The Bornheim Wachthäusel - From Night Watch Office to Village Center

In 1834, the municipality of Bornheim decided to build a watch house in the style of a small Greek temple, which was put into service in 1835. Behind the covered forecourt was a watch room with a stove, and behind it a small holding cell, which was only rarely in use.

In 1868, the municipality had the watch house extended to the east in order to accommodate a new fire engine. In the process, the roof was rotated by 90 degrees in a west–east direction, as it still stands today.

In 1914, the office of the night watchman was abolished with the introduction of street lighting. After that, the fire brigade continued to use the watch house for the fire engine.

In 1940, the watch house was made available to the Bornheim milk delivery cooperative.

After the milk collection point was dissolved and the fire engine was housed in the newly built fire station in 1971, the watch house stood empty and threatened to fall into disrepair.

In 1990, as part of the competition “Our village should become more beautiful,” the exterior façade was restored. Inside, however, the Wachthäusel remained a shell without installations.

Only from the mid-1990s onwards did the Wachthäusel receive a new function. In 1994 and 1995, the kindergarten used it for a refreshment stand at the Saubrunnenfest and the Kerwe. Then the kindergarten director, Michael Feldmann, and a group of kindergarten parents proposed to the municipality that the interior of the Wachthäusel be converted in such a way that it could be used permanently by all residents of Bornheim. The municipality agreed to the project on the condition that one third of the construction costs be covered through the labor of an association.

As a result, the association Freundeskreis “Die Wachthäusler e.V.” was founded on November 13, 1995. Its members carried out the expansion and conversion in 1997 and 1998 with more than 3,600 hours of work. The Wachthäusel was handed over to the association on September 4, 1998.

Since then, the association has used the Wachthäusel for public events, cultural activities, and educational programs. The statutes of the association also include the unusual goal of supporting institutions, communities, and people in need through donations from event revenues.

The Wachthäusel thus stands as an example of the transformation from a place of control and custody into a lively meeting point for the village.