Cologne Butzweilerhof Airport
Encyclopedia
The Butzweilerhof is the former civil airport of Cologne
. It was established as a training airfield in 1912 and saw airline service from 1922 until the 1950s. It was replaced by the Cologne Bonn Airport
. The airport buildings from 1935-36 are listed monuments and a rare example of airport architecture from the Interwar Period
.
Z II arrived in Cologne in August 1909 and was based in a nearby hangar until it was destroyed in a storm in April 1910. In addition a Blimp
designed and manufactured 1909 by Clout Gummiwerke from nearby suburb Nippes
was temporarily stored at this hangar.
established an air station at Butzweilerhof and hangars, maintenance facilities as well staff accommodations were build. The station went fully operational in spring 1913 and was used for initial pilot training before and during World War I
. Among the pilots receiving their first flying lessons at Butzweilerhof was Manfred von Richtofen.
used the airfield primarily in a supply role for British troops. From 1922 Instone Air Line
provided a first regular passenger service to London
via Brussels
. The airfield was returned to the city of Cologne in 1925 and the civil airport was officially opened one year later. In order to fulfil requirements of modern aircraft adjacent property was bought. The enlarged airfield had a circular shape and occupied around 30 hectares. Than mayor of Cologne Konrad Adenauer
supported the development of Butzweilerhof into a modern airport, but due to limited financial resources only small progress was made during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Some facilities in use still originated from the imperial air station, while newer ones were basic and partially made of wood.
After 1933 the expansion plans were adopted by the new national-socialist government of Cologne and a major expansion project started in 1935. It served as a job creating program for around 1,100 unemployed. In the course of this project a new airport complex consisting of a passenger building, workshops, two hangars and a control tower was erected. The new facilities were opened after only one year of construction time in June 1936, a few weeks prior to the Olympic Games in Berlin.
Largest operator was pre-war Deutsche Luft Hansa
. Foreign operator such as Imperial Airways
, Air France
and Sabena
accounted for approximately one out of four movements. For some time Butzweilerhof was second in Germany only to Berlin Tempelhof and dubbed Luftkreuz des Westens (Air Junction of the West). Traffic figures reached a peak in 1938 with 6,390 aircraft departures as well as 49,938 arriving and departing passengers.
Butzweilerhof was predominately used for emergency landings and as field repair station for fighter aircraft. The Royal Air Force
moved in again after the war and the airfield became RAF Butzweilerhof
. Some airline service was restarted but ceased with the opening of Cologne Bonn Airport
.
The RAF base closed in the 1960s and some airport facilities were subsequently used by non-flying units of the German Army
. The airfield stayed in use until 1996 by army aviation units of the Belgian Armed Forces from nearby barracks.
The airport buildings from 1935-36 were designed by Hans Mehrtens, Chief Building Director of Cologne since 1930. An airport road was build in straight line to the city centre and the airport facilities were positioned directly at its end. The group of buildings is approximately 270 meters long and arranged slightly curved to follow the perimeter of the circular airfield.
when leaving the building to the landside.
The landside portal of the lobby is decorated with a relief made by the sculptor Willi Meller and features the eagle of the Weimar Republic
and three crowns derived from coat of arms of Cologne.
Most of the ground level is brought forward towards the tarmac to form roof terraces. The west wing houses a café and a restaurant while the east wing was occupied by airport and airline offices.
and fire engines. The building was heavily altered after the war and several extensions had to be broken-up to recreate the original state.
with a wingspan of 29 meters and a length of 19 meters. The building was lastly used as repair facility for heavy military vehicles and had the original hangar doors replaced with roll-up doors.
style. The control level on top is glazed all around and had to be reconstructed after its accidental demolition during the war.
was extended from a nearby terminus to Butzweilerhof.
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. It was established as a training airfield in 1912 and saw airline service from 1922 until the 1950s. It was replaced by the Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...
. The airport buildings from 1935-36 are listed monuments and a rare example of airport architecture from the Interwar Period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
.
History
Before regular aviation activities at Butzweilerhof started, the area north of Cologne was sporadically used by airships. The military ZeppelinZeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
Z II arrived in Cologne in August 1909 and was based in a nearby hangar until it was destroyed in a storm in April 1910. In addition a Blimp
Blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
designed and manufactured 1909 by Clout Gummiwerke from nearby suburb Nippes
Nippes, Cologne
Nippes is the Fifth city district of Cologne, Germany. Nippes was merged into the city of Cologne in 1888, the district was formed in 1975...
was temporarily stored at this hangar.
Beginnings and World War I
In 1912 the Air Arm of the Imperial Army (Luftstreitkräfte)Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
established an air station at Butzweilerhof and hangars, maintenance facilities as well staff accommodations were build. The station went fully operational in spring 1913 and was used for initial pilot training before and during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Among the pilots receiving their first flying lessons at Butzweilerhof was Manfred von Richtofen.
