Forever lost?
In plain sight and ever-present, so close and yet unapproachable,
meaningful and empty,
at the entrance to Kirchberg: Villa Buth.
Its appearance ghostly,
its history tangled, dark and mysterious.
It thrones above the wall, radiating and magnetising. Closed off, unwelcoming, cold. Polarising its existence.
Villa Buth must be preserved.
Villa Buth is a silent witness.
It embodies pain and shame,
and raises uncomfortable questions.
It holds great potential,
if we let it tell its story.
Demolishing it would be a missed chance.
Get to know Villa Buth a bit better!
Villa Buth has stood at the entrance to Jülich Kirchberg since 1893. The sense of emptiness that pervades it today is a relatively recent phenomenon. Built to reflect the industrial grandeur , it has always been a defining feature of the town. Its continuous use as a residential building was interrupted by a dark chapter during the Second World War. In 1941–42, Jewish men and women were interned in the building before being deported to concentration and extermination camps in July 1942. Most of its inmates did not survive. The building has stood empty since the early 2000s and has been left to fall into disrepair. The owner has applied to have it removed from the list of heritage sites and to have it demolished. [1, 2]
Villa Buth must be preserved, because:
In place, the narrative of history takes on a personal dimension. Scenes from interviews with eyewitnesses can be re-enacted, and their stories can continue to be told vividly even after their deaths. The building speaks its own distinct language, which cannot be replaced by the creation of a memorial site on the grounds without preserving the villa, as proposed by the owner. [3]
villa-buth.de reveals what architecture has to tell us when we look closely, and why preserving Villa Buth is so important.
We aim to demonstrate how history can be experienced spatially on site. In order to do so we present the villa, the surrounding wall and the park. The website was created as part of the Master’s theses in Architecture entitled ‘Villa Buth digital – History and Future of an Uncomfortable Legacy’ at the Chair of Architectural History at RWTH Aachen University from September 2025 to February 2026.
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[1] B. Giesen, „Der Villa Buth droht der Abriss: Frühere Fabrikantenvilla soll aus der Denkmalliste gestrichen werden. Haus hatte in der NS-Zeit besondere Bedeutung.,“ Dürener Zeitung, 18. Dezember 2023. Zugriff am: 29. April 2025.
[2] T. Ohrndorf und I. Gedig, Hg. Villa Buth: Zwischenstation zum Holocaust, 2. Aufl. (Veröffentlichungen des Jülicher Geschichtsvereins 1923 e.V. 22). Ammianus Verlag, 2024.
[3] B. Giesen, „Für Hellmuth Eichhorn ist Abriss der Villa Buth „alternativlos“: Der Eigentümer der alten Fabrikantenvilla bezieht in der Diskussion um den Erhalt des Gebäudes erstmals öffentlich Stellung. Er schlägt einen Erinnerungsort ohne das Gebäude vor.,“ Dürener Zeitung, 20. Juni 2024.
