Discover history: The Morgenleite

A hill that greets the rising morning sun is the namesake for the Morgenleite district. The part of the name "-leite" is borrowed from the Old High German word "(h)lita" and means something like slope or hill. The word "Morgen" was added because the slope falls away to the east, i.e. towards the morning sun. At this point, the neighbourhood shows its two contrasting urban faces: many residents associate the Morgenleite with the wooded area north of Wladimir-Sagorski-Straße up to the Südring. However, the six- and eleven-storey residential development to the south of Sagorski-Strasse also bears this name.

A few steps away from this stele is a bronze plaque that marks the geographical centre of the "Fritz Heckert" prefabricated housing estate. Morgenleite lies at the heart of the former new housing estate. This was not always the case. In the days of industrialisation, wealthy Chemnitz factory owners and entrepreneurs appreciated the advantages of this ridge. The wind usually blew from here in the direction of the Altchemnitz factories and their chimneys. Their smoke therefore rarely carried odours and soot to the Morgenleite. No wonder that magnificent villas were built here at the beginning of the 20th century.

North of today's Wladimir-Sagorski-Straße, the neighbourhood has been able to preserve the original, natural character of the historic Morgenleite. The former forests, ponds and meadows have largely been preserved to this day, although the plan to develop this area into a cultural and social centre was already in place when construction of the Fritz Heckert area began in 1974. The 92,000 inhabitants from the various building areas of what was once the third largest new housing estate in East Germany were to be able to meet here. In addition to a shopping centre, a circular cinema, a 19-storey hotel, a Siberian restaurant and a Konsument department stores' were to be built. The plans also envisaged the construction of 2,850 flats for 7,700 residents. However, the area is heavily characterised by small watercourses and spring areas. Although it would have been possible to build on this land, it would have been very expensive and required a lot of materials, which is why construction work on the site was always postponed.

The fall of communism put an end to these ambitious plans - at least temporarily. South of Wladimir-Sagorski-Straße, the building conditions turned out to be more favourable. From 1978, more than 4,100 flats for 12,200 residents were built in the then construction area V. With a length of over 480 metres, 17 entrances and 700 flats, one of the longest apartment blocks in East Germany, affectionately known as the "city wall", was also built. The unbuilt cultural centre represented a noticeable urban development deficit. On the one hand, there was a lack of an urban connection between the northern and southern parts of the residential area, and on the other, there was a lack of attractive leisure and consumption options.

In the 1990s, urban planners and investors took up the former plans for a shopping centre again in order to realise them under new auspices. The steep slope demanded a lot from the planners, but they recognised the opportunity for a unique and unmistakable design. After extensive coordination between the parties involved, the foundation stone was laid in 1997. The opening of the "Vita-Centre" in 1999 took place in the presence of the then Minister President Kurt Biedenkopf and the Lord Mayor Peter Seifert. Over 300,000 visitors attended the opening weekend. Traffic collapsed on the surrounding streets and car parks. The two striking glass dome towers of the shopping centre have since become a landmark of the district. With its opening shortly before the turn of the millennium, the "Fritz-Heckert" residential area was given a cultural and social centre after more than twenty years of planning.

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