Chemnitz towers: The hotel tower block
Interhotel "Kongreß" - Mercure Hotel Kongress - Dorint Kongresshotel Chemnitz
Location: Centre, Theaterstraße/Brückenstraße
Construction period: 1969-1974
Architect: Rudolf Weißer Collective, Karl-Marx-Stadt/Chemnitz
The rebuilding of the city centre after its destruction in the Second World War involved the planning of a central square and an adjoining cultural centre. The first designs dated back to the late 1950s, but were not realised at the time. The Karl-Marx-Stadt chief architect Rudolf Weißer and his collective finally developed a multifunctional, sophisticated complex consisting of the town hall with two halls for a total of 3,000 visitors, various catering facilities and the Interhotel "Kongreß". The basic concept included a park with water features and a car park deck accessible via an elevated road. An important aspect was the urban planning reference to the ensemble of Karl-Marx-Allee (now Brückenstraße), which was intended as a political centre with the building of the district council (now the regional finance office), the Karl Marx Monument and the associated memorial.
Construction of the Stadthalle and Interhotel began in February 1969 and the first hotel guests were welcomed in February 1974. The Stadthalle was inaugurated on 4 October 1974. A wide variety of events such as concerts, exhibitions, trade fairs and conferences quickly made it the cultural centre of the Karl-Marx-Stadt district.
The hotel offered space for more than 700 overnight guests in 371 rooms on 28 floors, making it the fourth largest such facility in the GDR. With its total height of 93 metres, it left the old towers of the city behind and was only later surpassed by the chimney of the northern thermal power station. It was equipped with various restaurants, bars, cafés, leisure and recreational facilities. After 1990, the entire complex was extensively remodelled and redesigned, with the new glass and aluminium façade cladding, designed by Peter Koch, further enhancing the attractiveness of the building. The hotel with the neighbouring town hall is one of the most important examples of GDR modernism and is a listed building.