Kiosk in Bockum-Hövel: demolition of an iconic drinking hall is imminent!

Kiosk in Bockum-Hövel: demolition of an iconic drinking hall is imminent!

in the city of Hamm, more precisely in Bockum-Hövel, threatens a historically shaped kiosk building. The Büdchen, located on Berliner Strasse, which was built in the 1920s and was known until recently under the name "Alex Steinbude", has been empty since the end of 2021. The city administration now plans to demolish the dilapidated building, since there is no interest in reuse and the condition of the kiosk is generally badly assessed.

The kiosk building is not just a simple building, but part of the drinking hall culture for which the Ruhr area is known. These small meeting points not only offer drinks and snacks, but also social interactions: people come together to exchange ideas and enjoy their free time. The closure of the Büdchen means not only the loss of a building, but also the end of a social end of work.

The struggle for preservation

The local home care worker Günter Bachtrop has lively memories of the attempts to save the Büdchen in the past. The city already planned the demolition due to the poor condition in 1992, but the population was upset. Erwin Misauer, then SPD district representative, organized a resistance movement and invited the parliamentary groups to a meeting in the kiosk, where the "Rütlischwur" was stored-a humorous pact to preserve the booth for the following generations. This persistence ultimately led to the renovation of the kiosk, which received 20,000 marks for new toilets and a roof.

But times change. The Büdchen, who have gradually appeared in Bockum-Hövel around 1905 since the opening of the Radbod colliery around 1905, are increasingly under pressure. Super markets and petrol stations with their long opening times are heavily adding the small kiosks. According to Bachtrop, who spent a lot of time in these meeting points, these boys are still important social locations. "You meet here," he says. Like a small Facebook, where you can chat with a "Pilsken".

Planning for the future

While the city of Hamm decides to tear down the Büdchen, no direct plans for reuse of the site are yet known. So far, the city has received no inquiries about continuation or alternative use of the small building. So the step to demolition is imminent, but the exact execution is still unclear. "The time of the demolition and the perspective of reuse has not yet been decided," said the city administration. This aspect remains to be seen, since the social and cultural value of these places is undisputed in the population.

The history of the kiosk in Bockum-Hövel stands symptomatically for the fate of many such restaurants in the Ruhr area. It becomes clear that the times of the small drinking halls, which once played a central role in urban life, tend to end unless there is a rethink in perception and support measures for these places of worship.

Further insights into the kioskulture and the latest developments on this topic are here at www.wa.de