Germany Bombs in Cologne defused after major evacuation
After the largest evacuation operation in Cologne since the Second World War, explosive ordnance disposal experts have defused three large unexploded bombs. This was announced by the city. By 7.19 p.m., specialists from the explosive ordnance clearance service had rendered all the bombs harmless.
04.06.2025, 20:03
SDA
Roads and bridges are now gradually being reopened and residents can return to their homes. Traffic disruptions are to be expected for a while yet.
Cologne's Lord Mayor Henriette Reker thanked all those involved "who carried out the largest evacuation operation in Cologne since 1945 with such outstanding professionalism".
Previously, more than 20,000 people had had to leave their homes in a 1,000-meter area around the site in the Deutz district. Several large companies, nine schools and 58 hotels were also affected.
Because the Hohenzollern Bridge at Cologne Cathedral, Germany's busiest railroad bridge, was also closed, rail traffic across the Rhine to Cologne Central Station came to a standstill.
A denier
A resident in Cologne's old town refused to leave his apartment, delaying the start of the defusing operation. Finally, a person in Deutz also had to be brought to safety.
In the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia, 1,500 to 2,000 bombs from the Second World War are found every year, of the large caliber like the one now in Cologne around 200 per year. There were two 20-centner bombs and one ten-centner bomb, both with detonators.
A hospital, two retirement and nursing homes, many museums and the RTL television station were located in the exclusion zone. The Cologne-Messe/Deutz train station was also closed.
Shipping on the Rhine also had to be temporarily suspended. Even the airspace had to be closed for the duration of the defusing operation. The evacuation turned the city of Cologne into a ghost town.
Three aerial bombs discovered
Three American aerial bombs from the Second World War had been discovered on the banks of the Rhine, on the right bank. Roadblocks had been set up around the restricted area on both sides of the Rhine since 8.00 am.
Employees of the public order office checked street by street, house by house. The television station RTL broadcast temporarily from the outskirts of Cologne-Ossendorf and from Berlin.
The Lanxess Arena had to postpone a performance by comedian Tedros "Teddy" Teclebrhan until Sunday, and the Philharmonie had to cancel a concert by the WDR Symphony Orchestra. Couples who wanted to get married in the historic town hall had to move to the less glamorous Cologne-Porz for their wedding.
Center was closed
The closure of the center of Germany's fourth largest city with a total population of 1.1 million spread far into the surrounding area. Many residents had driven to family or friends outside the exclusion zone - often with emergency luggage in the trunk, as no one could tell them when they would be allowed back into their homes.
Two explosive ordnance disposal experts were tasked with defusing the three bombs one after the other. In the end, they were quicker than expected. Instead of the minimum of one and a half hours - half an hour per bomb had been estimated - they had completed their work after just one hour.
Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities of the Second World War. Like the neighboring main railway station, Cologne Cathedral was just outside the exclusion zone.
