Open Monument Day on 10 September 2017 is being held nationwide under the motto "Power and Splendour"
The diverse expressions of "power and splendour" in all relevant areas of architectural and art history are the focus of this year's Open Monument Day. Under this motto, special monuments to the history of transport technology and production will be presented in the city of Chemnitz on 10 September alongside villas and sacred buildings. With the participation of associations, companies and private individuals, there will be a varied programme for visitors.
"Power and splendour"
Architecture and art have always expressed the desire of their builders, creators and clients to depict beauty, prosperity, secular and religious claims to power. This is achieved through the choice of form and materials, the use of techniques and technologies, the type of artistic design with colours, motifs and ornamentation, the chosen building site and the quality of the builders, architects, artists and craftsmen involved. We take much of this for granted, simply because we take our architectural heritage for granted.
Every monument also tells us a lot about the social, political and cultural conditions at the time of its creation and use. But are we really still in a position today to correctly interpret the monuments as historical testimonies and sources of information in the sense of their construction period? Under the motto "power and splendour", we tend to think of buildings and structures that can be described as "rich, magnificent and grand". It goes without saying that imposing palaces and castles, magnificent churches, rich town houses and industrial villas, town halls, department stores, administrative buildings, gardens and parks as well as splendid farmhouses are shown under this motto.
But the motto also raises the question: Who created this splendour? Where were the beautiful things made or raw materials and products produced and traded that then made this splendour possible for the powerful? The craftsmen, tradesmen, miners, farmers and the later industrial workers, railwaymen, designers and technicians with their places of work should also be included in this consideration.
Striking historical transport and factory buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries still characterise the image of our town today. They are often referred to as "cathedrals" or "palaces" of the industrial age due to their special size, construction and aesthetics. Preserving, reusing or repurposing these buildings together with their owners is a key task of monument preservation in our city.
The city of Chemnitz has gladly taken up this topic and offers a varied programme with the help of associations, companies and private individuals. In addition to guided tours and explanations, some of the open monuments described below also host small concerts.
Guided tour of the Viadukt e.V. along the bridges of the Chemnitz railway arch
The meeting point is at Nikolaibahnhof (Mitte railway station), from there the route leads along Reichsstraße to the viaduct on Annaberger Straße via Südbahnhof to Augustusburger Straße bridge. At this end point, there will be time to chat over music and a snack. There will be information about the listed buildings and the current status of the plans for the line renovation by Deutsche Bahn AG.
The station buildings, parts of the platform roofs, railway bridges with embankments and enclosure walls on the DB Netze section of line from Chemnitz main station to Chemnitz Kappel are listed as cultural monuments in accordance with Section 2 of the Saxon Monument Protection Act. The further utilisation of this historical substance with the legally enshrined obligation to preserve the cultural heritage is a task that challenges all those involved in the process. The viaduct on Annaberger Straße is a particular focus of public attention.
This railway bridge is a transport structure that shapes the cityscape and is a striking testimony to early railway history. Its filigree construction was built in 1905. The elegantly shaped iron construction with steel supports on natural stone-clad pillars, abutments and retaining walls spans Annaberger Strasse and Beckerstrasse. It is of particular significance in terms of the history of the town and the history of transport and technology.
Guided tours: 10.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. from the centre station (Nikolaibahnhof)
(duration approx. 1.5 hours each)
The Hohe Straße, the prestigious boulevard on the Kaßberg
The topography of the ridge with its steep ascent from the Chemnitz river floodplain is particularly attractive in terms of urban development. This "hilltop crown" of the Kaßberg was primarily populated with prestigious public buildings. Chemnitz developed into the main centre of the region during the Gründerzeit from 1871 onwards. As a result, there was also a need to accommodate state and royal authorities here. However, there were hardly any suitable larger areas in the densely built-up city centre at the time, so the Kaßberg-Krone was chosen for this development. From 1871, the Royal Saxon state buildings for the grammar school, the judicial, financial and tax authorities and, a little later, the imperial institution of the postal administration were built according to plans by the architect and royal master builder Carl Hugo Nauck.
At 10.30 a.m., tour guide Grit Linke will lead you along Hohe Strasse. She will also provide an insight into today's Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Gymnasium.
