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Past meets present
Past meets present
A journey through time on Mittlerer Berliner Strasse
With the project "Past meets present" we invite you on an exciting journey through time through the Mittlere Berliner Straße - directly on site and digitally experienceable.
On selected shop windows in the Mittlere Berliner Strasse QR codes attached. Scan the code with your smartphone and discover historical photos, exciting background information and short anecdotes about the respective locations.
This turns your stroll through the city into a lively history lesson - and you can experience how Gütersloh has changed over the course of time.
Behind each current photo you will find a historical view of the store. In addition, each store shown raises an interesting question. If you click on the small arrow below the picture, the answer will open. Have fun discovering!
Many thanks to the Gütersloh City Archive for their support. We are also pleased that we were able to use the estate of Ursula Langenkämper for our research - it was an important basis for much of the content shown.
How did a small farmhouse become one of the largest fashion stores in the city center?
The Jewish Gottschalk family once ran a textile store in the small farmhouse on Berliner Straße. After their expulsion, the Wiesenhöfer company took over the business before the Opitz department store was later established. Today, the store is home to a branch of Vero Moda and Jack&Jones.
The building is part of the office and commercial building at Berliner Strasse 26-28, which was built over several decades - in three construction phases between 1927 and 2006. Today, the approximately 1,900 m² space is mainly used by the Danish textile company Bestseller to which Vero Moda belongs. The lease has just been extended until the end of March 2031 - so fashion still has a permanent place here.
Sources:
- Book "Back then with us in Gütersloh" by Hagen Kraak, Fig.72
- Dekra Immobilien: News/Letting/ 04.06.2025
What did an oversized whistle have to do with sporting ambition?
In 1892, master wood turner Heinrich Friesenhausen from Gütersloh and his wife Anna initially opened a small store for pipes, tobacco products and umbrellas in the Ruhr area - more precisely in Altenessen. However, the economic upturn in the region did not bring the hoped-for success, so the couple returned to Gütersloh in the spring of 1893 and took over the property at Berliner Straße 25 from master bookbinder Thormann. Here, in the heart of the city, they continued to develop their business successfully.
Friesenhausen made many of the pipes he sold himself on the lathe. As an eye-catching advertising sign, he mounted an oversized Münsterland pipe above the store entrance - but this soon had to be removed as it was repeatedly misused as a horizontal bar by pupils from the nearby Evangelisch Stiftisches Gymnasium.
In 1912, the original Ackerbürgerhaus was replaced on the same site by a new Art Nouveau building, whose elegant façade still dominates the cityscape towards Kökerstraße to this day. The special ambience of the store still conveys a sense of the building's long history when you enter.
After the First World War, Heinrich Friesenhausen's nephew Leo Rascher-Friesenhausen joined the business and successfully expanded the range to include cigars and pipe tobacco. After joining the Ermuri merchants' association in 1933, Friesenhausen became one of the leading specialist tobacco stores in East Westphalia. The company has been run by the same family for four generations - currently by Christopher Rascher-Friesenhausen, who is continuing the tradition with great dedication.
Today, more than 130 years after it was founded, the traditional store still exists at the same location. With its original Art Nouveau interior, it is a living testimony to regional business tradition - and a real piece of living city history.
Sources:
- Book "Traditions in the Gütersloh District" by Monron Marketing Institute of N.Y., page. 42
- Carl Media "TRADE HOUSE OF DIVERSITY" by Ben Hensdiek
Why was the half-timbered house of the Müller butcher's shop moved back in 1966 and not simply rebuilt on the old site?
There was already a butcher's shop at Berliner Straße 184 b in 1783 - a long tradition that was relaunched in 1873 with butcher Fritz Kniepkamp. In 1932, Georg Müller, the grandfather of the current owner, took over the butcher's store and continued to run it. In 1966, the original half-timbered house was demolished and the new building was moved back slightly to eliminate a bend in the road and improve traffic flow. Today, Natur Metzgerei Müller is particularly well known for its homemade specialty: Silesian bratwurst, which is produced directly on site.
Sources
- Gütsel: Owner-managed retail business in Gütersloh: Fleischerei Müller from 11.01.2025
- Flyer "Die Mittlere Berliner Straße" from the Gütersloh City Museum, texts: Heinrich Lakämper-Lührs
Which two specialist stores with a shared façade shaped the cityscape in Berliner Strasse from 1966?
