Discover history: Chemnitz City Hall
The city centre of Chemnitz was completely redesigned after the Second World War because large parts of the historic building fabric and entire streets were destroyed after the night of the bombing on 5 March 1945. In the post-war years, reconstruction was up for debate. The concept of a new, socialist model city was adopted.
Chemnitz City Hall was built between 1969 and 1974 and officially opened on 4 October 1974. The red flamed Rochlitz natural stone porphyry characterises the exterior façade, but is also found in the foyers. The impressive outer shell of the town hall made of moulded stone with a honeycomb structure, designed by sculptor Hubert Schiefelbein, forms an interesting contrast. The striking plaster elements surround the large hall of the Stadthalle. Five large steel doors in the Stadthalle foyer, made by the blacksmith Achim Kühn, create an interesting tension with the glass front. They lead into the large foyer, in which columns emphasise the foyer character.
A wide variety of events such as concerts, exhibitions, trade fairs and conferences quickly turned the Stadthalle into the cultural centre of the Karl-Marx-Stadt district. With the addition of the Carlowitz Congress Centre in 2020/2021, it further established itself as a cultural and congress centre in the heart of the city.
Striking interior architecture
Not only on the outside, but also on the inside, the Stadthalle boasts striking architecture. The walls are made of concrete and cracked spruce trunks with the "expression of solidified wood". This design by Hans Brockhage is reminiscent of the petrified forest in Chemnitz. Eberhard Reppold designed the very characteristic textured ceiling in the foyers. One of the artistic treasures of the Stadthalle is the organ. It is also one of the largest in a secular building and was installed in 1976 by VEB Orgelbau Dresden, now Orgelbau Jehmlich.
The most important artistic commissions include the bronze sculpture "The life of Galileo - and yet it moves" by Fritz Cremer and the mural "The liberation of science through the socialist revolution" by Horst Zickelbein in the large foyer of the Stadthalle.
Art in the Stadthallenpark
On the south side of the complex, an inner-city park was created with a water basin, fountains, seating areas, flowerbeds and visual art. In addition to other works of art, the sculpture "Dignity, Beauty and Pride of Man in Socialism" by Gerd Jaeger and the sculpture "Science as a Productive Force" by Wieland Förster were completed for the opening of the town hall in 1974.
The hotel
The 97-metre-high bed building was built between 1969 and 1974 as the Interhotel Kongreß and was officially opened on 10 February 1974. It was the fourth largest Interhotel in the GDR and, with 26 floors, the largest building in the city. The creative mind behind this multifunctional synthesis of cultural centre and hotel was chief architect Rudolf Weiser. Under his direction, the hotel building was functionally connected with the catering and conference rooms as well as the two halls of the Stadthalle in such a way that both the stages and the foyer areas could be used together.
After 1990, the hotel was given a new glass and aluminium façade cladding designed by architect Peter Koch. The hotel with the neighbouring Stadthalle is one of the most important examples of GDR modernism and is a listed building.
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50 years of Chemnitz City Hall: Information stele inaugurated on 3 October 2024
50 years of Stadthalle Chemnitz, 50 years of GDR modernism and all this in the heart of Chemnitzcity centre! The combination of hotel and multifunctional event hall - a novelty at the time - grew into a meeting place for artists in 1974, who still travel to Chemnitz today.
To mark this special anniversary, Jaqueline Drechsler and Thomas Kehrer, two of the donors, ceremoniously unveiled the new information stele on 3 October 2024 in the presence of Mayor Ralph Burghart and Dr Ralf Schulze, Managing Director of C3 Veranstaltungszentren.
It provides information in two languages about the history of the Stadthalle, the former "Kongress" hotel and the art in the Stadthallenpark. This is now the 17th information stele. It was partly financed by donations from citizens of the city (800 euros). The other part of the costs for the total amount of 2,500 euros is borne by the City of Chemnitz.