"Villa Duderstädt", Dresdner Straße 42
The well-known Chemnitz architect and city councillor Hugo Duderstädt was born in Chemnitz in 1848 as the son of the merchant Johann Friedrich Duderstädt. In 1874, he set up his own architectural practice in his parents' house, Villa Dresdner Straße 42, built in 1857. Numerous public and school buildings were built in Chemnitz to Duderstädt's designs until 1909. After his early death on 30 September 1909, his two employees Rümmler and Mehnert continued to run the architectural office. The villa, which had long been left to decay, was finally renovated and returned to use as a residential and office building. Inside, the remains of two characteristic room facades have been preserved and very well restored.
Guided tours: 11 am and 2 pm by the owner Christian Tautenhahn and Edgar Rüberg from the City of Chemnitz heritage protection authority (registration required via 0371 488 6351)
Villa at the Technology Campus 6 EHEM. ROSENBERGSTRASSE 20
The "Allgemeine Konsum-Verein" Chemnitz (later KaHaVau), which was once based at the site, had the building constructed in 1915-16 as its new administrative headquarters. The plans were drawn up by the Leipzig architect P. Ehricht. Construction was carried out by the Chemnitz building company Max Schädel. Designed as a free-standing building in the style of reform architecture and with echoes of Art Deco, it is one of the few large buildings in the city to be erected during the First World War, alongside the main building of the Wanderer-Werke. This is why it also bears a relief next to the main entrance with the inscription: "In harsh times, amid the clamour of arms, our people's restless diligence created this peaceful, beautiful home, the prize of labour and themselves."
The main façade is lavishly decorated with three life-size sculptures (symbolic figures for trade, food and industry) and smaller reliefs, including the richly decorated arched windows of the meeting room behind.
The building, as well as the neighbouring row of flats and the production buildings of the Konsum directly to the north, survived the bombing raids in March 1945, with only one incendiary bomb destroying the towering hipped roof of the administration building. Replaced for decades only by a flat pitched emergency roof, it has now been restored to its original form. The Chemnitz entrepreneur and developer of listed properties, Lars Fassmann, acquired the badly damaged building from the city and had it renovated in line with its listed status. In addition to the interesting façades, many original interior features have been preserved and restored.
A guided tour of the building will be offered at 11 a.m. with architect Esther Sibylla Gerstenberg and Thomas Morgenstern from the City of Chemnitz heritage protection authority.
Former Haase dye works, Rochlitzer Straße 19-27
After 1800, Johann Peter Gehrenbeck and his descendants used the Rochlitzer Straße site as a dye works for over a hundred years. In 1908, Schrepel & Kutzschbach AG took over the old dye works and built the impressive new factory building with its clinker brick façade, which still stands today, as well as the boiler house with its 60 metre high chimney. As early as 1910, Theodor Haase acquires the company and sets up a coloured dye works.
The striking water tower and another new factory building are constructed by architect Paul Kranz. The residential and office building built by Gehrenbeck around 1820 is remodelled in Art Deco style under Theodor Haase. The buildings damaged by bombing after 1945 are quickly renovated and made operational again. The Haase company was nationalised in 1972 and continued to operate as a dye works until its closure in 1990. This was followed by two decades of vacancy and decay, despite several unrealised conversion and renovation concepts.
It was not until 2012 that the listed buildings were finally acquired and then, by 2015, substantially converted for their new commercial use by AIG Alpha Invest Grundstücksverwaltung GmbH.
2 p.m.: Guided tour of the outdoor area with an inspection of the modern bridge structure by Thomas Morgenstern, City of Chemnitz Monument Protection Authority
Museum of Technology Signal boxes II and III with cable drainage system, Hilbersdorf
The cable siding system with signal boxes was built in 1930 for the cancellation of goods trains using the natural conditions of the "Seilablaufberg". The main elements of the installation were renovated and reconstructed by the "Eisenbahnfreunde Richard Hartmann" e.V. association from 2010, after it had previously been dismantled by DB AG. With the command signal box 3, engine house, tensioning mechanism, Leonard set and demo model, the technology of breaking up goods trains without a locomotive can now be demonstrated and communicated. On this year's Monument Day, the association, which has been committed to the site for many years, will once again be offering guided tours of signal boxes II and III as well as the history and function of the cable drainage system on the site of the former marshalling yard. The guided tours will focus on the signal boxes, which are now used as a museum, the Leonhard set and the signalling systems. News on the status of the refurbishment and the future entrance function of the goods shed will also be provided. The "Eisenbahnfreunde Richard Hartmann" e.V. association was awarded the special prize of the German National Committee for Monument Protection in October 2014 for its special commitment to the preservation of historical monuments.
