In 1988, Baron Eduard von Oppenheim acquired a fantastically located property in the north of Cologne. Surrounded by water and green space, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Here he had a stately villa built, in which the 57-year-old wanted to enjoy the summer months with his family from now on. The baron had money: he worked as a banker, but his real passion was horse breeding, with which he also made good money.
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And so not only a house for the family was built on the site, but also a spacious stud building for the horses. And even a racetrack! But after the death of the builder in 1909, an eventful history began for the imposing “Haus Fühlingen”. Two wars shook the world and also left traces in Cologne-Chorweiler. The villa changed hands several times, during the Second World War forced laborers were housed here who had to work for the Nazis and their beneficiaries.
Lost place with dark history
This also relates to one of several tragic stories attached to the house: A 19-year-old forced laborer from Poland, Edward Margol, was falsely accused of a crime for which he was hanged. The story spread that the real reason for the execution was an illicit romance with the daughter of the villa owner at the time, but this can no longer be proven. In 1962, a former Nazi judge who committed suicide died in “Haus Fühlingen”. He had lived in the villa with his wife.
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These true, dramatic events later attracted numerous ghost hunters and horror fans to the site. Again and again there were reports of inexplicable lights, ghost sightings or other supposedly supernatural events. It is understandable that in the midst of the overgrown, dilapidated villa ruins such experiences suddenly no longer seem so absurd.
What will become of “Haus Fühlingen”?
Actually, everything should have looked tidy and elegant here long ago: In 2004, the German Property Group, a group of investors, bought the villa and wanted to develop luxury apartments here in accordance with the monument protection. However, the city of Cologne disapproved of a first construction plan and was rejected. Since then: silence.
What the investor is planning for the unique building, whether he is planning anything at all, is an open question. But the residents who live around the decaying villa care deeply about the “Haus Fühlingen” – they are afraid that it will collapse completely if someone who really has a heart for the house does not take care of it soon.