Koblenz-Lützel: about street art, culture factory and fortress complex

Lützel is a district of Koblenz. It is located on the opposite side of the Moselle from the old town and is easily accessible via the Balduin Bridge. On a discovery tour through Koblenz-Lützel we come across, among other things, cool street art, an old fortress and a culture factory.

What do we know about Koblenz-Lützel?

The place Lützel, which means small, is mentioned for the first time in 1052. Later, Lützel was also called minor Confluentia, meaning small Koblenz. The citizens of Lützel had been citizens of Koblenz since the first half of the 13th century.

After the Balduin Bridge over the Moselle was completed in 1429, the citizens of Koblenz had an easy connection between Lützel and Koblenz. However, the bridge did not only bring advantages. The connection naturally also made it easier for enemies to invade Koblenz. Lützel was then expanded to become an outwork of the Koblenz city fortifications. Houses had to give way, inhabitants were resettled. In 1688, when the French troops besieged Koblenz, Lützel was destroyed. The last inhabitants moved away and the village no longer existed. From the time of 1812 one can find records that speak of a guardhouse at the bridge and three inns.

After the Prussians took over the Rhineland, they built the Kaiser Franz fortress on Petersberg in Lützel. Additional advanced fortifications were built, a railroad station and, despite some building restrictions, the citizens built the first residential houses. It was not until the fortifications were abandoned in 1890 that a flurry of construction activity began. Lützel developed into a popular residential area and later also into a business location.

Due to its location, Lützel was a strategic target for air raids during World War II. There was considerable damage, which was repaired in the post-war years. Today, the cityscape shows many post-war buildings and larger areas where business has settled. But if you look closely, you will also discover one or two buildings from the pre-war period.

Today, Lützel is a district that is completely underestimated. A multicultural scene has developed here, giving the area an interesting flair. For example, you can find Pakistani, Arab and Turkish communities with their mosques right next to Catholic and Protestant church congregations, a culture factory and museums. For us, this is a good reason to go on a cultural tour of the district.

The way to Koblenz-Lützel

Coming from the old town of Koblenz, we cross the Balduin Bridge. It owes its name to the Trier Elector Balduin of Luxembourg, who initiated its construction. His statue stands on the bridge in his memory.

The Balduin Bridge was built of graywacke and basalt lava. Originally it consisted of fourteen arches with thirteen piers and spanned the Moselle in a length of 325 meters. Like all Koblenz bridges, the Wehrmacht blew up this bridge during their retreat in World War II. Three arches collapsed, which were later provisionally repaired. With the canalization of the Moselle, another reconstruction of the Balduin Bridge followed. The city demolished 6 arches on the Lützel side. These were replaced by a prestressed concrete bridge.

Streetart in Lützel

As we walk in the direction of Lützel, we discover the large mural of a woman on a house wall. The artist Hendrik Beikirch created the artwork in 2017 and donated it to the Frauenennotruf Koblenz. It was important to set a sign against violence against women.

The Koblenz artist is known for his black and white portraits on facades, canvas and paper. Since the mid-1990s, he is a household name in the graffiti and street art scene. I like the impressive face of the woman very much. Especially the representation in black and white I find very appropriate for this topic and hope that it gives girls and women courage to show their strength.

The picture was just the beginning – we were to discover many more great works of art by street artists in Koblenz-Lützel. One of these artists we met at a “sprayer place” approved by the city. Under the Europabrücke at a public basketball court, there are some walls where spraying is allowed with the permission of the city. However, as we learned on site, there is something like a sprayer code to which one should adhere. This says something like “never spray over a work that is artistically better than what you can produce”. And that seems to work, because some paintings have been there for many years.

We met with the Koblenz artist Dater 127. Dater127 or with civil name Daniel Schmid has made his profession out of his passion for the spray can. In the meantime, he creates works of art worldwide. One thing unites the images, the distinctive visual language. After we were first made aware as some points, I have discovered in Koblenz (also in the old town) still so some works of Dater127.