In 1966, two traditional Gütersloh specialist stores opened right next to each other in Berliner Straße: the Müller-Derigs butcher's shop at number 33 and the Schmäling bakery/pastry shop at number 35. Their uniform façade allowed the two stores to merge visually into a single unit - an image that many Gütersloh residents still remember today.
Café Schmäling in particular made its mark on the cityscape: a new, inviting café was created on the second floor with direct access via the spacious sales area on the first floor. The offer was impressive - in addition to an extensive range of sweet baked goods and over 45 types of bread, international delicacies were also sold.
Today, nothing is reminiscent of the smell of fresh bread rolls - since February 7, 2019, Smile Optik has been located here, the new chapter of a traditional location in the heart of Gütersloh's city center.
Sources
- Gütersloh City Archive, Ursela Langenkämper estate: Westfälische Zeitung September 24, 1966
- Smile Optik Gütersloh
How did a small watch store in Kökerstraße become one of the most striking buildings in Berliner Straße - and even the Gütersloh Gold Ducat?
In 1899, master watchmaker Heinrich Laumann opened a store for watches, goldware and optical articles at Kökerstrasse 293. After just twelve years, the premises were too small and so a new store was built at Berliner Straße 42. The façade with its ornately decorated bay windows was just as impressive as the spacious rear courtyards, which at the time were still home to fruit and vegetable gardens. At the time of construction, the building was surrounded by the half-timbered houses that characterized Gütersloh at the time.
After the death of Heinrich Laumann Senior in 1953, his son Heinrich continued to run the business together with his wife Margarete. Having been in business since 1947, they initially coped with the difficult post-war period by selling cookware. However, as the economy began to recover, people soon rediscovered their love of jewelry. Silver, gold-plated pieces with green stones and soon higher-quality jewelry expanded the range. The "joy of something special" became the guiding principle of the company.
When Heinrich Laumann died in 1993, he and Margarete had been running the business for 45 years. The Gütersloh gold ducat also dates from this time - a memento made of almost pure gold (986/1000), 20 millimeters in size and weighing 3.5 grams. With the Gütersloh coat of arms on one side and the towers of the Martin Luther and Apostle Churches on the other, it was intended as an exclusive souvenir, piece of jewelry or gift. The edition was limited, the exclusive sale was at Juwelier Laumann, and for 35 DM you could secure yourself a piece of Gütersloh history.
Bruno Laumann, the founder's grandson, had already set up his own goldsmith's shop in 1974. As a master goldsmith, he turned his attention to handmade jewelry and recognized early on the possibilities of platinum, which was still not widely used at the time. The "Collection N" - individual pieces of jewelry made from 750 gold and platinum - was created in collaboration with three master goldsmith friends.
Before April 2020, the building was home to "The Phone House" before the women's clothing store Liberty moved in. Liberty, founded in Lübbecke in 1976, operates over 100 stores nationwide. In Gütersloh, the company uses an area of around 66 square meters, which was designed in the typical Liberty style.
Today, Berliner Strasse 42 is a listed building and is considered one of the most striking old buildings in Gütersloh's pedestrian zone.
Sources
- Langenkämper estate: Neue Westfälische No. 265, Saturday, November 15, 1999
How did a small milliner's store become a modern fashion house with a pioneering role?
In October 1898, Adolfine Wörmann founded a store for women's hat fashion in Gütersloh. As a trained "milliner", she developed and produced her own hat collection directly on site. In the 1920s, the so-called "Umpresserei" was added to the production of exclusive hats - a factory building with warehouse and office was built behind the store specifically for this purpose.
The modern commercial building at Berliner Straße 43-45 was built in the 1930s. Eduard Keisinger, who later became Else Wörmann's husband, also joined the company as a businessman at that time. Else Wörmann managed the business through the difficult times of the Second World War and thus ensured the continued existence of the company.
Today, Modehaus Wörmann is run by the fourth generation. It was the first store in Berliner Strasse to be equipped with a mobile ramp with the support of the Dr. Salk Memorial Foundation for the Disabled - an early example of accessibility in retail.
