TtE-Bücherei

5.0(1)· Google

Freely accessible library and archive of left-wing social movements at the Alte Feuerwache — holding citizens' initiative journals and a substantial collection of grey literature.

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The TtE-Bücherei is a library and archive of left-wing social movements, housed in the Alte Feuerwache community centre in Cologne's Neustadt/Nord district.

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Source: Wikipedia

At a Glance

Type: Library and archive of left-wing social movements
Location: Alte Feuerwache community centre, Neustadt/Nord (Innenstadt district)
Collection: approx. 16,000 books and pamphlets, freely accessible and systematically organised
Journals: approx. 1,400 titles
Notable feature: around a quarter of the holdings is classified as grey literature
Network: Member of the research network FICEDL (Fédération internationale des centres d'études et de documentation libertaires)

Did you know?

The name "TtE" doesn't derive from a book title or person, but from a boycott: the former club venue was called "TT Embargo", named after a protest against the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.

History

The library traces its origins to a reading circle in Leverkusen in the mid-1980s, connected to the youth centre movement. In the early 1990s it relocated to Cologne. A sister project under the same name exists in Schwerin.

Journals

Alongside its books and pamphlets, the collection holds around 1,400 journal titles from citizens' initiatives, women's projects, self-help groups, and a wide range of political organisations.

The Name

The abbreviation TtE refers to two things: the former meeting venue TT Embargo of the Leverkusen support association for self-managed youth centres (Förder- und Trägerverein selbstverwaltete Jugendzentren e.V.), and the boycott of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.

Timeline

Mitte der 1980er Jahre
Founded from a reading circle in Leverkusen in the context of the youth centre movement
Anfang der 1990er Jahre
Relocated to Cologne at the Alte Feuerwache community centre

Map

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Address

Melchiorstraße 3
50670 Köln

Hours

Di: 17:00–20:00

Do: 17:00–20:00

Contact

0221 731798

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Sources & links

Official website
Official website (retrieved 2026-07-06)
Wikidata (retrieved 2026-06-26)
Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-26)

Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27

How this page is made

This page draws on open sources — Wikipedia, Wikidata, official websites and the city’s open data. Every statement is checked against the sources linked here, and pages are refreshed regularly.