed in the southern barrack camp Wahnheide ( pioneer camp ). The barracks were called Unverzagt barracks from the summer of 1938 , after the pioneer general Unverzagt who fell on the Marne on July 15, 1918 . The military area comprised a staff building, three apartment blocks, a large technical area, vehicle hangars, a drill and sports hall, a large land exercise area (Westhovener Aue) and a water exercise area. The practice areas included bridge systems, various concrete works, trench sections for the construction of temporary bridges and an obstacle course , equipment halls for inflatable boats and pontoon equipment B as well as a former excursion restaurant that served as an officer's home. A little later the small port was completed.

To the east of Kölner Strasse, another pioneer barracks ( Mudra barracks ) was built from 1937 to January 23, 1938 , to which the Pioneer Battalion 26 (now partially motorized) moved to make room for the fully motorized Minden Pioneer Battalion 46. From 1938 the training area of ​​the Unverzagt barracks was enlarged by 100 hectares (west to the motorway), as the mudra barracks did not have its own practice area.

A large number of bombs hit the site during the Second World War . The area was not completely cleared of the ordnance, which is why there is an absolute ban on entering outside the developed paths.

  • Entrance to the Unverzagt barracks around 1938

  • Site plan of the Brasseur barracks

post war period

Soldiers made makeshift barracks for bombed out and displaced persons . From the beginning to October 1951 the barracks were prepared for the entry of the Belgian armed forces . The Unverzagt barracks became the adjutant. Brasseur (after Adjutant Brasseur, killed while blowing up a bridge over the Albert Canal on May 10/11, 1940). The Mudra barracks became the Nieuwpoort barracks (after the battalion stationed there participated in the defense of Nieuwpoort during World War I). In 1952 the Passendaele barracks (after the battalion took part in the fighting for the town of Passendaele in World War I) was built north of the Porzer Ringstrasse and occupied by the 12th Pioneer Battalion in 1953. The Nieuwpoort barracks were given up again by the Belgians in 1965, as it was initially planned to accommodate the German heavy engineer battalion 719 , which eventually moved into the Liège barracks in Cologne-Longerich . In the Brasseur barracks , 60 Germans were employed in the military print shop (formerly located on Westhovener Aue-Strasse) to supply the Belgian troops in Germany with newspapers and forms. A large ammunition depot was built on the western meadow area facing the motorway.

In 1961 the Belgian King Baudouin visited the site.

In 1985, the Westhovener towpath was made accessible to the population again after it had been part of the training area since 1937 and thus the path along the Rhine was interrupted. The area of ​​the ammunition depot was also released.

The Belgian Prime Minister Martens and Chancellor Kohl paid a troop visit to the barracks on September 29, 1987 for a combat exercise with German participation. Subsequently, the cooperation of the armed forces for the defense of Western Europe was given great importance.

  • Refugees leave the Unverzagt barracks in 1951

  • Exercise Cocktail II 1958

  • Visit of the Belgian king in 1961

  • The towpath opened in 1985

Retention area and local recreation

High water level of the Westhovener Aue at 11.30 m

The Belgian armed forces left the facility in 1995 and the printing plant was shut down in 2004.

On the entire area of ​​the Westhovener Aue there was originally a large laundry and a gravel pit next to the motorway exit. Later, a fountain gallery for the Westhoven waterworks was laid out parallel to Kölner Straße. In the middle of the western part facing the motorway, a large allotment garden with three allotment garden associations was created. A green area between Westhover Weg and Weidenweg was released as a dog run area. After the laundry was closed, a tennis hall was built there. The "Wiesenhaus" campsite with a restaurant is located on the western bank of the Rhine.

Dismantling the practice area

At the end of the 1980s, the city of Cologne decided against development and in favor of maintaining the floodplain as a retention area. After the floods of 1993 and 1995 with a 10.69 m Cologne level, the flood protection concept was adopted. It is u. a. apart from a future development for the Westhovener Aue. The Westhovener Aue is flooded from 9 m Cologne level. After the city bought the site in 2002, the former practice area was dismantled in 2004:

  • Demolition of buildings, foundations (51,800 m³) and streets (12,750 m²)
  • Creation of meadows on unsealed areas (approx. 3,615 m²)
  • Planting of woods typical of the floodplain (2,240 pieces on 3,500 m²)
regular grazing is part of the concept

From spring 2005 the site was opened to the public. Due to the remains of ordnance, entering outside the developed paths is prohibited.

Dismantling of the barracks area

Zoning plan for barracks Brasseur 2006

In 1995 it was initially planned to continue using some barracks buildings as living quarters. However, they were demolished in 2010.

The August 2001 plan to accommodate 600 civil war refugees in the Brasseur barracks was abandoned after public protests.

The demolition work cost EUR 1.1 million. Apart from the clearance of a bomb from the Second World War and removable debris around the former military filling station, the ground is unpolluted. After the building was dismantled, sealed surfaces have been preserved. They are to be removed from 2017. The western part of the upper barracks area, which coincides with the water protection zone of the Westhoven waterworks , will either be reforested or given a biotope , explains the owner of the Federal Agency for Real Estate . The eastern site belongs to the city of Cologne, where a commercial area developed from 2012. The access is from the intersection of Kölner Str./Porzer Ringstrasse, but without a passable transition to Oberstrasse.

