The bronze statue at the old customs office in Mützenich is a reminder of the post-war years of the former smuggler village of Mützenich, which was characterized by coffee smuggling, which looks back on an exciting and exciting past and comes up with some curious stories. After the Second World War, the Vennbahn made it a German exclave on Belgian territory, and coffee smuggling flourished in the village because it was in the center of the smuggling lines. By 1953, it is estimated that up to 1,000 tons had been smuggled across the border. Against this background, for example, a total of 52 smugglers were waiting for their trial in the "Klingelpütz" in Cologne, a well-known prison at the time, 45 of whom came from Mützenisch alone. It was, however, a more passive smuggling gang, as nobody was armed and in the event of a confrontation they would flee. Pastor Scheidt, Mützenich's young Catholic pastor, was also impressed by this. He visited his little sheep, who were in custody, not only to give them consolation. Because he also gave you the advice to keep your mouth shut, "because nobody needs to put the other in". One of the reasons for the tongue-in-cheek partisanship for the smugglers' souls was that the people from Mützenicher "always think European" because of their close ties to Belgium.
