On Saturday 10 May at 2 p.m., Mayor Michael Stötzer and the Chemnitz-West Citizens' Platform will ceremonially open the Frei-Otto-Park and hand it over to the citizens.
The park in the Siegmar district was selected at a public citizens' forum as an intervention area for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 - as a public square. Citizens were able to have a say in the future design of the park in a participatory process. New life was breathed into the park in order to increase its recreational value and quality of stay. The city of Chemnitz is also honouring the park's namesake. Information panels draw attention to the life's work of the Siegmar-born architect Frei Otto.
A large pergola with a long bench, new street furniture and information objects about Frei Otto and the history of the park have been created. New sports equipment has been integrated, which can be used by senior citizens as well as people of all ages. The existing benches and litter bins were repaired and replaced. Existing tree and shrub plantings, which are located outside the protected, open meadow areas, were supplemented with perennials, grasses and geophytes.
325,000 euros from the Capital of Culture budget were available for the design of the Frei-Otto-Park public square.
The planning services were provided by the architects architekturkanal - Falko Hensel from Chemnitz. A total of eleven trades were involved in the realisation.
Background:
The Public Squares are the result of intensive participation by the people in the city's neighbourhoods and localities. The stakeholders from the city's neighbourhoods put a lot of thought into the project and, together with their citizens, selected a public space to be redesigned as part of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. Each of the eight areas of the citizens' platforms and each of the eight incorporated localities received 325,000 euros. For example, a rest area on the Chemnitz Valley cycle path, a themed circular hiking trail around the village of Kleinolbersdorf-Altenhain and a new reception pavilion in Küchwald were realised.
The public squares are among the 30 intervention areas of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. They are the city of Chemnitz's urban development project for the Capital of Culture, which now involves an investment of around 60 million euros.