Zwischenwerk IXa

Zwischenwerk IXa stands near the Rhine in Cologne’s Westhovener Aue, as a small infantry fortification. Built in the late 1880s, it formed part of Cologne’s outer defensive belt. Plain walls, ventilation openings, and casemate remains show the structure’s military purpose.

Three separate entrances once led into the casemates, while a dry moat surrounded the roughly 100-by-140-metre site. Concrete reached two metres in some guard rooms. During demilitarisation between March and September 1922, workers destroyed guard rooms and observation posts. They also removed the reinforced roof and levelled the moat and ramparts.

Later, barracks housed people displaced by bombing, and air raids brought shelter seekers into the roofless fort. Belgian forces used the grounds after the war. Today, the surviving building stands within public open space and a Rhine flood-retention area. Interior access remains sealed by a heavy gate, while paths cross grounds where old munitions may remain.