Sources:
- Gütsel: Fashion house Wörmann
- Neue Westfälische "Mobile ramps to make it easier for wheelchair users to access stores" from 18.04.2018
- Book "Traditions in the Gütersloh District" by Monron Marketing Institute of N.Y., page. 42
After 100 years full of stories, which house on Berliner Strasse is now waiting for a new chapter?
The house at Berliner Strasse 44 has an eventful history. It originally bore the house numbers 192 and 332 before it hit the headlines in 1910 due to a devastating fire. Just one year later, in 1911, a new building was erected on the site, which soon became home to various families of craftsmen and tradesmen: Roggenkamps as carters, Raßfelds as merchants, Ueckmanns as bakers - and finally the Fricke family. Walter Fricke ran his bookbindery here, while Arnold Fricke supplied generations of Gütersloh residents with his paper and stationery store. The family dominated the townscape until 1969, before the building became "Schuh-Quelle", which existed until 1972.
After 1972, its use changed several times - like many city center buildings, no. 44 also experienced the structural changes in the retail trade. Today, the building is empty, but its façade is still a reminder of more than 100 years of city history. It is currently looking for new tenants - and perhaps someone will soon be writing the next chapter in this traditional location.
Sources
- Langenkämper estate: p.14
- Featured images: Gütersloh Marketing
What does the house at Berliner Strasse 46 tell us about Jewish life and urban trade in Gütersloh?
The house at Berliner Straße 46 has a long and eventful history dating back to the 18th century. In 1865, butcher Moses Wolf moved into the half-timbered house and opened his butcher's shop there. After moving to Osnabrück due to his age, his colleague Jacob Eichwald took over the business. He himself lived with his family at Hohenzollernstraße 1, while he continued to run the business in Berliner Straße.
In 1929, the old building was demolished and replaced by a new building. Kaiser's Kaffee-Geschäft opened a branch in this new building - a popular store selling coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, pralines, pastries, colonial goods and preserves. The store continued to be a lively part of the town's retail trade. It was damaged during the Second World War, but was repaired in 1945. An important place of remembrance is also located here: a stumbling block in front of the building commemorates Emma Löwenstein, who lived here during the National Socialist era and was later deported.
Sources
- Gütersloh City Archive, Ursela Langenkämper estate
- The bell "Well-known house in Gütersloh is for sale" from 20.11.2024
- City of Gütersloh "Stolpersteine in Gütersloh: Your name lives on". Page. 16/17
How does a building manage to become the lively center of the city over the decades, both as a hotel and as a restaurant location?
In the mid-1920s, Eduard and Lina Scheck fulfilled a great dream by opening their hotel in the city center. The "Hotel Scheck" quickly became a popular meeting place for Gütersloh's merchants and had a lasting impact on the cityscape. In 1940, Eduard Scheck handed over the management to his daughter Elisabeth and her husband Fritz Falkenreck.
After the Second World War, the hotel served as an English family hotel for members of the British soldiers stationed here until 1950. Between 1950 and 1966, the hotel was leased out before the use of the building changed in 1966: While the basement continued to be used as a restaurant, the upper floors were initially used as offices and later as apartments.
A special chapter in the history of the hotel is the "Scheck In" pub, which was opened by the great-grandson of the founder, Michael Falkenreck. Based on the original hotel, the "Scheck In" built on the traditional past and became a popular meeting place for young and old in Gütersloh. Before the "Scheck In" moved in, the Italian restaurateur Salvatore Liotta had run a pizzeria here for 15 years. As a result, the basement of the building remained a lively gastronomic venue for many decades.
The lingerie store Lascana later moved in before the optician Mister Spex took over the location in summer 2022 - and gave the traditional building a new use.
Sources:
- Gütersloh City Archive, Ursela Langenkämper estate: Neue Westfälische 12.05.1998
- Neue Westfälische "Europe's largest online optician moves into Gütersloh city center" from 09.02.2022
What connects a Jewish department store, a cattle dealer and seven elm trees in the middle of the city?
House numbers 48 and 50 in Berliner Straße tell several chapters of Gütersloh's history - from the early half-timbered houses to today's shopping street.
On the site of today's Berliner Strasse 48 once stood a half-timbered house that had been built before 1783. In 1872, it was acquired by the cattle dealer Adolf Wolfbefore it came into the possession of the shoemaker Franz Eberlein passed over. After the Second World War, the merchant Friedrich Tewesmeier rebuild the site. The building complex has been in its current form since 1984.