Open: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., guided tours every hour as required by the FÖV "Eisenbahnfreunde Richard Hartmann" e.V.
Kappel tram depot, Zwickauer Straße 164
In 1880, the Englishman William Roebuck applied for a licence to operate a horse-drawn tramway in the city of Chemnitz. This licence was granted to him for 35 years and explains the idiosyncratic English gauge. The first line ran from the main railway station to Nikolai Bridge (today: Falkeplatz) and on to Kappel, where the main depot was set up. Just two years later, the company became part of Dortmund's "Deutsche Lokal- und Straßenbahngesellschaft", which then merged with Berlin's AEG to form the "Allgemeine Lokal- und Straßenbahngesellschaft" in 1890 with the introduction of electrification. In 1893, the first Chemnitz electrified tramway was in operation. In 1908, the city took over the Chemnitz tramway operation for 10.5 million Reichsmarks. By 1910, the eight-track vehicle depot, which is still preserved as a museum today, was built at the main depot in Kappel. Further depots are subsequently built in Altendorf, Altchemnitz and on the northern Sonnenberg.
The entire complex of the Kappel tram depot and depot was almost completely listed in 2009, after the large vehicle hall and nine traction units and trailers had already been listed since 1980. Many of the buildings and facilities, most of which are now empty, are closely linked to the history of the Chemnitz tramway.
Over the next few years, the Verein der Straßenbahnfreunde e.V. plans to secure and utilise further buildings for the restoration and exhibition of historic trams and buses.
The building is open from 10 am to 4 pm. The Verein der Straßenbahnfreunde e.V. offers guided tours of the site at 10.30 am, 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm. Rides on the narrow-gauge tram will also be offered. Catering will be provided.
Küchwald stage
The open-air theatre in Küchwald was built in 1956-63 on the ruins of the war-damaged "Küchwaldschänke" as part of the National Reconstruction Work (NAW) according to plans drawn up by Chemnitz architect Roland Hühnerfürst in 1954. With its ensemble of buildings, striking tower and large flight of steps, it occupies a prominent position on the large festival meadow. The building ensemble is part of the traditional post-war architecture characterised by neoclassicism. The original building ensemble was strictly symmetrical and planned with two towers. The auditorium was designed in the form of an ancient amphitheatre. After a long period of vacancy and partial decay, the Küchwaldbühne e. V. association, founded in 2009, very successfully breathed cultural life back into the building and made great progress in the careful restoration of the listed building.
The Küchwaldbühne is open on Monument Day from 10 am to 2 pm. Guided tours of the past and present will be offered at 11am and 12pm by the Küchwaldbühne e. V. association. A film about the history of the Küchwaldbühne will be shown in the projection room. "Travellers & Friends" will be playing music on the grand staircase.
Schönherrfabrik, Schönherrstraße 8
Louis Schönherr and the factory he founded at the foot of the Schloßberg are the special focus of this year's Monument Day, as the 200th anniversary of his birth is being celebrated.
The factory site is located on the historic site of the former Wöhler & Lange spinning mill, founded in 1799. After its dissolution, the site continued to be used and expanded from 1834 by master mechanical engineer J. G. Haubold, who later became part of the Sächsische Maschinenbau-Compagnie. The Sächsische Webstuhlfabrik was founded in 1851 by Louis Schönherr & Ernst Seidler in Altchemnitz and moved into the buildings of the Maschinenbau-Compagnie in Schloßchemnitz in 1854. In 1857, Louis Schönherr was the sole owner of the loom factory. This was followed by a continuous expansion of Louis Schönherr's mechanical engineering company into the Sächsische Webstuhlfabrik A.G. It was the largest producer of weaving machines in the country and of supra-regional importance. The different building phases are clearly recognisable. There are neo-classical buildings from around 1835 (buildings 8a and 5a), a number of factory buildings from the Wilhelminian period and a modern extension adjoining building 8 in a functional design by architect Max W. Feistel. Buildings no. 9, 10 and 7 belong to the core area of the factory complex, which encloses an elongated inner courtyard in 2 and 4-storey wings. The factory buildings from different eras form an outstanding architectural ensemble of great industrial-historical significance. The refurbishment and conversion of the listed old buildings in a large mix of industries, which has been realised in stages since the end of the 1990s, is exemplary in the Free State of Saxony and throughout Germany.