On January 12, 2017, another American 125-kilogram World War II bomb was found and defused on the former barracks site.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Bröhl: The barracks area between Kölner Strasse and the Rhine . In: Bürgerervereinigung Ensen-Westhoven eV (Hrsg.): Series of publications by the Bürgerervereinigung Ensen-Westhoven eV 2nd edition. tape 3 . Self-published, Cologne 1996, p. 60-61 .
  2. ^ SV Westhoven Ensen 1931 eV website , accessed on June 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Wohnpark Westhoven am Ziegeleiweg website , accessed on June 1, 2012.
  4. ^ City of Cologne: Westhoven Cemetery , accessed on June 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ Herbert Noske: The Porz Pioneer Location - The Pioneer Battalion 26 (1936–1945) . In: Heimatverein Porz in connection with the town archive Porz (ed.): Our Porz . tape 11 , 1969, ISSN  0566-2591 , pp. 111-114 .
  6. ↑ Herbert Noske: The Porz Pioneer Location - The Pioneer Battalion 26 (1936–1945) . In: Heimatverein Porz in connection with the town archive Porz (ed.): Our Porz . tape 11 , 1969, ISSN  0566-2591 , pp. 117 .
  7. ↑ Herbert Noske: The Porz Pioneer Location - The Pioneer Battalion 26 (1936–1945) . In: Heimatverein Porz in connection with the town archive Porz (ed.): Our Porz . tape 11 , 1969, ISSN  0566-2591 , pp. 116 .
  8. ^ Alwin Bundesen: The Porz Pioneer Site - The Pioneer Battalion 46 (1935–1945) . In: Heimatverein Porz in connection with the town archive Porz (ed.): Our Porz . tape 11 , 1969, ISSN  0566-2591 , pp. 137 .
  9. ↑ a b c Westhovener Aue information board east , as of 2005.
  10. ↑ a b City of Cologne (ed.): Ordnance accident prevention regulation barracks Brasseur . City of Cologne, Cologne 23 August 2005 ( stadt-koeln.de [PDF; 41 kB ]).
  11. ↑ Adhemar De Bruycker: The pioneer site Porz - Belgian garrison Porz-Westhoven (1951 ff.) . In: Heimatverein Porz in connection with the town archive Porz (ed.): Our Porz . tape 11 , 1969, ISSN  0566-2591 , pp. 165-167 .
  12. ↑ A visit . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . No. 228 , 1987, pp. 1 .
  13. ↑ Federal Government (Hrsg.): B 145 Bild-00177181 Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl (2nd from right) and Belgium's Prime Minister Wilfried Martens (right) visit the Belgian armed forces on the site of the Brasseur barracks in Cologne-Westhoven (here while pacing the Belgian Honor formation) . Federal archive, picture archive, Cologne September 29, 1987.
  14. ↑ a b c kg: An industrial park and a biotope . In: Porz Aktuell . September 5, 2012 ( koelner-wochenspiegel.de ).
  15. ^ City of Cologne, Department of Construction and Transport (ed.): Flood protection concept Cologne . Cologne February 1, 1996, 2.3.2 c) Urban and Settlement Development, p. 68 ( steb-koeln.de [PDF; 49.1 MB ]).
  16. ^ Peter Bröhl: The barracks area between Kölner Strasse and the Rhine . In: Bürgerervereinigung Ensen-Westhoven eV (Hrsg.): Series of publications by the Bürgerervereinigung Ensen-Westhoven eV 2nd edition. tape 3 . Self-published, Cologne 1996, p. 61 .
  17. ^ City of Cologne The City Director Office for Urban Development (ed.): Development and use concept for the Brasseur barracks in Cologne-Westhoven . Cologne December 1995.
  18. ↑ Barbara A. Cepielik: protests from many sides . Kölner Stadtanzeiger, August 1, 2001.
  19. ^ Andreas Damm: City tip gives up the Brasseur plan . Kölner Stadtanzeiger, August 17, 2001.
  20. ↑ kg: space for flora and fauna . In: Porz Aktuell . March 27, 2015 ( koelner-wochenspiegel.de ).
  21. ↑ Duds in Cologne-Porz / Westhoven Bomb has been defused - Line 7 is running again . Kölner Stadtanzeiger, January 17, 2017.

literature

  • Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln, AöR [StEB] (Ed.): With security for Cologne - a milestone for flood protection . Brochure floods. Cologne December 11, 2008, p. 48–49 ( steb-koeln.de [PDF; 4.7 MB ]).
  • Alexander Wirtz: An attempt to jump into the big city, Porz and the Rhine since 1945 . In: Heimatverein Porz in connection with the town archive Porz (ed.): Our Porz . tape 14 . Porz 1972, p. 165-167 .
  • The pioneering location in Porz . In: Heimatverein Porz in connection with the town archive Porz (ed.): Our Porz . tape 11 , 1969, ISSN  0566-2591 , pp. 111-172 .
  • City of Cologne The Oberstadtdirektor Office for Urban Development (Hrsg.): Development and utilization concept for the barracks area Brasseur in Cologne-Westhoven . Cologne December 1995.
  • Peter Bröhl: The barracks area between Kölner Strasse and the Rhine . In: Bürgerervereinigung Ensen-Westhoven eV (Hrsg.): Series of publications by the Bürgerervereinigung Ensen-Westhoven eV 2nd edition. tape 3 . Self-published, Cologne 1996, p. 60-61 .

Web links

Commons : Westhovener Aue  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 1 ″  N , 7 ° 0 ′ 32 ″  E