"Tatort" in the check Why is Cologne's TV tower empty?
Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt, right) and Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär) take a look at their Cologne from above from the TV tower.
Image: WDR/Sandra Stein
In "Tatort: Colonius", chief detectives Ballauf and Schenk have to deal with the techno scene of 1993.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Scene photographer Alex Schmitz (Sven Gerhardt) is dead. Forensic pathologist Dr. Roth (Joe Bausch, right) examines the body.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Christian Kohlheim (Thomas Loibl, left) and René Horvath (Andreas Pietschmann) no longer get on as well as they used to.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
In the 1990s, Meike (Karoline Eichhorn) liked to go out partying all night with her best friend Gina. But at some point, Gina simply disappeared ...
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Gina (Emma Bading, left) and Meike Bennis (Sinje Irslinger) finally want to let it rip again on the first party night after Gina gave birth to her baby.
Image: WDR/Sandra Stein
When her mother Gina disappeared, Svenja Kohlheim (Vanessa Loibl, right) was still a baby. Meike Bennis (Karoline Eichhorn, left) was Gina's best friend at the time.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Gina (Emma Bading) and René (Sebastian Schneider) talk at a Colonius party in 1993.
Image: © WDR/Sandra Stein
Freddy Schenk was already on duty in and around the Colonius Tower 30 years ago. Now the janitor (Gerd Köster, left) shows him what the now disused building looks like today.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt, right) and Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär) take a look at their Cologne from above from the TV tower.
Image: WDR/Sandra Stein
In "Tatort: Colonius", chief detectives Ballauf and Schenk have to deal with the techno scene of 1993.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Scene photographer Alex Schmitz (Sven Gerhardt) is dead. Forensic pathologist Dr. Roth (Joe Bausch, right) examines the body.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Christian Kohlheim (Thomas Loibl, left) and René Horvath (Andreas Pietschmann) no longer get on as well as they used to.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
In the 1990s, Meike (Karoline Eichhorn) liked to go out partying all night with her best friend Gina. But at some point, Gina simply disappeared ...
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Gina (Emma Bading, left) and Meike Bennis (Sinje Irslinger) finally want to let it rip again on the first party night after Gina gave birth to her baby.
Image: WDR/Sandra Stein
When her mother Gina disappeared, Svenja Kohlheim (Vanessa Loibl, right) was still a baby. Meike Bennis (Karoline Eichhorn, left) was Gina's best friend at the time.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
Gina (Emma Bading) and René (Sebastian Schneider) talk at a Colonius party in 1993.
Image: © WDR/Sandra Stein
Freddy Schenk was already on duty in and around the Colonius Tower 30 years ago. Now the janitor (Gerd Köster, left) shows him what the now disused building looks like today.
Image: WDR/Martin Valentin Menke
When a grandiose party location in party-loving Cologne closes down, it calls for a crime thriller 30 years later. "Tatort: Colonius" returns to the year 1994 and brings the 266-metre-high television tower back to life.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Up in the air: In "Tatort: Colonius", Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt) and Schenk (Dietmar Bär) investigate at a height of 266 meters - on the Cologne television tower.
- A techno clique used to hang out there in the 1990s, until one of the members disappeared without a trace. When a scene photographer is found dead, old wounds come to light again.
- In "Tatort", the TV tower is the secret star, but in reality it has been closed since 1999. The reasons: low profitability and a lack of fire protection.
The fascination of the TV tower. In the middle of Cologne stands a so-called "lost place". The "Colonius" television tower in the Rhine metropolis is the tallest building in the city at 266 meters. However, it has not been open to the public since 1999.
WDR succeeded in filming its "Tatort: Colonius", which takes place on two time levels, entirely at the original locations, i.e. in and on the tower.
But why has the iconic building, which housed a cool club and restaurant until 1994, actually closed? Are there any plans to reopen the "Colonius"? And what are the premises still used for today?
What was "Tatort: Colonius" about?
In "Tatort ", investigators Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär) and Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt) had to solve the murder of a former scene photographer, dealer and party stallion who was found dead in his Cologne apartment. The man had recently done a lot of research into his old techno clique.
Now the victim's three party friends had to turn up at the police station: the hip, young-at-heart trendy restaurateur Renè Horvath (Andreas Pietschmann), Meike Bennis (Karoline Eichhorn), who works in the art world, and the middle-class Christian Kohlheim (Thomas Loibl).
Christian was a young father at the time, his daughter Swenja (Vanessa Loibl) had just turned 30 and her mother Gina (Emma Bading in flashbacks), Christian's girlfriend, disappeared without a trace during one of the last party nights at the Colonius.
For Christian, Swenja and the whole group, this disappearance was a traumatizing experience. Did an overburdened young mother run off? Or was she murdered too?
What was it really about?
Of course, the location of the crime thriller written by Cologne-based screenwriting couple Eva and Volker A. Zahn is the secret protagonist. Nevertheless, the story told on two time levels - with different actors - is also strong.
Volker A. Zahn says of his screenplay: "Among other things, we talk about loss of control, drugs, fragile friendships, falling in love and the sometimes toxic dynamics within a clique. In other words, things that occur in every youth culture, where intoxication and debauchery play a major role."
Psychologically, it is about the disappearance of a loved one. The friends process it differently. "Time can supposedly heal wounds," says Eva Zahn.
And continues: "But can it really? And what happens to the guilt that someone brings upon themselves? Does it diminish just because a younger self was responsible for the crime? Can a decent life afterwards make up for everything? Or does a lived lie become more and more monstrous because it has serious consequences?"
Why was the "Colonius" closed down?
The dates in the movie are correct: From 1994, no tenant could be found for the restaurant and discotheque in the "Colonius", so the amusements in the tower came to an end. Apparently, they were no longer economically lucrative for the operators.
The complete closure followed in 1999. The viewing platform also had to close. The reason given was a lack of fire protection: there was no second escape route as there was only one staircase and the elevators could not be used in the event of a fire.
Despite the fact that the building has now been sleeping beauty for 26 years, efforts are being made to use it again. The city of Cologne has commissioned a feasibility study for the renovation and is considering registering the building, which was completed in 1981, as a (walk-in) architectural monument. However, the renovation is expected to cost 60 million euros. A lot of money for a city with tight budgets.
There is a clear desire to reopen the "Colonius" among the city and population, but it is unlikely to be realized in the short term.
Why are television towers still needed today?
In the past - as the name suggests - television towers broadcast terrestrial television and radio signals. Older people remember how people used to turn antennas on the roof of their house or on the television set itself in order to enjoy better reception and a sharper picture.
Those days are gone now that TV signals are mainly distributed via satellites and underground cables. In addition, Internet-based television (IPTV), streaming services and digital television via the Internet are playing an increasingly important role.
Nevertheless, other television towers in major German cities are still doing jobs that go beyond those of a visitor and viewing platform.
They have been converted for DVB-T2 and transmit digital TV signals. They also serve as important broadcasting stations for radio signals. They are also used to transmit mobile phone signals.
What's next for Cologne's "Tatort"?
Filming for "Tatort: Die Schöpfung", the 94th case involving Ballauf and Schenk, ended in September 2024.
Filming took place at the Cologne Opera House - another case with a special location. The film was directed by Torsten C. Fischer and the script was written by Wolfgang Stauch.
The plot also sounds promising: in the middle of rehearsals for the first premiere of the new season, the production's set designer is found shot dead in the opera house. And it doesn't stop with this one corpse ...
