Werner Müller – Sharing his love for Cologne’s aviation history

I was born in the old German city of Cologne. After four years in the German Air Force, I worked for German television in technical network marketing and as a production manager and line producer. Because of my interest in aviation, I began to explore the rich aviation history of my hometown. What started as a hobby gradually became an obsession! I frequently give lectures, write articles, and organize tours and exhibitions on the subject. I also run a large digital archive and the website www.Luftfahrtarchiv-Koeln.de.

As a proud citizen of Cologne, I’m actively engaged in trying to preserve and restore the historic airport building and the Prussian fortress, and to build out a stronger lobby for cultural heritage integration in modern city planning. A developer once told me, “we have the cathedral and that’s enough” – I definitely do not agree.

The issue is in my DNA – my great-grandfather Wilhem Rieck was a member of the German expedition dispatched to build the Darulaman Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1920s. Photos and diary exhibits from that adventure are posted on www.Darulaman.de.

I was recently interviewed on the NRWision channel; you can watch the full program on the NRWision website.

More about what I do and why

I am from Cologne, Germany; I am a trained television technician. I have built various TV stations in the area of marketing. For several years now I have been working in different areas and have enough time for my hobby.

At the moment, I am working on a model of the international water airport of Cologne from 1929. Beside this, I am working on a database chronicling Cologne’s aviation history. I build the structures for the exhibitions myself, and have been invited to talk about them by several organizations.

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What I’ve learned

I want to tell anyone interested in teaching others about history and cultural heritage: Don’t give up with your work. The next generation will thank you. Here are my tips regarding the tools and the equipment you need when assembling a public presentation or participating at a public event: http://www.luftfahrtarchiv-koeln.de/luftfahrtarchiv_Moebel.htm#Plane

How I work

Giving lectures
Leading tours
Creating and sharing “pop-up” exhibitions
Curating digital archives and managing website creation

Connect with me

www.Luftfahrtarchiv-Koeln.de
www.Darulaman.de
News: “Citizen Historian Werner Mueller Receives Well-Deserved Award”
I created this website as a database of all relevant links when it comes to Cologne’s history, it’s work in progress and I’m happy to hear your feedback and additions!
http://stadtgeschichte.koeln

Sunset on the former Cologne airport Butzweilerhof, built in 1936, showing the tower and aircraft hangar No. 1. Since this photo was taken, tall residential buildings have been built in front of this area, making this photo both new and historic.

Front of the former Cologne Airport Butzweilerhof on the airfield side. The right wing housed the former airport's restaurant.

Airfield entrance for passengers of the airport who came by plane to Cologne.

German eagle on the main entrance of the airport.

Main entrance in autumn 2016.

Aircraft hangar No. 2 of the airport, built in 1940.

The airport's airfield in 2016. Tall residential buildings have now been built behind the historic airport buildings.

On April 1, 1913, military flight operations began at Butzweilerhof. To commemorate this event, I gave a lesson in 2013 at the city museum of Cologne.

Manfred Backhausen and me; we are observing the"Day of the Open Monument" 2016. The exhibition on Cologne's aviation history is set up, and we're about to start the first tour.

Model of Hall 1, Butzweilerhof. Built by Hermann-Josef Falkenstein, who wanted to buy the Butzweilerhof to gift the city of Cologne an aviation and technical museum. He never received a reply to his offer.

As part of the exhibition, I built a model of the seaplane airport of 1927.

New displays for the model of aircraft hangar No. 1.

Screenshot of a 3-D model of the airport. In the direction of the city of Cologne, the old railway tracks, where the aircraft fuel was delivered, were built into the model.

The background is complemented by a double-sided display board with historical information and photos.

A new poster of the historical aviation archive Cologne by a sponsor, placed on Hans Castle. All views shown here are no longer seen due to construction of residential buildings and demolition work on historic buildings.

Visitors from all over the world on my website, the Historisches Luftfahrtarchiv Köln.

Visitors from Germany on my website, the Historisches Luftfahrtarchiv Köln.

Werner created this series of posters to educate others about the history of the Darulaman palace in Afghanistan, and his family's vital role in its construction.

I created this series of posters to educate others about the history of the Darulaman palace in Afghanistan, and my family's vital role in its construction.

I am slowly making progress with the great exhibition on the history of Cologne Aviation. This info plate is attached to an aluminium angle on the right side of the base plate of the exhibition models.

Survey in the "Express" (daily magazine in Cologne) on the occasion of the 'Tag des offenen Denkmals 2018'. A clear majority believes that Cologne's cultural heritage is not being properly taken care of."