The property is open from 2 pm to 6 pm. The "max louis" restaurant will be offering a monument menu from 11.30 am to 2 pm and from 5 pm. Please book in advance on 0371 46 40 24 33, the menu is subject to a charge.
A tour of Schönherrpark begins at 2 pm. Here, participants can learn about the historical development of the park, which was laid out by Louis Schönherr, from the tour guide Mrs Meisel. Dr Jentsch, an expert, will provide information about the rocks in the park. The meeting point is at the entrance facing the city centre.
The tour guides offer a guided tour of the factory site at 3.30 pm. Anyone interested will be able to find out a wide range of information about the individual construction phases and how the factory was used then and now. The meeting point is at House 5, Entrance A (Villa).
After these two guided tours, the Monument Day will conclude in the inner courtyard of the Schönherrfabrik.Building Mayor Michael Stötzer, Birigit Eckert, Managing Director of Weba Schönherr GmbH, and Thomas Morgenstern, Head of the City of Chemnitz Monument Protection Department, will round off the day with information about the Schönherrfabrik and the significance of the nationwide Open Monument Day.
They will be accompanied musically by the duo "Nothing but Soul". The band was founded in early 2011 and has become known for its ambitious blues and soul projects, some of which include original songs. Let yourself be inspired by arrangements with guitar and vocals.
Churches and cemeteries open on Open Monument Day
Castle Church and Castle Hill Museum, Castle Hill 11 / 12
The former Benedictine monastery, later an official Saxon castle and today the Schloßberg Museum with the original cloister building and remains of the cloister and the original monastery and castle church of St Mary form an inseparable unit. The medieval remains of the cloister are best preserved in the eastern wing, while the remodelling of the Renaissance is clearly visible in the southern cloister building. The original monastery cellars and parts of the enclosing wall with a high archway on Salzstraße have been preserved, as have the high substructures to the south-east towards the town.
The late Gothic hall church with Romanesque building remains from the early days of the monastery church is one of the town's most valuable cultural monuments. In addition to the stone evidence of the Romanesque chapel, the ribbed vault and the north portal, the wooden works of art such as the high altar and the flagellation column are valuable features. In 2006-2010, the castle church received a new symphonic-romantic organ from the company Orgelbau Vleugels.
It is open on Monument Day from 2 to 5 pm. There will be guided tours of the Schloßbergmuseum and the Schloßkirche with Dr Stefan Thiele, Schloßbergmuseum, and the pastor of the St. Petri Schloßkirche parish, Gabriele Führer, at 2 and 3 pm. As a programme for children, "Insignia of power - coats of arms in the castle church" can be discovered and coats of arms can be designed by the children themselves from 2 to 5 pm. At 5 pm there will be stories about coats of arms.
At 4 p.m. there will be a concert "Splendid Music" with church music director Siegfried Petri in the castle church.
St Mark's Church, Pestalozzistrasse 1
The monumental Wilhelminian-style central building was erected in 1892-1895 in neo-Gothic style according to plans by Berlin architects Kröger & Ambesser. The red clinker brick building with its striking twin towers and slender spires is a symbol of the "Sonnenberg" residential neighbourhood and is important in terms of urban planning and monument preservation. The almost completely preserved neo-Gothic interior with original historical light fittings, which has been painstakingly restored over many years, is of great artistic and historical value. The church is used for multifunctional purposes under the management of the parish and the support association
Open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., tours of the church are offered by the Friends of St Mark's Church e.V. as required.
St Nikolai Cemetery and St Nikolai Church, Michaelstraße 15
The Nikolai cemetery is a listed site with the individual monuments of the cemetery chapel in North German brick Gothic style (built in 1891-92), the war memorial for the fallen of the First World War (1922) and several valuable gravestones.
At 3 p.m., Mrs Ursula Kutscha will give an expert guided tour of the cemetery to visit the graves of local historical figures. Using the example of several old family gravesites, interested visitors can discover how financial prosperity also affected the design of the final resting place.
At 5 pm, a concert entitled "Violinistic reveries from four centuries" with Prof. Michael Grube will take place in the neighbouring St. Nikolai Church. Prof. Michael Grube (Quito, Ecuador) will play a solo programme on a more than 350-year-old violin by Niccolo Amati. He studied violin, composition and musicology and has won numerous prizes. He is also a jury member at various high-ranking competitions.
St. Peter's Church, Theatre Square 1
Open church from 2 to 4 pm