Interwar period
After the war the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
used the airfield primarily in a supply role for British troops. From 1922 Instone Air Line
Instone Air Line
Instone Air Line was an early British airline from 1919 to 1924. Along with other private airlines of the time, it was absorbed into Imperial Airways.-History:...
provided a first regular passenger service to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
via Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. The airfield was returned to the city of Cologne in 1925 and the civil airport was officially opened one year later. In order to fulfil requirements of modern aircraft adjacent property was bought. The enlarged airfield had a circular shape and occupied around 30 hectares. Than mayor of Cologne Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
supported the development of Butzweilerhof into a modern airport, but due to limited financial resources only small progress was made during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Some facilities in use still originated from the imperial air station, while newer ones were basic and partially made of wood.
After 1933 the expansion plans were adopted by the new national-socialist government of Cologne and a major expansion project started in 1935. It served as a job creating program for around 1,100 unemployed. In the course of this project a new airport complex consisting of a passenger building, workshops, two hangars and a control tower was erected. The new facilities were opened after only one year of construction time in June 1936, a few weeks prior to the Olympic Games in Berlin.
Largest operator was pre-war Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
. Foreign operator such as Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
, Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
and Sabena
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
accounted for approximately one out of four movements. For some time Butzweilerhof was second in Germany only to Berlin Tempelhof and dubbed Luftkreuz des Westens (Air Junction of the West). Traffic figures reached a peak in 1938 with 6,390 aircraft departures as well as 49,938 arriving and departing passengers.
World War II and Cold War
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Butzweilerhof was predominately used for emergency landings and as field repair station for fighter aircraft. The Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
moved in again after the war and the airfield became RAF Butzweilerhof
RAF Butzweilerhof
The former Royal Air Force Station Butzweilerhof, commonly known as RAF Butzweilerhof was a Royal Air Force airbase in Germany situated in the northern suburbs of Cologne...
. Some airline service was restarted but ceased with the opening of Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...
.
The RAF base closed in the 1960s and some airport facilities were subsequently used by non-flying units of the German Army
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
. The airfield stayed in use until 1996 by army aviation units of the Belgian Armed Forces from nearby barracks.
Airport buildings
The airport buildings from 1935-36 were designed by Hans Mehrtens, Chief Building Director of Cologne since 1930. An airport road was build in straight line to the city centre and the airport facilities were positioned directly at its end. The group of buildings is approximately 270 meters long and arranged slightly curved to follow the perimeter of the circular airfield.
Passenger building
The passenger building is a two storey flat roof construction parallel to the airfield perimeter. The passenger traverses the building through the lobby which is aligned with the former airport road and divides the building into a western and eastern wing. Arriving passengers were looking directly at the distant Cologne CathedralCologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...
when leaving the building to the landside.
The landside portal of the lobby is decorated with a relief made by the sculptor Willi Meller and features the eagle of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and three crowns derived from coat of arms of Cologne.
Most of the ground level is brought forward towards the tarmac to form roof terraces. The west wing houses a café and a restaurant while the east wing was occupied by airport and airline offices.
Workshops
The workshops (Betriebshof) were located in a horseshoe-shaped one storey building. Staff and maintenance facilities are grouped around an inner courtyard, while several parking garages provided direct airside access for ambulance vehiclesAmbulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
and fire engines. The building was heavily altered after the war and several extensions had to be broken-up to recreate the original state.
Hangar I
Hangar I has interior dimensions of 68.4 meters in width and 34.8 meters in depth. It is large enough to accommodate several contemporary Junkers Ju 52/3mJunkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
with a wingspan of 29 meters and a length of 19 meters. The building was lastly used as repair facility for heavy military vehicles and had the original hangar doors replaced with roll-up doors.
Control Tower
The Control Tower completes the airport complex and sets an antipode to the passenger lobby at the opposite end. The tower features strips of ribbon windows in BauhausBauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
style. The control level on top is glazed all around and had to be reconstructed after its accidental demolition during the war.
Hangar II
A second hangar with roughly the same dimensions as Hangar I was erected in right angle behind the control tower. On two sides the building is surrounded by classrooms that were used for training of flying staff and maintenance personnel. The hangar still features the original hangar doors.Current days
The premises of the former airfield were primarily used to extend the nearby business park while the airport buildings underwent restoration.Airport buildings
The airport buildings - listed as monuments since 1988 – were extensively renovated between 1995 and 2007 with the intention to use them for cultural activities and an aviation museum. The apron will be converted into a park to form the centre of the new suburb Butzweilerhof.Airfield
The former airfield as well as its surroundings were temporarily used for activities such as music festivals and than gradually converted into a business park. In 2010 the StadtbahnStadtbahn
A ' is a tramway or light railway that includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the building of tunnels in the central city area....
was extended from a nearby terminus to Butzweilerhof.
External Links
- http://www.butzweilerhof.de Foundation Butzweilerhof (german)
- http://www.regionale2010.de Regionale 2010, project details restoration of airport buildings Butzweilerhof (german)