Pulheimer Bach

End of Pulheimer Bach in the Great Laache

The Pulheimer Bach, the Bach system around the city Pulheim in the northwest of Cologne, with its almost continuous restoration in the context of the Action Plan Regio green within the Regional 2010 Cologne / Bonn a particular example of environmental planning and conservation within a large city.

Stream

The creek originates below the Glessen height on the eastern slope of the Ville ( in the Rhineland Nature Park ) in about 100 m height with multiple sources in the nature reserve love Allee at Gut Neuhof, Mountain Home Glessen. In the area of ​​Neuhof and Broichhof he is dammed in several former mill ponds. Flows through on its short run over 8km, or affects the Pulheimer Districts Sinthern, Geyen and the southern parts of the central location. Immediately behind the Cologne edge channel crosses under before Pletsch mill. He finally seeps south-east of Orr in the Great Laache on the edge of the lower middle terrace at 45 m height. There are in the Weichsel glaciation accumulated low - gravel terraces of an ancient Rhine loop and the nature reserve (since 1999 ) of the small and the great Laache. Averaged over the year, flow to the Pletsch mill for about 50 to 60 liters per second, which are annually nearly two million cubic meters of water. From there, the water seeps down to the Rhine. In about 3 km away much of the drinking water for the Northwestern Cologne is obtained with the waterworks hamlet. The entire catchment area of the river with its ditches and inlets is 24 km.

Former mill sites

On Pulheimer brook no more water mills are in operation, most were shut down in the 19th or the first half of the 20th century, the last at 1960.

• Brown field mill in Glessen the Gut Neuhof ( the manor was in the middle of the 18th century the Counts of brown box ) with two grinding passes and an overshot water wheel. Two out of three mill ponds are still available. The mill is first mentioned in 1312 and was until 1960 in operation.
• Abtsmühle 1250 meters down stream between Glessen and Sinthern at the confluence of Abtsmühlgrabens, overshot. A mill existed here before 1656, when the abbot of the abbey brewing Weiler, who had acquired the nearby farm, the mill renewed. It burned in 1886 from after a lightning strike. Some millstones can still be seen at Abtshof near the Glessen church.
• Olligsmühle, 500 m down, just past the mouth of the renatured also Keusch Broich trench around 1500 until the second half of the 19th century, a peel - and an oil passage, in flat terrain, so undershot. The Mill House is still available and is used as a residence, the pond is now orchard. The millstones of edge mill sit at the house.
• Sinterner mill further down 750 m, was with two grinding passes about 1500 to 1930 / 40th Last was just broken. She stood on a small kink site and was therefore overshot. The pond was 1937/38, converted to an outdoor swimming pool, but the Nazi period not much survived. On the topographic map with level of 1958 it is still listed.
• Geyener mill ( Wolter mill) from before 962 to about 1950, a milling operation, the " mill base " standing on a terrain edge, therefore overshot. The deed of December 25, 962, the Archbishop Bruno of Cologne for the Cologne St. Cecilia pin left exhibit, called a mill in Geyen. Whether she stood at the current location has not yet been investigated. The mill pond is sports court today.
• Pulheimer mill, 2.25 -km descent located in flat terrain and therefore undershot on the western edge of the former Pulheim. Income from it were 1301 by Count Walram of Jülich, Mr. Bergheim, the St. George's pen in Cologne overwritten as restitution of a ruined mill from him. A street sign " To the old water mill " still recalls in 1930 abandoned mill.
• Pletsch mill, 1500 m at the site edge, the cut bank of the former Rhine sling with the Big and Small Laache, therefore overshot with a Malgang and two ponds. They existed from the 13th century until 1930. The buildings are now used as a riding school. Originally the mill was in the possession of the Church and therefore was secularized in the French period. The Mühlenhof with 110 acres of land was raised in 1842 by " Most High Cabinet Order " King Frederick William IV to the diet enabled manor house Orr with Kriegshof, Bayershof and Altenhof.

Moated castles and courtyards

Even the Neuenhof near the sources was originally surrounded by a moat, of which only small traces can be found in the field. The best preserved castle in the creek water is the Junker castle. The moat is sufficient today but only from the medieval round tower to the Baroque tower. But even in Sinthern is a former wasserumschlossene courtyard. The associated since 1028, founded the abbey in 1024 Brauweiler Fronhof counts because of its defensive system with (only partially preserved ) moat and castle- like entrance to the so-called court festivals. Many of the farms are associated with the mills have been also reinforced grave.

