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Photo: Wolfgang Heep/DOMiD-Archive, Cologne

In the Heart of Europe

A Nationwide Lighthouse Project

Commissioned by DOMiD and funded by the federal government, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Cologne, a symbolic museum for our migration society will be built in Cologne-Kalk in the coming years. There it will be shown how migration has inscribed itself in German history and shapes our society today.

The project is anchored in the German government's National Action Plan for Integration in order to "honor Germany's cultural wealth, which is also owed to immigrants." The patron of the museum building project is former Bundestag President Prof. Dr. Rita Süßmuth.

Location – A Place for History, Present, and Future

"Some of our association members get a twinkle in their eye when they enter this hall. It brings back memories, because some of them have even worked in this place."

(Dr. Robert Fuchs, Managing Director DOMiD)

Köln-Kalk – Nur zosamme sin mer Veedel!

Cologne has been shaped by migration for over 2,000 years. Every person who has come and gone to the metropolis on the Rhine brings something new with them and leaves their mark. This diversity can be experienced, among other places, in the district of Kalk on the right bank of the Rhine. All those who work and live here have different migration histories – or not. They make Kalk a dynamic, creative, lively, versatile and changeable place. As a microcosm, Kalk is representative of the nationwide migration society. As a cultural and meeting place, the "House of the Immigration Society" would like to work together with the people of the Veedel to let Kalk grow together as a place for culture and encounter: because nur zosamme sin mer Veedel!

Hall 70

The "House of the Immigration Society" is being built on the former factory premises of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG (KHD) in a disused industrial hall (Hall 70 on the "Hallen Kalk" site). It is located on Dillenburger Strasse and covers a gross floor area of around 10,000 square meters. Together with the adjacent Hall 71 - both halls were built between 1913 and 1916 - they used to serve as production and assembly halls. For DOMiD and the "House of Immigration Society", this location has a special significance: the former industrial halls have always been characterized by labor and also forced migration in the course of their history. In addition, some members of the association worked there in the 1970s.

Community–Oriented Area

The former KHD production site in Cologne-Kalk, which was used for the manufacture of industrial equipment for over a hundred years, now has a high potential for revitalization due to its partly unused factory halls and fallow open spaces. A feasibility study conducted by the City of Cologne with the participation of citizens has defined the future development as being oriented toward the common good. Numerous initiatives and associations - including DOMiD - are committed to revitalizing the area and have joined forces in the "Akteurskonferenz Hallen Kalk". As a cultural and meeting place with many green and recreational areas, the site is to revitalize the south of Kalk and offer the urban community even more quality of life.

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