Michael von Aichberger - Homepage Michael von Aichberger - Site map
Living in Koeln-Muelheim

Köln-Mülheim - Schriftzug an Backsteinwand Köln-Mülheim - Ortsschilder auf Bahnsteig
Köln-Mülheim - Frankfurter Strasse - Ihr Einkaufsziel
 


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.



 
Köln-Mülheim, Buchheimer Straße, Reinigung
  Köln-Mülheim, Mülheimer Brücke
 
  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:

 
 
  Blick auf Köln-Mülheim vom gegenüberliegenden Rheinufer  
 
 

However, in case you approach the bridge from the Mülheim area, it looks like this:

 
 
  Köln-Mülheim, Treppenaufgang zur Mülheimer Brücke  
Köln-Mülheim - Treppen hinab zur U-Bahn-Station Bhf. Mülheim
 

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 ...

 
köln-Mülheim - Herrenloser Einkaufswagen
Köln-Mülheim - Treppen hinab zur U-Bahn-Station Bhf. Mülheim
  Mülheim is a glamorous town, with all the amenities a glamorous town needs. To highlight the most important ones:  
     
  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

Köln-Mülheim - Bushaltestelle Bf. Mülheim Köln-Mülheim Müllcontainer vor Plus in Buchheimer Str.
 
 


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”.

 
 
Köln-Mülheim - Kiosk Sengül + Sengül, Buchheimer Str. Köln-Mülheim - Büdchen Frankfurter Str./Ecke Elisabeth-Breuer-Str.  
 
 


The Cologne-Mülheim architecture is eye candy for fans of bathroom tiles from the 50ies and 60ies. The more recent buildings are plain ...

 
 
  Köln-Mülheim, Adamstraße Köln-Mülheim, Ecke Seidenstr. Regentenstr.
 
 

... with charmingly delimited front gardens:

 
 
  Köln-Mülheim Adamstraße  
 
 


Street alignments without kitsch.
Cézanne did not paint here and wouldn’t have done so either.

 
 
Köln-Mülheim, Rüdesheimer Str. Köln-Mülheim - Mülheimer Freiheit, Mann auf Balkon  
 
There are in fact a couple of buildings that remained untroubled by destruction through war and post-war architects.

 
 
  Köln-Mülheim, Mülheimer Freiheit Köln-Mülheim, Mülheimer Freiheit
  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:
 
Köln-Mülheim, Mülheimer Stadtgarten im Winter
  Köln-Mülheim, Mülheiimer Stadtgarten  
 
 


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 ...

 
 
Köln-Mülheim, Graffitischmiererei "Autonome Zentren erkämpfen" Köln-Mülheim, Obdachloser vor Supermarkt Stüßgen, Frankfurter Str.  
 
  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.
 
Köln-Mülheim, Graffitischmiererei, "Nie wieder Deutschland"
Köln-Mülheim, Keupstraße Ecke Holweider Str. Köln-Mülheim, Keupstr.  
 
 


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”).

 
Köln-Mülheim, Restaurant DOY, Keupstr.
Köln-Mülheim, Sultan Ahmet Moschee, Keupstr. Köln-Mülheim, Schaufenster, Keupstr. Köln-Mülheim, türkische Frau mit Kopftuch, Keupstraße
Cesmeli Ayran Köln-Mülheim, Fußball spielender türkischer Junge türkisches Mädchen
  türkisches Mädchen  
 
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.

 
Köln-Mülheim, Fußgängerpassage am Wiener Platz
   
Köln-Mülheim, Schilder am Clevischen Ring
 


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.


 
Köln-Mülheim, Riesenrad auf dem Wiener Platz
  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.
 
 
Köln-Mülheim, Schanzenstr, F&G-Gebäude Köln-Mülheim, Schanzenstr., VIVA-Gebäude Köln-Mülheim, Schanzenstr, F&G-Gebäude, Paternoster
 

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”.

 
Köln-Mülheim, Schanzenstr., E-Werk
  Köln-Mülheim, E-Werk  
 
 

This is where my virtual Cologne-Mülheim tour ends – for the time being. I will update this web page betimes.


© 2005 Michael von Aichberger

 
 
back to home page