Renaturation

Since the Pulheimer Bach seems to be important for the drinking water supply of Cologne, considerations were necessary to increase the water quality of the creek. With the restoration of stream sections was already started before 2005, when construction on the stream made ​​it possible. For longer distances more capital and initiative was needed. The consumer association Pulheimer Bach presented to October 12, 2006 the application for promotion of the concept " water axis Pulheimer Bach" as A project under Action REGIO GREEN the Regional 2010. The project in the northwestern green corridor from the old Rhine to the new energies should be included on the Ville height. The Reserve Big Laache and Pulheimer lake in the recreation area Stöckheimer courtyards, which will be expanded from the cities Pulheim and Cologne in the next few years, are in this green ring at the end of the stream. The stream should be doing, where possible, rehabilitated and are designed as " adventure and nature trail ." After reaching the A qualifier in June 2007 could take place on 3 December 2007, the groundbreaking ceremony for restoration of the stream, the first section was completed the following summer and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister and Pulheimer citizens Jürgen Rüttgers. The grant approval for state funds over € 154,891 came on 3 September 2008 by the Government of President Hans Peter Lindlar and was duly celebrated in the Grabenmeisterei the Association. The towns of Bergheim and Pulheim share the € 200,000 missing sum. The second section was addressed in 2009, the third in February 2010. The concrete pipes and soles were torn out and replaced with a gravel bed. Exterior steps and step junctions were given a basalt base as Energievernichter. The banks were accompanied and secured by planting trees and shrubs suitable as alder and aquatic plants such as red butterbur, Blue rushes, water lilies and reeds. In October 2009, the first crayfish were placed in the creek. 2010 and 2011, followed by one further tranche with over 1000 pups from a breeding station Eifel .. 2013 showed success because during an inspection on a seven-meter- long section more than a dozen crabs of different age and size were found. Also, the kingfisher is now native to scale breeding caves in the bank walls .. It considerations underway, and the non renaturierbaren sections of the creek in the districts shall be designed as open channels. In March 2011, 8 of the 11 sections were renatured. The in the places still cased sections by blue concrete blocks with white double shaft, the symbol of the Bach Association, marks that were inserted in 10 m distance in the path.

In December 2012, a further allocation decision by the district government of more than € 400,000 was for the section Sinthern, Martin Street, to Jacob Pohl Square, Geyen, which was taken in spring in attack. At the beginning of the summer holidays 500 meters were renatured and 2013, the remaining 300 meters were completed.

Flood protection

By the opening of the creek also accommodate Heavy rain floods is created. Even before completion of the work has shown that the additionally obtained by recovering storage space of around 7,000 m³ represents a profit to protect the local situation Pulheim before the flood retention basins Benda thickener is taken with its storage capacity of 28,000 m³ to complete.

Cooperations

For the scientific monitoring of the project, the Geographical Institute of the University of Cologne could be won. Responsible is the Associate Professor Reinhard Zeese from Brühl. After preparatory work for a sponsorship contract between the parties and the Mathematics and Natural Sciences was closed on 10 November 2008 at the Geographical Institute.

The schools ( until June 2011 eight ) and five kindergartens in the adjoining districts are very interested to deal with events such as green classroom with the stream nature. These are for example the Community Primary School Sinthern / Geyen, who was honored for her project in 2009 and 2010 German by the Association water protection in a nationwide competition ( for a third time in 2011 ), the community primary school Wolfhelm school in Dansweiler that Rochus school Glessen that Barbara School, the Marion Dönhoff Realschule and the Scholl -Gymnasium in Pulheim ( Award 2009). Even the schools from Brauweiler Abbey Grammar School and the Arthur Koepchen secondary school that does not abut the stream, participate. At the fair Didacta 2010 in Cologne " The Green Classroom Pulheimer Bach" was the topic of a presentation. The schools have come together to Pedagogical axis of the neighboring schools and take over since 2011 Bach respective sponsorships.

Adventure trail

On 25 May 2012, the adventure trail Pulheimer Bach was officially inaugurated. The trail leads with 30 stations of the narrative jumping sources in Glessen to the percolation point in the Pulheimer Great Laache. Significant support for the work of Bach Association came from the landscape artist Reinhard Zeese, who with his partner Harald Wegener a consortium (Association ) founded and eg the diverse information services edited and illustrated. Numerous scientific laborers lined the project and showed great support. In addition to the University of Cologne doctoral students, research assistants also contributed to international researchers, such as geologist Abu Shoeb from Bangladesh, to the great success and the continued positive response for the adventure trail.

Tell stations

The experience of the stream, its history and its embeddedness in nature and culture are supported by four pavilions and six information panels at anchor points are created by those in the spring of 2011 three: Glessen, GGS Sinthern / Geyen and the Pletsch mill at the gateway to Altenrhein. The last was inaugurated near the headwaters in the fall of 2011. There are also 30 marked by stelae Tell stations of remarkable points of the renatured stream sections. Here you can learn on small information boards Trivia and Historical or can tell by dialing a specified herein mobile phone number is. For experiments and observations of stream life learning bridges were thrown across the stream bed. At the first station on the narrative nature reserve love avenue of discovery trail to the water on the trail through the middle of the swamp source of the stream that actually should not be accessible. The first panel near the source well of Bach points out the features and the need to protect the highly sensitive area. Particularly notable sites are marked ( deposited on the Ville- main terrace of one of the cold periods ) enforced drift blocks. This path was passed November 24, 2011 by the brook Association and the project manager Reinhard Zeese, his determination