Jürgen Becker visits his childhood: Memories in Zollstock!

Jürgen Becker visits his childhood: Memories in Zollstock!

When you stroll along the streets in Zollstock, you will pass the striking places, tell the stories of contemporary witnesses. Jürgen Becker, a real Cologne veteran, has decided to explore this special district in a nostalgic way. His journey begins at Kröver Straße 1, where he lived with his family as a child on the third floor until they moved to the row houses after the war. "Here I spent my childhood, always with the matchbox cars in the mud," Becker recalls with a smile. The workshops behind the Höninger Weg were particularly impressed by him, and on his forays he meets old neighbors and inquires about the motorcyclist Reinhard Scholtis, who also grew up here in the area and is now 92 years old.

The interest in Scholtis is no coincidence: the legendary racing driver goes back to the 1960s when he earned his first spores in motorsport. "I remember the stories of his appearances on the old south loop of the Nürburgring," says Becker. Scholtis opens the door to his apartment and proudly presents the trophies and pictures from his active time while he talks about his success. Reinhard Scholtis, who started to tune motorcycles after his journeyman examination in 1958, quickly became a popular driver-he held several round records, including one on the Nürburgring-Südschleife. As Becker emphasized, he achieved these successes "with a portion of sweat and a good dose of passion".

The memories of motorsport

In school days Becker combined a lot with the Rosenzweigschule and had the flag of joy over school trips to the Zollstocker Hof. Today, when looking at the settlement architecture from the 20s and 1950s, he particularly appreciates the variety of types. In particular, he likes to call the commercial settlement on Höninger Weg "Favelas"-a mixture of history and urban life. Motorcycle passion has also found a place in Becker's life, because it had his Minsk converted to an electric drive from 1955 and is impressed by the work of a local car painter.

Scholtis' Werdegang is an exciting history of motorsport. After completing his first races - the first of them on the old south loop of the Nürburgring, where he took 5th place - he quickly developed. He experimented with various engines, set up round records and became one of the first Kawasaki dealers in Germany. "When I think of the exciting races and how the technology has changed in recent decades, I get warm," emphasizes the passionate biker.

nostalgic recommendations and plans

Becker, who is a founding ideas and for over a decade, moderated the midnight tip, now a tour to Hamburg is planning with its program "Your Disco History in Panels". He brings the Cologne charm to the Hanseatic city and has some recommendations for the neighborhood. Whether the Café Lilofee in the Indian settlement or the crepe-booth is happy to recommend the local shops and cafés and shows that modern trends also count alongside the history of the district.

Becker and Scholtis are living witnesses of a story that goes back to a different time and reflects the development of Zollstock in all their facets. Whether in the workshop or on the race track - they show that passion always has a place, regardless of age you are.

Read more about Jürgen Becker and his experiences in Zollstock on ksta.de More about the motorsport legend Reinhard Scholtis on mvc-brenig.de . Further interesting information on the history of motorsport offers Motorsportarchiv.de .