Aachener Weiher

If you walk from the Aachener Weiher up the Aachener Berg, there’s quite a bit of history buried beneath you—more precisely, at a depth of 10–30 centimeters. Namely, the building materials that were literally reduced to rubble and ashes in Cologne after World War II. Like many other cities at the time, Cologne faced the question: What to do with the massive piles of rubble? And with 30 million cubic meters of rubble, Cologne had a very weighty, massive problem. To put that in perspective: that’s twice the storage capacity of the Ennepetal Dam or enough to fill 15 Pyramids of Cheops.

Recycling the rubble wasn’t feasible, so those responsible for the project—including, incidentally, sculptor Ewald Mataré, architect Wilhelm Riphan, and art collector Josef Haubrich—decided instead to create several rubble mounds on open spaces around Cologne and along the green belt, and strategically planted them with vegetation. The principle at the time was as follows: Remove four bricks from the rubble mound, pour a bucket of soil into the gap, and plant a tree. As a result, green mounds, small woods, and shrubs now rise along the edge of the Aachener Weiher, thriving on the limestone-rich soil.

The Aachener Weiher itself—named after Aachener Straße, which already existed in Roman times—was created in 1920 as an artificial, nearly square lake.

Relaxing and Exercising Around the Pond

Over the years, the Aachener Weiher, together with the surrounding grounds and picnic areas, has developed into a popular gathering spot—especially in the summer—for relaxing, sunbathing, and exercising: located close to downtown and the Belgian Quarter. The water is no more than 1.40 m deep, and the pond is home to fish such as eels, zander, perch, carp, roach, and bream. Swimming is, of course, prohibited—as it is in all park ponds.

Beer Garden at the Aachener Weiher

On the edge of the pond facing the city center, you’ll find the Aachen Beer Garden, which seats 900 and offers beer, soft drinks, light snacks, and full meals. In the summer, however, it fills up quickly despite its large capacity.

On the edge of the Aachen Pond: the Museum of East Asian Art

If you’re in the mood for some peace and quiet, art, and culture, it’s best to stroll over to the other side of the pond, toward Universitätsstraße: to the renowned Museum of East Asian Art. Designed by Bauhaus student Kunio Maekawa, the museum building incorporates the Aachen Weiher and features an outdoor sculpture on an artificial island, which you can view perfectly from the museum’s outdoor terrace —including a view across the pond and Cologne’s green past.