• ... shows Haus Grenzwacht just a few days after its opening on February 17, 1932.
• Today, Haus Grenzwacht is one of the largest administrative buildings in Aachen. When the building was planned in 1923, it was intended to house the Belgian occupation administration.
• The construction project attracted nationwide attention, as it was one of the first high-rise buildings in Germany to be built using steel skeleton construction.

The Aachen City Archive regularly presents interesting items from its stacks as Archive of the Month. The item with a short accompanying text is presented in a display case in the foyer of the city archive on Reichsweg as well as digitally on the archive's homepage. In February 2025, the Archivale of the month shows Haus Grenzwacht just a few days after its opening on February 17, 1932.

Haus Grenzwacht at Aachen's main railway station was opened 95 years ago on Valentine's Day. Today, it is one of the largest administrative buildings in Aachen. When the building was planned in 1923, it was intended to house the Belgian occupation administration, but the completion of the spectacular building at the time was repeatedly delayed.

Support from the German government
The German government was to support the construction work financially, as the accommodation of Belgian occupying forces was a direct consequence of the German defeat in the First World War. The first design by Theodor Veil, Professor of Architecture at the RWTH, was only pursued until the excavation pit was completed in the summer of 1924. When it became clear that funding from the Reich would not be forthcoming, the construction site was put on hold for the time being.

An investor was needed and was soon found in the Aachen building contractor Rudolf Lochner. Lochner bought the excavation pit and the project; his Lochner'sche Bauunternehmungs AG was to continue the construction. Lochner had Emil Fahrenkamp, Professor of Architecture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, revise Veil's plans. Construction was resumed in mid-1925.

Construction halted again
The construction project attracted attention throughout Germany, as it was one of the first high-rise buildings in Germany to be built with a steel skeleton. The steel skeleton was completed in 1925, but construction was then halted again: more steel had to be used than originally planned and the cost increases led to a renewed halt in construction. It would take until October 1927 before a new investor could be found in the Essen-based construction company Hochtief.

Hochtief commissioned the Aachen-born architect Jakob Koerfer to revise the plans again. Among other things, a cinema hall was added, an extension was added to the north side and the long building was raised by one storey, whereby these parts of the building were now constructed as a reinforced concrete skeleton. Construction work on the building called Haus Grenzwacht continued in April 1929 and was completed in February 1930.

"Restaurant Grenzwacht"
The archive photo of the month shows Haus Grenzwacht just a few days after its opening on February 17, 1932. The photographer is looking across Römerstraße towards Bahnhofsplatz and Haus Grenzwacht on Hackländerstraße. The main railway station can also be seen on the right-hand side of the picture. A sign reading "Restaurant Grenzwacht" is attached to the first floor façade of the Grenzwacht building. The paving of Römerstraße and Bahnhofplatz can be seen in the foreground. The photographer was Peter Gatzweiler, then technical city secretary and later master builder, an employee of the municipal building department.