New Altstadt Managers Present Ideas Why wine could flow in Königswinter's Sea Life in future

Königswinter · The two new Altstadt managers for Königswinter, Ulrich Keinath and Hans-Helmut Schild, are off to a good start: only a few days in office, they have come up with an idea for what could become of the former Sea Life.

 A wine experience centre modelled on the Rhine Wine World in Rüdesheim could move into the former Sea Life in Königswinter.

A wine experience centre modelled on the Rhine Wine World in Rüdesheim could move into the former Sea Life in Königswinter.

Foto: Frank Homann

The two new managers of the Altstadt, Ulrich Keinath and Hans-Helmut Schild, have come up with their own proposal for the re-use of the Sea Life Centre, which will be closed at the end of the year. They want to create a wine experience world with a museum character in the large aquarium, whose building will be transferred to the city of Königswinter on Saturday, 1 April.

Former Sea Life area as a beacon project for the Altstadt

"We would like to enter the race with this idea," said Ulrich Keinath at an event of the Königswinter Green Party on Thursday evening in the Eselstall. There he introduced himself and the work of his communications and urban development agency Projekt2508, which has just been awarded the contract in a Europe-wide bidding process to be the new Altstadt manager.

To revitalise the district, their first priority is to revitalise the currently empty former Sea Life building. "We need a quick decision from the politicians. A tourist attraction should be created here," Keinath had already said a week ago at the presentation of the new Altstadt managers. He would prefer that the politicians make a decision as early as May. However, the recently decided expression of interest procedure does not provide for that. According to it, the expressions of interest are not to be submitted until August or September.

As the future managers of the Altstadt, they had given a lot of thought to the future of the building, Keinath said now. It is a stroke of luck that the building will belong to the city as of 1 April. The use of the building as a large aquarium had not convinced him in the past. "It looked to me like a UFO that landed here." A use in connection with wine would fit much better into the city. Wine has been grown here since 1696, and in the 19th century there were still 30 wineries in Königswinter. Today there are still four winegrowers. The town twinning with Cognac also underpins the wine tradition.

Building on the banks of the Rhine could retain its basic structure

The existing building could continue to be used after conversions, which would be a sustainable solution. "We could keep the basic structure of the building almost the same," Keinath said. In addition, he said, building materials such as wood and stone would be used. A wine experience path could lead through the former large aquarium in the future, where visitors could learn about the wines of the Middle Rhine.

Several museum points could round off the whole thing. The interesting design of the exhibition should appeal to the senses of smell, sight, hearing and taste. A model for the wine tasting could be the RheinWeinWelt in Rüdesheim, where the wines of 76 vintners from the Middle Rhine can be tasted since 2017. The former listed building of the former Asbach Uralt distillery, in which there is also hardly any daylight, certainly resembles the aquarium in Königswinter.

Elements of the wine experience world in Königswinter are to be a self-sufficient wine tasting with wines from the Middle Rhine, a room for wine tastings for groups, plus museums on the themes of wine and the Siebengebirge, a shop and a wine bar with an outdoor terrace. Keinath and Schild see groups who like wine tasting as an important target group for their project.

There is enough space in the former shark tank for such an offer. Simple dishes could also be served there from the kitchen. "There are many requests there that could not be served so far," said Keinath. In general, Königswinter should play the wine theme better than before. For younger guests, the Wein-Erlebniswelt wants to offer a separate children's track.

In addition to group tours, Keinath sees excursionists from Bonn, the Rhine-Sieg district and beyond to Düsseldorf as further target groups. But he also wants to reach tourists and international visitors attending conferences, as well as guests of companies or associations. "The problem so far is that potential target groups do not go shopping or to restaurants in Königswinter. Therefore, our mantra is to find a tourist attraction for the Altstadt," says Keinath.

Cooperative could support wine experience world

As a form of organisation, the two Altstadt managers are striving for a cooperative in which citizens, companies or interest groups can participate. Very important: A visit to the world of experience should not cost an entrance fee. The entire turnover is to be generated in the building. In Rüdesheim, for example, you can buy coins to participate in the wine tasting.

With regard to the financing of the project, it is assumed that the operation could be largely self-supporting. In the run-up to the 2029 Federal Horticultural Show on the upper Middle Rhine, however, they would like to generate funding for the conversion of the building and the exhibition, for example. Under the project name "Gateway to the Middle Rhine" under the auspices of the Rhine-Sieg district, the region "Around the Siebengebirge and the Drachenfels" is to be structurally further developed. "In initial talks, the funders found our idea exciting," says Keinath.

In the project with the working title "Gateway to the Middle Rhine", various projects are to be initiated on the topics of landscape, mobility, climate change and sustainability. In a first step, a concept is currently being developed for which the Rhine-Sieg District wants to get the municipalities of the region, the districts of Ahrweiler and Neuwied, the beautification association for the Siebengebirge and the Cologne/Bonn Region Association on board.

(Original text: Hansjürgen Melzer; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort