Cologne, North Rhine – Westphalia
Germany

Description of the Site

The “Butzweilerhof” airport was built during the period of German aviation’s rapid growth in the 1930s. Constructed in the Bauhaus style, it consists of a tower with an adjacent aircraft hangar. The complex also had a depot with a garage, an office wing for the European airlines of the day, and a mail and customs area. One especially striking feature was the main hall, where the main portal had a large black eagle in basalt lava. Lastly there was a restaurant and coffee shop, the adjoining kitchen and the living quarters of the custodian.

Butzweilerhof was Cologne’s first airport and the second largest airport in Germany. The buildings were designed by Professor Hans Mehrtens. More than that, it definitively represented Germany’s richest aviation history. Built in 1935/1936, it was the first complex in Cologne that was planned from the beginning as an airport. The buildings survived the war unscathed. In Hall 1, the famed first industrial aircraft Junkers Ju 52 of the Bayer AG “Bayer-Ju” D-AOHU was stationed. In the late evening of the May 3d, 1937, the LZ 129 “Hindenburg” had its last stop here before its fateful explosion in Lakehurst/USA. Also from here, the air assault on the Belgian fortress Eben Emael started in Mai 1940. This was the beginning of the war against France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. And as a young soldier during WWII, the former Vice-Chancellor of Germany Walter Scheel was stationed here with the Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, Nazi German air force night fighter-wing of World War II. From the end of the war until 1963, the British Royal Air Force used this airport, followed by the German air force until 2005.  Another noteworthy fact is that the Butzweilerhof makes an appearance in the memoirs of the “Red Baron”, aka Manfred von Richthofen, who had his first flight lessons there.

The Threat

The area was destroyed by the city council of Cologne. Although all investors advertise the great aviation history, nobody has advocated concrete conservation and preservation measures.
The building is an airport building. This architecture needs space to look good. After the area was cleared for investors, various companies have built residential buildings around the airport buildings that are as tall as the airport tower or even higher. This visually crushes the feel of the airport architecture. Of the former runway remains only a small piece of grass. The historic concrete slab in front of the historical airport buildings has been reduced by 50%.

Efforts to Save Butzweilerhof – External construction

– I have approached the relevant political representatives regarding the great historical significance of Butzweilerhof, and I have inquired about the construction of apartment buildings in close proximity of the old airport but my concerns have not been addressed.

– The narrow-minded development is criticized by many citizens (i.e. not thinking about the long-term benefits of preserving the historical site).

– Politicians from different parties now say, “That’s not what I imagined.”

Additional Info

The Butzweilerhof should be considered not only as a regional monument, but as a national monument.

Who Should Be Held Accountable

• Helmut Rassfeld – director of SKI Standort Köln-Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG (SKI) subsidiary company of Stadtsparkasse KölnBonn
• Jüergen Roters – former mayor of Cologne
• Council of the City of Cologne
• Committee of the Council of the City of Cologne on Urban Development
• Bernd Streitberger – head of Cologne’s urban development agency, “Modern City”

Image Gallery

* All photos courtesy of Werner Mueller.