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Places of interest?
There are actually none of them here,…
…which is a shame for the approximately
143.000 inhabitants of this largest municipality of Cologne, who
quite mostly DON’T live on tourism for that reason.
The only comfort is the vicinity to the municipalities
on the left bank of the Rhine... and the connecting bridge.
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Mülheim’s most spectacular
building is not located in Mülheim at all: The Mülheim Bridge
(Mülheimer Brücke).
Also, the most beautiful view of Mülheim can be found from the
outside. From the other side of the Rhine, that is:
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However, in case you approach
the bridge from the Mülheim area, it looks like this:
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Actually, almost all parts of Mülheim
look like this.
Those inhabitants of Cologne who live here do their best effort
to avoid the cliché of excessive cleanliness, tidiness, hygiene
or even taste.
Their endeavours were a success so far. Pets are
often utilized for the prevention of exaggerated cleanliness.
By the way: The inhabitants of Mülheim call themselves “Müllemer”.
Doesn’t that sound like the German word for trash can –
“Müll-Eimer”?
Honi soit qui mal y pense ...
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Mülheim is a glamorous town,
with all the amenities a glamorous town needs. To highlight the most
important ones: |
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1 Underground with 2 stations
– Not even Erlangen
can gloat about such a thing!
2 Mc Donald's and 2 Burger Kings
Moving stairways with blue neon lights betwee
the stairs Street furniture by JC Décaux
... and much more
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And "Büdchen". Aka stalls! Aka refreshment stands.
Aka kiosks. They can be found – unlike in Erlangen –
at every corner. This can be an advantage. But only for those who
are capable of saying “no”.
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The Cologne-Mülheim architecture is eye candy for fans of bathroom
tiles from the 50ies and 60ies. The more recent buildings are plain
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... with charmingly delimited
front gardens:
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Street alignments without kitsch.
Cézanne did not paint here and wouldn’t have done so
either.
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There are in fact a couple of buildings that remained untroubled by
destruction through war and post-war architects.
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If I should ever become a (local)
celebrity, a plate saying ”This is where Michael von Aichberger
used to live from 1995 until 1997” would be attached to the
pink house on the picture to the left in a couple of decades. It is
the house number 53 in Berliner Straße.
What do parking areas and parks in Mülheim
have in common? Both hardly exist. Here’s one: the Mülheim
Stadtgarten:
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Did you know that Erlangen has the lowest social welfare rate in
Germany? 1.9 percent!
Unfortunately it is higher in Cologne (5.7 percent).
Cologne-Mülheim ... probably still higher
...
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In Cologne-Mülheim great
importance is attached to political commitment. Most of the time by
an aerosol can to house walls. For example, “Germany never again”
is written on one of the first houses of Keupstraße. Well, in
that particular street this has been implemented to a great extent:
It is taken over by Turks.
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For the Turkish population of Mülheim (10 % of all inhabitants),
Keupstraße is the boulevard par excellence. One Turkish restaurant
next to the other, only those who know words such as Baklava, Lahmacun,
Döner, Börek and so on ... have a say. Also, Turkish doctors,
lawyers, travel agencies, hairdressers (“Kuaför”),
supermarkets and backyard mosques (“Camii”).
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Mülheim’s largest square is Wiener Platz. It has been renovated
quite recently. The architects did their best efforts to make it look
generous and modern. They inserted an outside staircase with water
streaming down, a pedestrian underpass, an underground station and
- wittedly – lamps that radiate perpendicularly from the bottom
towards heaven. Later on they added a beer garden that reminds you
of a PVC blanket exhibition stand. As I said, the architects did their
best effort. But effort alone is not enough. The square, which lacks
trees and personality, hardly invites for dwelling.
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Wiener Platz is flanked by the “Wiener Platz Galerie”
(a medium attractive shopping mall) to the north, the district city
hall to the south, Frankfurter Straße with Woolworth to the
west and Mülheim Bridge to the east.
Every now and then the square serves as fairground,
sometimes including a Ferris wheel and illumination.
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Further to the north there are former
industrial plants, in particular buildings of the company Felten &
Guilleaume Kabelwerke. Nowadays, one of these buildings is a registered
office of VIVA Media AG. Those – like me – who visit KIESER-Training
from time to time, can go up in a historical paternoster lift.
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In the vicinity, other media enterprises such as SAT1 have also opened
up the historic factory buildings. The area is now called “Medienzentrum
Schanzenstraße”. For example, they have produced the Harald-Schmidt-Show
here for years.
Also, you can find the “E-Werk” here, a former electric
utility, which has successfully been used as a discotheque and concert
hall for more than 10 years. Opposite to the “Palladium”,
another location for concerts and “Events”.
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This is where my virtual Cologne-Mülheim
tour ends – for the time being. I will update this web page
betimes.
© 2005 Michael von Aichberger
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