A huge snake was being built under the Europabrücke bridge, which was completed only a few days later.

On other walls under the bridge I then discovered some more pictures of quite different quality. I was particularly impressed by the picture of the woman with her red and bleeding eyes.

Defense Technology Study Collection

n the former Langemarck barracks, in one of the original magazine buildings, there is a “museum” of a very special kind. Strictly speaking, it is not a museum but a study collection.

On a good 7200 m² of exhibition space, about 2500 exhibits with a focus on defense technology and a specialized military science library are densely packed. The collection belongs to the BAAINBw in Koblenz (Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr).

This exhibition has now been around since 1867 (at that time a sample collection of artillery equipment for examination purposes). When we were on site, soldiers of the Bundeswehr were being guided through the collection and certainly got important information for their job. Especially in preparation for foreign missions or for young engineers in the field of defense technology, the collection offers the opportunity to gain experience on the “real” object.

However, the Wehrtechnische Sammlung is not only open to visitors of the Bundeswehr. Since it is not a museum, you will not find a presentation like you would find in a museum. There are almost only small signs that give the object a name, but detailed military-historical descriptions, examples of use or armor-historical classifications are missing. I must admit that I did not really miss these details. I was particularly impressed by the size of some of the exhibits.

The subject that is shown here is really diverse: starting with small arms, over missile technology to personal clothing and equipment. There are even prototypes to see that were never mass produced.

I found the visit very interesting and can understand why many visitors go there every year.

Maria-Hilf-Kapelle

The Maria-Hilf chapel from 1907 is the oldest preserved church in the district. We walked past the small chapel on our cultural walk through the city. In 1952/53, the municipality had expanded the Maria Hilf Chapel into a pilgrimage church by constructing a new building. In 2017, the pilgrimage church was profaned and demolished. The chapel was preserved and is still a focal point for many pilgrims today.

Feste Kaiser Franz in Koblenz-Lützel

Feste Kaiser Franz is a fortress complex completed in 1822/1824 in the Lützel district. On the way there, we passed the last existing rayon buildings in Elisenstraße. Rayonbauten are buildings that were erected on an area that was supposed to ensure a good view in case of an attack as an open field.

Feste Kaiser Franz was a part of the Prussian fortification system of Koblenz. It received its name in honor of the Austrian Emperor Franz I and is located on the Petersberg. This was an important place for the defense of the city and had already been provided with fortifications due to warlike incidents. The Prussians first built a fortress with a bastion-shaped ground plan, which was later extended and rebuilt.

After the First World War, the Kaiser Franz fortress had to be defortified according to the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty stipulated that trench weirs had to be removed, powder magazines and hollow passages destroyed. Only the redoubt with the throat tower, the main gate with the poterne, the mortar battery and the so-called outer wall of communication remained. In addition, some building complexes could be preserved, in some of which apartments were built. Other areas of the complex are used by homeless people for overnight accommodation.

During the Nazi era, a labor and internment camp was built on the site. During the Second World War, the remaining cavities served as air raid shelters.

After the war, a slum developed in the Feste Kaiser Franz, where about 200 people lived without water supply. In 1958/59, the city dissolved the camp and provided housing for the people. That same year, the German army blew up the Reduit to make it uninhabitable. The rubble remained, and only a small area was preserved. Today, one can still see the throat tower with the completely preserved fortress baking oven, the main gate and the “communication wall”. The fortress oven is about 4.5 m deep and about 3.9 m wide, it was possible to bake about 250 loaves of bread in one baking process.

Since 1997, various initiatives and the city have been trying to secure and preserve the site. On the plateau of the Petersberg is the fortress park, which we visited during our tour of Koblenz-Lützel. From there you have a great view in the direction of Ehrenbreitstein and over the city. In addition, you can also see the few remains of the fortification very well here. Unfortunately, it is not possible to visit them because many areas are not yet sufficiently secured.

French Cemetery

We leave the compound and walk along the wall of communication. This served the soldiers as a fast and safe communication route to other areas of the fortress complex.

