Schölzbach Pump Station

Nice bike path with a view of the Lippe

The naming equivalent is "Sulzbach" (to Sole, Suhle or similar, i.e. "dirty-marshy" brook). Since the 14th century, the Scholzbach has formed the border between the Electorate of Cologne and the Kleve region and was therefore the "border stream" between Dorsten and Gahlen-Hardt. In 2009, the Scholzbach on Gladbecker Straße/Goethestraße was given a new, more than twelve meter long bridge, the construction of which, together with the demolition of the old and rusted bridge, cost 87,000 euros. Every three or six years, the Dorsten civil engineering office inspects 270 hydraulic structures in its area of responsibility, from simple culverts to complex bridges over the Lippe and canals. - In February 2015, three Dorsten clubs agreed to work together to make several Scholzbach passages more attractive. These are the old town shooters, the art association ViVi and the tourist office.
Three million project: The Scholzbachtal is being redesignedThe redesign of the Scholzbach valley began in mid-July 2020. In Dorsten, it is one of the most expensive projects in the “We make middle” urban redevelopment program. With investments and subsidies totaling 3.1 million euros, the Scholzbach in the old town area and its surroundings will be made more attractive again by the end of 2021 according to plans by the Drecker office in Bottrop - for people and animals. There are three main areas, starting with the Finkennest area behind the St. Agatha kindergarten: New path and new footbridge, new benches and lights: By the end of 2020, the meadow area is to be developed as an open and accessible adventure landscape. In the area between the Ferdinand-Freiherr-von-Raesfeld-Weg and the canal culvert, "the Scholzbach is piped and flows bluntly underground. A new wooden walkway across the meadow area to the playground should provide interesting insights and views: because a wet area and a wildflower meadow are planned on the kindergarten side. After the Finkennest site, the conversion work in the Winks-Mühlen-Park on the Alter Postweg and in the small climate forest between Gladbecker Straße and Kirchhellener Allee will follow in the coming year.

The Scholzbach pumping station, the associated pipes over the dyke and the Dorsten Lippe gauge. Under the title WASSER_TECHNIK_LICHT, the LIPPEVERBAND made them visible and tangible through the intervention of the visual artist Brigitte Stüwe. The Scholzbach pumping station and the large pipes that run across the dyke have been used to pump the water from the Scholzbach into the Lippe for many decades. “The big rivers need the small waters”, Albert Schweitzer is said to have said this and it also applies here. Without the many small streams and rivers that feed the Lippe, it would not be the stream it is. Nevertheless, these small tributaries often lead a shadowy existence. The importance of the Scholzbach in Dorsten has only returned to public awareness in the last few years. With funds from the urban development funding program “Wirmachen MITte” renaturation measures were carried out along the course of the stream and places to stay were created. Here, where the Scholzbach flows into the Lippe, a lot of technical help is needed so that the water can overcome the dike. This technology is no longer hidden, but rather presented through a sensual, eye-catching design. Pipes and pumping station and later also the level house on the opposite bank are immediately apparent in their technical context. A long-ignored “non-place” in urban space becomes a sensual place to stay, which on the one hand addresses human intervention in the landscape and on the other hand stimulates reflection on the necessary interventions in the landscape space.