Discovery of Wartime Bombs Prompts Large-Scale Evacuation in Cologne, Germany

Unexploded bombs are often found in Germany, where many major cities sustained heavy damage during the war

A person works by a cordoned off area near the Cologne Cathedral, after the discovery of World War II-era bombs during exploratory work, affecting over 20,000 people, who had to be evacuated in Cologne, Germany, on June 4, 2025 in this still image from undated video. Reuters TV via Reuters

BERLIN—Thousands of people were evacuated from central Cologne in western Germany on Wednesday following the discovery of three wartime bombs, in what the city authority called the largest such operation since the end of World War Two.

An evacuation zone with a radius of 1,000 metres (1,100 yards) was cleared from 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), impacting around 20,500 residents along with many workers and hotel guests in the city’s old town and Deutz district.