Haus Schwerthof, Bauwerk in Deutschland
The Haus Schwerthof is an office building in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord, built between 1921 and 1922 according to architect Jacob Koerfer's design and forms part of the streetscape along Zeppelinstraße and Neumarkt. The structure has four main office floors, a wide hipped roof, and a facade decorated with sculptures by artist Willy Meller, while the ground floor features tall arcades and large windows designed for retail shops.
The building was constructed in 1921 on the site of the former Blankenheimer Hof, an 18th-century estate that had to be demolished due to new street planning. After suffering only minor damage during World War Two, the city's first downtown cinema, the UFA-Schwerthof, opened there in 1947 and made it an entertainment venue until the building received protected monument status in 1988.
The Haus Schwerthof takes its name from 15th-century records mentioning a person named Abel from Schwerthof who lived nearby, and later a knights' armor storage room that carried the name in the 1500s. Visitors can see today how this building functioned from the start as a central place for trade and commerce, with shops on the ground floor and offices above that reflect the bustling daily life of the old city.
The building sits directly at the busy corner where Zeppelinstraße and Neumarkt meet in the old city center and is easily accessible on foot. Visitors can view the retail shops housed in it, observe the architecture and facade sculptures from street level, and appreciate the building's craftsmanship without needing to enter the interior spaces.
From 1922 onwards, a Cologne resident named Ludwig Blatzheim ran a notably large cafe on the ground floor with a staff of around 180 workers, making it such a social hub that it became the neighborhood's meeting place. This establishment defined the building's character for decades and transformed the Schwerthof far beyond its role as mere office space into a living part of everyday life in the old city.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
