diff --git a/rpm/minerva.spec.in b/rpm/minerva.spec.in
index 2edcdf292154137850bb234c22e28361f72d51ac..99556fd49b92b3e7868ec55af2518d670e67c693 100644
--- a/rpm/minerva.spec.in
+++ b/rpm/minerva.spec.in
@@ -41,10 +41,12 @@ if ! su - postgres -c "psql --dbname map_viewer -q -c '\q'" 2> /dev/null; then
 fi
 
 %preun -p /bin/bash
-# save version information of the old package to make sure we run the correct DB-update script after installation
 if [ $1 == 1 ]; then
+    # save version information of the old package to make sure we run the correct DB-update script after installation
     mkdir -p %{_sharedstatedir}/rpm-state/%{name}
     echo -n %{version} > %{_sharedstatedir}/rpm-state/%{name}/OLD_VERSION
+    # remove old unpacked ("exploded") directory of war file
+    rm -rf %{_sharedstatedir}/tomcat/webapps/%{name}
 fi
 
 %posttrans -p /bin/bash