It’s back to business in the forge. Unlike in the past. Where crankshafts, gears and other vehicle parts were created for decades, classic cars were on display on this Sunday. People look at old photographs, former employees look for familiar traces. Around the industrial monument, the classic cars line up. Thousands of visitors have come to experience this premiere. And the forge needs little staging. Built in 1936/37, mighty columns, clear grids, skylights and window fronts characterise the 260-metre-long hall. It visibly carries its past. Traces of wear and tear included. Partly an industrial monument, partly a lost place – and on this day full of life again.
One person who has immersed himself deeply in the history of the place is Sam Khayari. The artist from Rüsselsheim conceived the exhibition „M1/WERKSSPUREN“. To do this, he combed through archives and historical Opel publications, viewed photographs and spoke to former employees. In addition to historical footage, film and exhibits, there are also the small stories. For example, those of forge remains, which Opel employees welded together and turned into plant stands for the home garden.
Over 80 years of blacksmiths – told in pictures, finds and memories.
Peter Wotzka shows how hard the work was here with a movement. He grabs a flared crankshaft with both hands. Grip. Lift. „Still as heavy as it was then,“ he says. Wotzka joined the forge in 1984 and worked here until 2019. Two years later, in 2021, production in the hall ended. Today he is back at his old workplace. He points to columns, looks for the locations of the machines – and tells how physical the work remained despite increasing automation. The machines are gone. He still remembers the motions.
A car for life
43 years with the same car – Achim Gerstenberger bought his Kadett D GTE new, driving it every day for more than a decade. Today, the former sporty top model is rare, his car still unrestored and in first ownership. Selling? It was never an option. „There are many, many memories of my youth attached to it.“ And not only his: When Gerstenberger met his current wife, the Kadett was already there. Today it is part of their shared history – and they both share their enthusiasm for it. Fittingly, Opel advertised the GTE at the time with the slogan: „You can get married later.“ For Gerstenberger, both worked out well.
Fascinating classics, former workplaces – and memories that remain.
Dressed up
„Once an Opel employee, always an Opel employee,“ says Gerd Wohlfart. And that’s doubly true for him: The former colleague collects classic cars together with his wife Renate – with the Blitz emblem, of course. The two have almost always been present at the Rüsselsheim classic car meeting since the premiere in 2001. This time they have brought a special gem with them: their Opel Admiral Cabriolet from 1938.
The pre-war convertible has belonged to the Wohlfarts for 25 years. When the Rüsselsheim native discovered it, there was little to see of today’s elegance. Many hours of restoration work followed, and the search for suitable spare parts even took him as far as Sweden. Today, the Admiral shines in Bordeaux red again – and its owners are equally elegant: Renate wears a long dress and hat, her husband knickerbockers, a bow tie and flat caps. For the two of them, the classic car meeting is not just about finding the right car.
For one day, the industrial monument is filled with life.
People, historic vehicles, memories – for Patrick Burghardt, it is precisely this mixture that makes the new venue so special. „The fact that people come together here today with their historic vehicles impressively shows how a place with history can be filled with new life,“ says Rüsselsheim’s mayor.
History inside, present outside
The classic car meeting also continues in front of the forge. Presenter Bernd Schultz presents 33 selected classics to the audience for presentation, while a few meters away, current Opel models show how the story continues. In between, people look, talk shop, eat and drink. For a few hours, the old forge is back to what it was for decades: a lively part of Rüsselsheim.
September 2026