Klingelpütz
Once a prison and the Nazi era's central execution site for the Rhineland's special courts — today a park stands on the grounds.
For most Cologne locals, the street name Klingelpütz today refers to the prison in Ossendorf, about 6 km away. Originally, though, it marked the site of a Prussian prison in the city center district.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- former prison
- Location
- Altstadt-Nord, between Gereonswall and Vogteistraße, near Hansaring
- Built by
- Kingdom of Prussia, designed by government architect Matthias Biercher
- Construction
- from 1835, opened 1838
- Plot size
- 26,267 m²
- Notable
- first newly built prison in the Prussian Rhine Province
- Today
- Klingelpützpark
When American soldiers occupied the prison on 7 March 1945, they found 80 inmates who had been left without food or water for five days after their guards had fled.
A Name Rooted in Wells
In the 13th century, the land belonged to the Clingelmann family, whose property held several wells. "Pütz" is the Cologne dialect word for well, derived from Latin "puteus" (French "puits"). The colloquial "dä Klingelmannspöötz" eventually became Klingelpütz, later adopted as the official street name.
From Pilgrimage Site to Prison
Before 1426, a pilgrimage site stood here; its buildings and chapel were taken over, rebuilt, and expanded by the Augustinian monastery of Herrenleichnam. Surrounded by large gardens, the monastery drew water from seven deep wells that also supplied the neighborhood. Under French occupation it served from 1793 as a hospital for French prisoners of war, before being demolished in 1805. Gardener Matthias Bilstein bought the vacant plot, which passed to Prussia in 1833 via a sale agreement with the city of Cologne.
Building the Prison
The three-story brick building was designed for 300 forced-labor convicts and 500 lesser offenders, enclosed by two walls 5.02 and 6.28 meters high. Its central building took the form of an octagon. By 1841 the facility was already too small, forcing emergency prisons to be set up in the Bayenturm and Severinstorburg towers. A south wing with individual cells for 180 inmates was added between 1843 and 1845. Among its prisoners in 1874 was Cardinal Paulus Melchers.
Execution Site and Nazi Era
In 1931, serial killer Peter Kürten was executed here, since the Düsseldorf prison lacked a courtyard shielded from outside view. Under Nazi rule, Klingelpütz became the central execution site for the Rhineland's special courts, also carrying out death sentences from the People's Court and the Reich Court. An estimated over 1,000 people died by guillotine or, occasionally, by axe. On 30 November 1933, six young Red Front fighters were publicly executed, accused of murdering two SA members. From 1944, the Gestapo used one of the wings; that same year more than 10,000 prisoners were held here.
End of the War and Demolition
In January 1945, 330 prisoners were ordered transported to Buchenwald concentration camp. When American soldiers occupied the prison on 7 March 1945, they found 80 people who had survived five days without food or water after their guards fled. Following the completion of the Ossendorf prison, the more than 130-year-old building was demolished in 1969.
Timeline
- 1263First documented mention as Clingilmanshus
- 1426Founding of the Augustinian monastery Herrenleichnam
- 1793Monastery used as hospital for prisoners of war
- 1805Demolition of the monastery
- 1833Land purchased by the Kingdom of Prussia
- 1838Handover of the newly built prison
- 1931Execution of serial killer Peter Kürten
- 1945Liberation of the prison by US soldiers
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-24
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