From there, we were drawn to a “piece of France” in Koblenz-Lützel. This formulation may be taken literally. Part of the present site of the French Cemetery really belongs to the French state. So during our visit to the cemetery, we briefly paid a visit to France!

The French Cemetery is a military cemetery. Here are graves of French prisoners of war who lost their lives in Koblenz in 1870/71 during the Franco-Prussian War. A total of 312 French prisoners are buried there.

We enter the cemetery grounds through a beautiful wrought iron gate. Golden letters bordered by a laurel wreath and lilies make it clear where we are. The intertwined initials RF mean République Français.

Directly behind it rises monumentally the central element of the cemetery, the Marceau Monument. This monument was erected in honor of the French general Marceau. He led his division to Koblenz in 1794, conquered the city and ended the rule of the Archbishops of Trier. During his retreat, the general was seriously wounded in 1796 and died. His body was brought to Koblenz and buried with military honors at Petersberg. A collection financed the construction of a pyramid in which the urn later found its place.

In 1817, when construction of the fortifications in Koblenz began, the monument was demolished. Only after protests did the Prussian king decree that the pyramid should find a new place at its present location.

As I walk around the pyramid, I notice inscriptions that are now almost illegible. These describe the life and work of the general. I find the lion relief particularly striking. It found its place on the pyramid only later, after grave robbers had cut a hole into the pyramid. I wonder if this is why the lion looks so sad, because he is now guarding an empty room?

Today, there are only a few gravestones in the cemetery, some of them very weathered, which commemorate the dead. On a stele I discover a commemorative plaque commemorating Marceau and the deceased soldiers.

DB Museum in Lützel

Probably one of the most famous sights in Koblenz-Lützel is the museum of the German Railways. Here you can discover historic locomotives, passenger and freight cars and learn about the history of the railroad.

Unfortunately, the museum is rarely open. When we were in Koblenz, it was closed and so we will probably schedule a visit at another time.

Visit to KUFA – the culture factory

The KUFA has been part of the cultural landscape in Lützel for several years, and we paid it a visit.

A former envelope factory, which was one of the largest envelope companies in Europe since 1862 and stood empty for a long time after the Second World War, is now home to an independent theater.

It all began in 1980, when the Tanztheater Regenbogen was looking for new premises. The factory building offered ideal conditions and a cultural center was created. Since 1996, KUFA GmbH has been running a theater there and the Koblenz Youth Theater has been staging its productions there. Concerts, children’s events and a regular family breakfast with children’s program are also offered.The KUFA has developed into a cultural, integrative and multicultural place in Koblenz-Lützel.

During a short tour, we were able to see not only the rehearsal rooms, but also the theater hall with its 350 seats. Posters in the entrance area showed us the previous productions, which immediately made me want to visit a play. If you would like to find out about the current program, you should take a look at the KUFA website.

When we left the Kulturfabrik, our eyes fell on some beautiful street art pictures in the parking lot. Looking closer, we also discovered works by Dater127, whom we had just watched at work at the Europabrücke.

The camping site in Koblenz-Lützel

What can be so special about a campsite? No, it’s not the different campers, it’s the view!

The campsite is one of the most beautiful places in Germany. Walking across a large meadow, we reach the banks of the Moselle and stand at a fantastic vantage point. From here you have a unique view of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, the German Corner with the huge equestrian statue and the old town of Koblenz. However, I was almost more thrilled by the view of the Moselle and Rhine. At first, there were hardly any ships sailing, but then a cruise ship “turned” from the Rhine into the Moselle. For me, the drifting ship was a sight I’m sure I won’t soon forget.

From the campsite, a passenger ferry (with the name Liesel) should actually cross to the old town. Due to repair work, the ferry was not running and so we ended our visit in Koblenz-Lützel as it had begun, by crossing the Balduin Bridge.

The visit to Koblenz-Lützel took place as part of a press trip with Koblenz-Touristik GmbH.