Service Station: with filling station, repair shop and driving school all under one roof. Photograph taken in 1965
Klaus Söhl bought what was once a private house in 1955, with the aim of starting a business with his wife, Anne. At the front we see the ARAL filling station, typical of the 1950s, behind it the Volkswagen repair shop, which the family built itself. The basement to the house was dug out later and was used for a variety of purposes, including a driving school. The small veranda we see on the picture was used as an office. Klaus and Anne Söhl lived in a fairly confined space – just two rooms on the ground floor – with five children, while the top floor was rented out. It was usual just to get petrol for DM 20.
As a litre only cost 65 Pfennig then, that meant the car was nearly full. As an extra service, the Söhls checked the car’s oil level, cooling water and tyre pressure. The business continued until the 1970s, when the son, Dieter, took over the business temporarily. Then, in 1982, his brother, Reimer, took over the firm, modernising the business to become a sales point and authorized agent for Renault. He also extended the site eastwards and brought the repair shops up to date.
The filling station and the veranda were demolished and replaced by a larger showroom. After 1992 Reimer Söhl specialised in BMW motorcycles, a change that was well received by his clients. But in 2021 he relinquished the motorcycle sales and set up a repair, maintenance, re-fit and service shop for motorbikes. Parallel to this, velopunkt opened, a new, special-niche business for the sale and repair of high-quality cycles, with its own bistro-café.
