Marathon Tower - Dismantling the scaffolding and guided tour
Invitation for journalists: On 9 September, 12 noon, Chemnitz Sports Forum
On Friday, 9 September at 12 noon, representatives of the media are invited to an appointment at the Marathon Tower in the Sportforum. The scaffolding will be removed from the tower building and the final work will take place. Building Mayor Michael Stötzer and Site Manager Andreas Hüppe from the City of Chemnitz's Building Management and Structural Engineering department will explain the status of the work during a short tour of the tower's interior.
Work on the 27-metre-high Marathon Tower at the Sportforum began in July 2020. At the end of the year, the upper section will be handed over to the office of the Chemnitz/Dresden Olympic Training Centre.
Later, a sports doctor and a performance diagnostics centre will be given a new home in the basement of the building. The centrepiece of the tower will be the prestigious reception hall in the middle of the building. With its listed wooden ceiling and railings, this is where successful athletes will be welcomed in future.
The renovation was a major challenge. The roof of the tower had to be removed and an internal steel skeleton installed. This could only be done step by step.
The renovation of the listed marathon tower is not the only project in the main stadium. New functional buildings have been erected to the left and right of the marathon tower. These include changing and sanitary facilities, storage rooms, barrier-free public toilets and a competition office. An eight metre high earth wall was built behind it. This is intended to preserve the old look of the main stadium. The wall is also intended to protect the athletes from the wind during competitions.
Keyword marathon tower:
The "command tower", later called the "marathon tower", was built between 1933 and 1938 according to the design of Chemnitz architect Fred Otto (1883 - 1944). Otto worked as a senior building commissioner and official building officer in Chemnitz from 1920 and as a city building officer in the Chemnitz building department from 1925. Other important buildings by Fred Otto include the Chemnitz municipal swimming pool and the building of today's Gunzenhauser Museum in the New Objectivity style. Fred Otto died in Chemnitz on 22 September 1944.