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Cologne is facing a huge evacuation: three bombs have to be defused!
On June 2, 2025, three World War II bombs will be defused in Cologne-Deutz, leading to a large-scale evacuation.
Cologne is facing a huge evacuation: three bombs have to be defused!
In Cologne, the impending defusal of three World War II bombs paralyzes the city center and forces numerous people to evacuate. On Wednesday, June 4, 2025, two American 20 quintal bombs and a 10 quintal bomb that were discovered in Cologne-Deutz on Monday are to be defused. The background to this measure is the fact that Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities during the Second World War. This is now known to many, because according to n-tv it is one of the largest evacuations in recent years.
Around 20,000 people have to leave their homes, including residents of 58 hotels and accommodation providers as well as some municipal facilities, such as the Eduardus Hospital and two care facilities. A number of museums, including the Museum Ludwig and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, are not averse to their fate. Although Cologne Cathedral is just outside the evacuation area, Cologne's old town and Deutz are also directly affected.
RTL and ntv at new locations
The media landscape in Cologne is also affected. The RTL Deutschland broadcasting center in Cologne-Deutz is in the evacuation area and the team is therefore forced to work from the mobile office during the defusing. The daily magazines “Point 6” and “Point 7” in particular have to get creative in these times and are broadcast live from Cologne-Deutz. “Point 8”, however, is not applicable because the building must be evacuated by 8 a.m. All other programs such as “Point 12”, “RTL aktuell” and “Nachtjournal” will be relocated to the capital studio in Berlin, as DWDL also states.
The employees had to go through a similar scenario in April 2024, when a previous bomb defusal required an evacuation of the site. The reporting for the news channel ntv will also be changed on Wednesday, with the current reports being produced from Cologne-Ossendorf from 7 a.m.
Evacuation measures and traffic disruptions
The evacuation measures are comprehensive: a radius of 1,000 meters around the site has been set and is secured with roadblocks. This also includes three important bridges over the Rhine, the Severins Bridge, the Deutzer Bridge and the Hohenzollern Bridge, which will be closed to traffic. Train traffic to the main station and various KVB lines are also severely affected.
The city of Cologne is pulling out all the stops to ensure the safety of citizens during defusing. Information about the upcoming road closures and other traffic disruptions will be communicated via the city of Cologne. A contact point will be announced on Tuesday and an FAQ will be made available on the City of Cologne website.
As the city itself explains, such bomb disposals in Cologne are not an isolated case. But the scale of the current evacuation measure is enormous and raises questions: How long will the closures last? And what happens next for those affected? For many, everyday planning is in jeopardy. Let’s stay tuned for developments!