Living in Buchforst, Cologne

Buchforst sits on the right bank of the Rhine in the Mülheim Stadtbezirk. Buchheim lies to the east, Kalk to the south, Mülheim to the west and north. Its boundaries are almost entirely infrastructure: a federal road along the southern side and railway lines on all the others. Around seven thousand people live in its 0.83 square kilometres, which makes it one of the smallest and, by density, one of the more tightly built Stadtteile in Cologne.

What it is

A twentieth-century invention. The area was woodland and open ground until the 1920s, when Cologne built two housing estates on it that still define the place. The Blauer Hof went up between 1926 and 1927 and the Weiße Stadt between 1929 and 1932, both designed by Wilhelm Riphahn and Caspar Maria Grod - the same partnership responsible for the Catholic church of St. Petrus Canisius here. They are classic examples of German inter-war social housing: long horizontal blocks, flat roofs, balconies, green courtyards between the rows, light and air as an explicit design principle. Both were placed on the monument list as a group in 1988, which means the fabric is protected. The rest of the Stadtteil is post-war blocks and small-scale infill. On the southern edge rises the Kalkberg, an artificial hill left by industry that looks out over the whole right bank.

Who lives here

A modest, mixed, long-settled population: skilled workers, pensioners in flats their families have held for decades, a substantial immigrant community, and young households who worked out that a listed 1920s flat with an S-Bahn station at the end of the road costs less here than a plain post-war flat on the left bank. It is a family district more than a student one, but shared flats exist and turnover is real. Nobody moves to Buchforst for the address, which is precisely why it stays affordable.

What it's like during the day

Calm, green between the buildings, and small enough to cross in ten minutes. The estates have courtyards and mature trees, and the traffic stays on the through roads at the edges. There is no shopping street of any size - a scattering of supermarkets, bakeries and small shops serves the daily needs and everything else is one stop away. Because the boundaries are railway lines and a trunk road, the district feels enclosed: you do not drift into the neighbouring Stadtteile by accident, you cross a bridge or an underpass to get there.

What it's like in the evening

Very quiet. There is no nightlife here, only a handful of corner bars and takeaways. What Buchforst has instead is two ways out that both run late: line 3 into the centre and the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof. Mülheim, immediately north, has the nearest concentration of bars and restaurants; Deutz and the Altstadt are a short ride. The streets inside the estates are residential and settled after dark rather than lively.

Getting around

For a small Stadtteil, the connections are unusually good. Köln-Buchforst station, opened in 1990, is served by S-Bahn lines S6 and S11, which run to the Hauptbahnhof by way of Köln Messe/Deutz in a few minutes and out to Essen and to Düsseldorf and Bergisch Gladbach in the other directions. Stadtbahn line 3 stops at Waldecker Straße and runs west through the Stegerwaldsiedlung, Koelnmesse and Bahnhof Deutz to Severinstraße, Poststraße, Neumarkt, Appellhofplatz and Friesenplatz - about a quarter of an hour to the centre. Eastwards line 3 continues through Buchheim and Holweide to Dellbrück and Thielenbruch. Being on the right bank, everything westward depends on a bridge or the rail tunnel; when the tram is disrupted, the S-Bahn is the fallback, which is a genuine advantage over most right-bank districts.

Eating and shopping

Basic and sufficient. There are supermarkets, discounters and bakeries within the district and immediately over its boundaries, plus small greengrocers and Imbiss counters. There is no market square and no restaurant scene of note. For a proper choice you go north to Mülheim, which has the nearest full high street and the biggest range of Turkish and Middle Eastern food on this side of the river, or south to Kalk for the largest shopping concentration on the right bank. Both are a few minutes away.

When NOT to pick it

Do not pick it if you want street life, restaurants or a high street inside the neighbourhood - Buchforst has none of them, and the enclosure by railway lines makes that more noticeable than the map suggests. Do not pick it if you want to be near the university or the student districts, which are on the far side of the river. Do not pick it if you want a big park at the door, since the green here is courtyard green. If you want more life and more shops for a similar rent, look north to Mülheim; if you want the largest retail and transport hub on the right bank, look south to Kalk; if you want to stay right-bank with better bars and a riverside, look at Deutz.

Buchforst is the right choice if you want a quiet, protected, architecturally serious 1920s flat at a low rent, with an S-Bahn station and a tram line that both reach the centre in about a quarter of an hour. For commuters, for people who work at the trade fair or in Deutz, and for anyone who values a solid connection over a lively street, it is one of the most underrated small Stadtteile in Cologne.