Rothenburgsort: Kaltehofe

The subarea known as Kaltehofe gives this part of Rothenburgsort a more precise local identity. It is best understood through the immediate combination of housing, everyday routes, nearby open space and the way local streets connect with the rest of the district. Treating Kaltehofe separately helps expose small-scale differences in urban form and daily life that are easily lost when Rothenburgsort is described only as one large area. Once a dense working-class and industrial district, it was heavily destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt with a more open post-war structure of apartment blocks, green spaces and infrastructure. Rothenburgsort’s special quality is its raw waterside and infrastructural character: post-war housing, industrial monuments, bridges, rivers and open land sit close to the inner city, creating a district that feels both central and separate, shaped as much by water and transport as by conventional streets.