200 years of history and a lot of future

Birgit Eckert

"A great man from Chemnitz is celebrating his birthday," says a delighted Birgit Eckert, Managing Director of Schönherr Weba GmbH. This year, she wants to celebrate the 200th birthday of industrialist Louis Schönherr together with partners and the citizens of Chemnitz. We spoke to her about the weaving inventor Louis Schönherr and take a look back at the history of the Schönherr factory.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Louis Schönherr's birth. How has Schönherrfarbik been involved in the preparations?
Birgit Eckert: In October 2015, the association "Schönherr 200 e. V." was founded, of which we are of course a member. The Historical Show Weaving Mill and the Cammann Tapestry Manufactory from Niederwiesa, the Textile and Racing Museum in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, the tour guide Katrin Meisel, various tenants of our site and many more are also involved.
We wanted to join forces and develop something together to mark the anniversary. The result is a whole year of celebrations. We will be organising many events and will be publishing a book in the summer, which will look at the architecture and significance of the site over the centuries.

Why do you think it is important for the city to remember the legacy of Louis Schönherr?
It doesn't really matter whether the man was called Schönherr or Hartmann. We believe that they were people who did a lot for the city from an entrepreneurial point of view. Schönherr's work was decisive for the development of the city.He created jobs and introduced major social improvements for his employees. He had Schönherr Park created, which is still used by the public today. These are people who left their footprint here.

Louis Schönherr made a name for himself with the manufacture of mechanical looms. Born in Plauen on 22 February 1817, the weaver founded his own factory in Chemnitz in 1851. He produced looms there that made Germany independent of expensive English imports. Three years later, he moved to the current location, where the Sächsische Maschinenbau Compagnie was once based. Thousands of looms were produced there and exported abroad. "I see us as those who represent Schönherr's entrepreneurial legacy. You can't just flatten an industrial heritage like that. You have to preserve what is worth preserving and, ideally, let something grow out of it," says Birgit Eckert.

The Schönherrfabrik is one of the most successful revitalisation projects. Was that also your goal 20 years ago when you came to Chemnitz as Commercial Director?
From today's perspective, you might think there was a concept behind it. That wasn't the case. At that time, the textile machinery and foundry were in operation here. The aim was to avoid imminent bankruptcy. It was actually a question of bare survival.
At that time, 270 people were still employed out of the former 1,400. There was no question of developing the site in this way! We wanted to pay people their wages again. We were sitting on debt after debt. It was an incredibly dramatic time. We then sold the loom construction business to Stäubli Bayreuth.
We also sold the foundry. This made it clear that we could keep the site and continue to run it with industry experts. We then wanted to realise the first construction phase with an EU funding programme. But here, too, we lacked the funds.

Schönherr Weba GmbH raised DM 2.7 million through the Urban funding programme, but had to raise the same amount from its own funds. The sale of part of the site to the GGG housing association finally provided the necessary funds. "It was only at this point that we were able to think about how we could develop the site," recalls Eckert. At the time, 22,000 m² of floor space was listed and in a poor condition. An initial concept envisaged refurbishing all parts of the building at once. The graduate in mechanical engineering and business administration had respect for this huge task and decided to proceed in small steps and several construction phases. After all, there were no tenants in sight at the time.

A start with many difficulties. How did it still work out?
Proceeding in small steps was exactly the right thing to do at the time. Otherwise we would have drowned in the chaos that prevailed at times. I will never forget the meeting with the first prospective tenant, the ankh operator. He came by bike with a knitted hat on his head and said: "Mrs Eckert, I want to open a restaurant here." We hadn't even thought of that. He already had the equipment, tables and chairs together, he also had a concept and was keen to do it. I was perplexed. But he was the first tenant and yes, why not? So we rebuilt everything for it. We then organised an open day, invited people to press conferences and slowly started to attract attention.

What do you think is special about the Schönherrfabrik?
A microcosm has been created here that shows the transformation process over the decades in a unique way. What was worth preserving and has proved its worth in the new era has been retained. Other areas that were no longer usable have been remodelled in such a way that they once again meet today's requirements and still tell a lot of their history.

Why do tenants choose your location today?
The approach with the many construction phases over such a long period of time also had the advantage that it was possible to renovate on a very small scale and in a variety of ways. There were always new ideas on how to deal with the existing building fabric. No two buildings look the same here. As a result, a wide variety of tenants have moved in here: from dentists, lawyers and dance studios to young IT companies that are now revitalising the location. 130 tenants in very different business sectors, from foundries and metalworking to wellness and beauty centres. And there is no stress with any tenant at the site. What's more, we have almost as many employees at the site today as before reunification.

What is the current status of the refurbishment?
We are now in the ninth and final construction phase. We will complete this this year. When we are finished, we will have refurbished 22,000 square metres. We are also almost fully let.

Birgit Eckert is particularly pleased with the positive development of the "max louis" restaurant: "Many people laughed at us for wanting to set up our own catering business, and an upmarket one at that." Two years ago, she founded Schönherr Gastro GmbH. Punch cards and other props in the interior are reminiscent of the loom machine construction that once took place here. "The punched cards also serve as soundproofing," reveals Birgit Eckert, explaining that in the early days she spent four weeks behind the bar herself, operating the taps. In the meantime, 2,500 guests come every month.

Does Chemnitz also have the chance to develop such gems of industrial culture in other places?
In my opinion, this development, as experienced by the Schönherrfabrik, cannot be repeated. The legal regulations, such as building law and utilisation rights, have become so strict over the past twenty years that we would not be able to rebuild this mixture of trade and industry. Construction costs have also risen to such an extent that it is hardly worth refurbishing and letting industrial buildings. And a third important point: the frequent lack of passion on the part of property owners. If the owners don't have a passion for Chemnitz and don't know the city, then such valuable industrial buildings unfortunately have no future.

What characterises Chemnitz for you?
The time has come for companies to develop in Chemnitz again. Those that were founded 20 or 25 years ago are well-established medium-sized companies. And there are many young companies that have a lot of development ahead of them.

What are your plans for the location?
There is still work to be done. We want to preserve the Künstlerhaus - not necessarily renovate it, but upgrade it and retain a certain morbid charm. To this end, we are working together with students from HTW Dresden on ideas for the building and exterior design. The Künstlerhaus will play an important role in this year's Days of Industrial Culture.

With picnics in Schönherrpark, book readings and a concert in the foundry, the Schönherrfabrik will commemorate its founder this year. The Industrial Museum will open its doors for a matinee "200 years of Louis Ferdinand Schönherr" on 26 February. And the Braunsdorf historical show weaving mill and the Cammann tapestry manufactory are inviting visitors to the "Schönherr 200" exhibition. More at www.schoenherr200.de.

How do you see the Schönherrfabrik and how do you see Chemnitz in 2025?
That's less than ten years away. For major refurbishments like ours here, you need more staying power. I would like us to make more use of what we have. There are already interesting routes through the city and especially along the Chemnitz river that we need to strengthen. The Chemnitz Valley cycle path is a wonderful way to cycle from the city centre out into the countryside, right past us. I would like to open up our site to the cycle path. That would give us a good connection to the Schloßberg and Küchwald. Why don't we use the meadows for an open-air event, that would be a great thing. By the way: I think the Capital of Culture application is a very good approach. Chemnitz, with its chequered history, has shown how transformation processes can be lived through and shaped.