Discover history: Jutta Müller Ice Sports Centre
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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Jutta Müller ice sports centre: Information stele inaugurated on 13 December 2024
On Friday, 13 December at 11.30 a.m., Mayor Sven Schulze ceremoniously unveiled a new information stele for the Jutta Müller Ice Sports Centre at Wittgensdorfer Straße 2a in the presence of numerous prominent guests.
The date 13 December was chosen because it was Jutta Müller's birthday. In her honour, active and former figure skating and ice skating stars such as Katarina Witt, Gabriele Seyfert, Jan Hoffmann, Robin Szolkowy and Nico Ihle were present. The primary school children of the Chemnitzer Eislauf-Club e. V. performed a short programme.
The new stele reports on the history of the ice sports centre and its facilities and buildings. It also provides information about the renaming of the facility as the Jutta Müller Ice Sports Centre and the greatest sporting successes in the sports of figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey that emanated from this sports facility in Chemnitz.
The 21st information stele of the City of Chemnitz was financed with donations from three citizens of the city (totalling 850 euros) as well as from the City of Chemnitz's own funds. The total costs amount to 2,500 euros.