Right next to it, at the Berliner Strasse 50from 1913 to 1937 was home to the Eisenstein department store oHGwhich was developed by Benjamin and Emma Eisenstein was run. Up to twelve departments offered everything from fabrics and leather goods to toiletries.
Today, this building houses the branch of H&M.
The comprehensive redesign of Berliner Strasse, which was completed in October 2020, has given the area a completely new look: barrier-free crossings, modern lighting, new sidewalks and seven newly planted columnar elms significantly enhance the streetscape and increase the quality of stay for passers-by and customers.
Sources:
- City of Gütersloh "Stolpersteine in Gütersloh: Your name lives on". Page. 19/23
- City of Gütersloh "(Plus) dot landing: Berliner Straße is open after redesign"
Why did a jewelry company start making cutlery from gold coins over 200 years ago?
The oldest jewelry store in East Westphalia-Lippe has its home in Gütersloh and looks back on an impressive company history of 233 years - a sign of quality, tradition and genuine craftsmanship. The business was founded at Berliner Straße 10 before later moving to Berliner Straße 56. Only Krönig'sche Apotheke, which was founded in 1731, is even older and has therefore been at the location even longer. This makes the jewelry store even older than the town charter, which is being celebrated this year.
The document you see in the shop window is a so-called Privilegium - an official approval with which the company founder Louis Viemann was recognized as a gold and silver worker by Emil Friedrich Karl the First, Count of Bentheim-Tecklenburg, on 14 November 1792. This license was necessary in order to meet the demands of landowners and princes.
From around 1780, wealthy households replaced their simple wooden spoons with elaborately crafted cutlery made from melted gold coins to show off their wealth and emphasize their upscale lifestyle. Today, master goldsmith Frank Weidler, successor to his father Fritz, who died in 2022, no longer makes gold and silver cutlery from coins - and his clientele no longer includes landowners and princes. But the master craftsman still feels deeply committed to the traditional craftsmanship at the workbench - just as his predecessors did over two centuries ago.
Master goldsmith Frank Weidler runs the family business with great passion and attention to detail. In addition to an exquisite selection of jewelry and watches, he offers a comprehensive range of services - from repairs to individual creations to quick battery changes.
Sources
- Carl, June 2025 issue, p.40
How do 15,000 pairs of shoes, a historic façade and one of the city's largest construction sites fit together?
In March 1949, the married couple Wilhelm and Ursula Keßel opened a specialist shoe store at Berliner Straße 35 - initially on just 40 square meters. However, the selection of women's, men's, children's and slippers was so well received by customers that the business grew rapidly: the shoe store soon moved to the corner of Berliner Straße and Schulstraße and became a permanent fixture in the cityscape.
The focus was always on comfortable but fashionable shoes - a recipe for success. In 1972, the store was extensively renovated and expanded to over 400 square meters. Over 15,000 pairs of shoes found their place here - and with them many stories, encounters and loyal regular customers.
Schuhhaus Keßel ceased trading in March 2016. The building was then extensively modernized as part of a two-and-a-half-year renovation - one of the largest construction sites in the city centre. The historic façade was deliberately preserved so that the building could retain its typical character.
Deichmann finally announced its move into the new premises in 2017 - thus building on the long-standing shoe tradition at the site.
Sources:
- Gütersloh City Archive, Ursela Langenkämper estate: on Berliner Straße 57, newspaper article from 28.03.1974
- Neue Westfälische "Schuhhaus Keßel starts sale" from 17.03.2016
- Neue Westfälische "Gütersloh Deichmann branch opens in new premises" from 07.06.2019
What does an escaped monkey have to do with Berliner Strasse 60?
The photo shows master furrier H. Niehaus with his daughters - a craftsman who processed furs, made clothes and refurbished old furs. In his shop window at Berliner Straße 60, he presented hats, caps and fur accessories as well as an unusual specialty: a stuffed monkey.
The story behind it comes from the Roggenkamp family chronicles and tells a true story from the neighborhood: the Urban family kept a chained monkey on their farm. When Sophie Roggenkamp annoyed him one day, the animal broke free, bit her on the leg and later caused a commotion in the neighborhood with another escape. After a wild chase through gardens and streets, the monkey was caught and finally killed. The stuffed monkey eventually ended up in the furrier's shop window - and thus became part of the town's history itself.
