Alte Wache (Waidmarkt)
A Prussian guardhouse from 1840/41 on the Waidmarkt, whose listed portico was dismantled and put into storage for possible reconstruction after the 2009 archive collapse.
Next to the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium on the Waidmarkt, the Alte Wache once recalled Cologne's military past in the 19th century – today only an empty space marks the site, since the listed portico was dismantled and put into storage after the collapse of the city archive.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Location
- Waidmarkt, next to the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, Cologne
- Built
- 1840/41 by the Prussian military administration in agreement with the city
- Purpose
- Guardhouse, designed for a garrison of 30 men
- Architect
- Schuberth, the local "architect on site"
- Heritage protection
- Yes – as a testament to Cologne's military architecture (three-arched portico)
- Current status
- No structure remains on site – portico dismantled in 2011 and stored for a possible future reconstruction
History
The Alte Wache was one of three new guardhouses that the Prussian military administration commissioned in 1840/41 in agreement with the city. Each of the three met a different fate: the main guardhouse on the Heumarkt was demolished as early as 1877, while the similarly designed guardhouse at the Zeughaus now serves the Cologne City Museum for temporary exhibitions. The Waidmarkt guardhouse was planned for a garrison of 30 men.
Architecture
For the design, the architect Schuberth drew on Classical forms: the model was a pavilion built in 1825 by the architect Maximilian Joseph Hurtault in the park of the Château de Saint-Cloud near Paris. The building was defined by its three-arched portico and by the gable relief depicting two resting warriors, executed to designs by the sculptor Friedrich Joseph Porcher. Both of these elements survived the Second World War – as well as the collapse of the Historical Archive on the Severinstraße, which occurred on 3 March 2009 during construction of the North-South light rail line.
The Collapse and the End on Site
During the archive collapse, sections of the city archive's roof fell onto the portico, causing minor damage to the right outer pier and the right outer wall; the vault itself showed no cracks. To avoid hindering the rescue teams' recovery work, the portico was taken down in coordination with the city conservator. Its individual parts were secured and placed into storage with a view to later reconstruction.
Today
The Alte Wache no longer stands on the Waidmarkt – nothing of it is currently visible, and only the secured fragments remain in storage for a possible future rebuild. Those who wanted to see the remains had the chance to do so in the exhibition "Der Waidmarkt. Drunter und Drüber" (8 October 2011 to 18 February 2012) at the Cologne City Museum, where parts of the gable frieze were on display.
Map
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Address
Waidmarkt
Köln
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-07-22
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