Living in Cologne Marienburg

Villa Marienburg – Name giver to the DIstrict

In confidence: The “right”, i.e. the more upscale side of the Rhine in Cologne is of course the one on the left. And of the officially 86 “Veedel”, as the districts are called in Cologne dialect, Marienburg is the noblest, an extraordinary example of the development and emergence of a villa colony and a prime example of the lasting beauty that careful planning and implementation can produce. And it happened like this: In 1864 Ernst Leybold, a merchant in Cologne, had boosted his pharmaceutical trade so effectively that he was able to open a main shop in Schildergasse (coincidentally, the same year that just a few miles away in the Lower Rhine Peter Heinrich Schmitz founded our family business). A few years later, Leybold, by then a successful industrialist, fell head over heels in love with the beauty of the then still almost untouched landscape in front of Cologne’s central ring road, on the idyllic side of the Rhine. Without further ado, he acquired the Marienburg estate there, at that time still a manor, along with extensive tracts of land – and with a vision that he was to follow all his life: In 1876, the long-planned initiative for a “villa colony” was launched by founding the real estate society “Immobiliengesellschaft Marienburg”.

A new development plan by the city of Cologne, which had incorporated Marienburg in 1888, finally enabled Ernst Leybold and his partners to tackle the ambitious project from 1896 on. The plans and buildings of the architects who created the villa colony over the decades – Theodor Merrill and Paul Pott being important representatives – clearly showed the influence of English country houses and American estates. The combination of styles such as Historicism, Art Nouveau, Expressionism and Reform architecture created a harmonious overall picture. Similar to the famous villa colonies of Berlin-Grunewald or the Elbe suburbs of Hamburg, for example – and a perfect location for our company: For RALF SCHMITZ, ‘luxury’ means respectfully transporting the best of history into the present instead of paying homage to short-lived trends.

“Like ROWS of PEARLS and Jewelry, the Banks of the RHine Are Aglow” Joachim Ringelnatz, 1932

To this day, the neighbourhood is characterised by extensive private gardens and public parks. Wandering along the avenues to the nearby Südpark, for example, provides an excellent opportunity to indulge in some leisurely rambling: laid out by the renowned garden architect Adolf Kowallek, the park offers 4.65 hectares of space for strolling, jogging or walking the dog. If you fancy even more space and exercise, you can explore the Cologne Green Belt with its extensive cycle path (made a reality through the efforts of Konrad Adenauer, the city’s mayor at the time) or, even further south, the Forest Botanical Garden with its Peace Forest. Tennis and hockey courts, boathouses and rowing clubs as well as the Marienburg Golf Club, founded in 1906 and one of the oldest in Germany, are all less than 15 minutes by bike from Brohler Strasse. It is even only a ten-minute walk from the new residence to the banks of the Rhine.

Doctors’ offices and pharmacies are within easy reach, as are gyms, spas and beauty salons. Marienburgers like to do their daily shopping at the “Goltsteinforum”, for example at Rewe, Alnatura or dm – a ten-minute walk away, four minutes by car. There are also plenty of gastronomic options just a few minutes away from Brohler Strasse 11, such as HÖHNs with fine regional compositions or, alternatively, the Mediterranean specialities at Osteria Da Paolo. A little further north, in the Dichterviertel, you can enjoy yourself in small cafés. Culinary delights combined with a view of the Rhine are particularly tempting, for example at the well-known Ristorante Da Tullio.

Cultivated flora and carefully landscaped parks define the image of the neighbourhood and its surroundings

As quietly located as Brohler Strasse is, its connections are nevertheless fantastic: Without compromising on acoustic privacy, the nearest motorway can be reached in five minutes, and the airport is only a 20-minute drive away. From Marienburg you can quickly reach other parts of the city and benefit from the enormous diversity of this pearl on the river. The people of Cologne love their city and its landmarks: the impressive cathedral and the famous carnival. The attraction of Germany’s oldest metropolis with over 2,000 years of history is also based on culture: after Basel, it is one of the most important art cities in Europe and one of the centres of the global art trade, plus a philharmonic hall, opera house, concert halls, musical domes, theatres and numerous museums. International in character, the city of knowledge is home to over 104,000 students and numerous media companies. Our beautiful new building will, we hope, soon become a new landmark to be proud of.

FRAMED BY OLD TREES AND NEWLY PLANTED GREENERY

“Behind the lushly planted front garden at Brohler Strasse soon rises an urban villa whose architecture quotes the unique charm of the British and Anglo-American country house style typical here – with bay windows and projecting balconies, snow-white facades and discreet ornaments under an elegant dark roof. The quiet Brohler Strasse is a guarantee for upscale living – house number 11 marks a special address, the beginning of the magnificent central avenue of old plane trees. Six classically timeless, unique apartments in different sizes will be created here, satisfying the highest living standards. The renowned Berlin office Sebastian Treese Architekten, with whom we have been working closely for a long time, is responsible for this project as well.

And we would also like to briefly introduce ourselves: Our roots lie in the Lower Rhine region, where our company has been working and building since 1864. Now in its fifth generation of family management, RALF SCHMITZ GmbH has been building first-class domiciles in the best locations in metropolises such as Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf for decades – building culture of uncompromising quality that combines classicism, subtle luxury and the highest technical comfort.
So we consider ourselves fortunate to have found this fabulous property in Cologne-Marienburg for our perfect building start in the city of culture on the Rhine. In order to be able to live up to our claim here as well: a building created for generations.”

– Dr Axel Martin Schmitz, Managing Partner