Today, nothing reminds us of the unusual shop window dweller - but the building itself lives on:
In spring 2021, the house was Berliner Strasse 60 extensively renovated. The façade was repaired, modernized and repainted. Inside, the store area was remodeled at the same time and adapted for today's Peacock fashion store prepared.
Sources:
- Gütersloh City Archive, Ursela Langenkämper estate
- Neue Westfälische "Fashion chain Peacock opens a branch on Berliner Straße in Gütersloh" from 18.03.2021
How has the Kropp shoe store managed to combine tradition, innovation and quality over 150 years and become an integral part of Gütersloh's city history?
In 1855, Wilhelm Kropp, a master shoemaker from Gütersloh, founded his own shoemaking business. With his skilled craftsmanship and high quality standards, he made a decisive contribution to Gütersloh's citizens soon having the reputation of always being able to walk well.
As early as 1890, Wilhelm Kropp expanded his range by offering shoes for the first time that were no longer made in his own workshop, but which he purchased directly from wholesalers by horse and cart - an early step in the direction of trade.
His son, Heinrich Kropp senior, recognized the signs of the times in 1910 and added a store to the traditional shoemaking business. In doing so, he laid the foundations for the transition from a craft business to a modern specialist shoe store.
In 1929, Heinrich Kropp junior set new standards with a great deal of energy and entrepreneurial spirit by having a spacious new building erected to accommodate the growing customer base.
In 1961, he handed over the business to his son and successor Eduard Falkenreck, a trained shoe specialist. Under his management, the shoe store continued to develop steadily.
In 1966, the store was extensively renovated, attracting not only numerous customers but also trade visitors from all over Germany. Word of the select range of top-quality European products spread far beyond the borders of Gütersloh.
In 1976, the shoe store was given a modern face: with a new interior design, the store once again set a clear example of progress and customer proximity - in keeping with the founding tradition.
In 1991, Schuhhaus Kropp was named one of the five best specialist shoe stores in Germany in the "Avis - Best of Germany" rating - an important quality award.
In 1994, the Kunstverein für die Stadt und den Kreis Gütersloh (Art Association for the City and District of Gütersloh) dedicated a special tribute to the shoe store: in the Veerhoffhaus, it showed the exhibition "Shoes and Art", which came exclusively from Eduard Falkenreck's private collection.
After 150 years of company history, characterized by traditional craftsmanship, a spirit of innovation and a keen sense of quality and style, the shoe store closed its doors on August 1, 2005.
Together with the neighboring building at Strengerstrasse 2, the building forms a structural unit and closes off Konrad-Adenauer-Platz to the south. The representative facades were professionally renovated in 2002 and 2005. The Marc O'Polo store in Gütersloh has been located here since 2007.
Sources:
- Gütersloh City Archive, Ursela Langenkämper estate
- City of Gütersloh: Stadt.Blicke - Architecture meets history from the Department of Urban Planning
How does the Fritzenkötter bakery manage to keep tradition and craftsmanship alive for generations?
The Fritzenkötter family's bakery on Strengerstraße can look back on an impressive history of over 130 years. At the end of the 1960s, a cozy café was added to the bakery, which has attracted numerous visitors ever since. Today, Fritzenkötter is one of the most traditional bakeries in the region, run by master confectioner Christoph Fritzenkötter and his wife Inka.
Together with the neighboring building at Berliner Strasse 62, the historic building forms a harmonious structural unit and closes off Konrad-Adenauer-Platz to the south. The representative facades were carefully renovated in 2002 and 2005, so that the charm of the building has been preserved to this day.
The famous Gütersloh chocolate bells are a very specialty around Christmas time. Christoph Fritzenkötter makes these chocolates by hand with a fine canache filling - a sweet homage to the unique German tradition of Gütersloh night carol ringing.
Sources
- City of Gütersloh: Stadt.Blicke - Architecture meets history from the Department of Urban Planning
- Neue Westfälische "These bakeries from the Gütersloh district are among the best in Germany" from 13.01.2024
- If you have knowledge of any of the photographers listed as "unknown" on this page, please contact us.
- Current contribution pictures: Lena Descher and Clara Abelmann