Workers gymnastics and sports school

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The workers gymnastics and sports school opened in 1926

The Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportschule , more precisely the federal school of the Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportbund (ATSB) , was an institution in the southern suburb of Leipzig from 1926 to 1933. The building was then used for other purposes.

Location and building description

The site of the former worker's gymnastics and sports school is located on the south side of Fichtestrasse at No. 28 and extends south to the next parallel street on Kantstrasse.

When it opened, the main building was a five-storey building with 13 window axes facing Fichtestrasse. A five-axis central risalit and wall pillars divided the facade of the first three floors. The two upper floors were emphasized horizontally. A steep hipped roof was covered with dormers and carried a tower lantern with a gallery in the center. At the rear followed the gymnasium and swimming pool as well as other exercise facilities and areas.

The main building contained a large lecture hall, additional lecture halls, a dining room, a library, a sports medical department, as well as bedrooms and lounges for the course participants on the upper floors.

history

Rear view with gyms, swimming pool and practice area 1930
Various facilities of the house

In 1893 the Workers 'Gymnastics Federation (ATB) was founded, which in 1919 was renamed the Workers' Gymnastics and Sports Federation (ATSB). Since 1919, this umbrella organization of most of the German workers' gymnastics and sports clubs has maintained its parliament building in Leipzig on Fichtestrasse. In 1922, Arbeiter-Turn-Verlag acquired the neighboring property to the east for the purpose of building a teaching institution that was supposed to take account of the increasing number of workers' gymnastics and sports. One third of the construction costs of 1.25 million Reichsmarks were covered by donations from federal members, the rest from the state of Saxony, the cities of Leipzig and Berlin and funds from Arbeiter-Turnverlag .

Construction of the building began in 1924 and was inaugurated on September 10, 1926. The head of the facility was and remained throughout its existence the sports functionary Georg Benedix , who also played a major role in its establishment. There were courses for various sports. In the seven years of its existence, 68 one-, 62 two- and 72 three-week courses with a total of 6149 participants were carried out at the school. Evening courses were also held for gym attendants and the school's facilities were rented out to outsiders for events.

On March 23, 1933, the school was occupied by the SA and further operations were prohibited. After a period of vacancy and confiscation by the state of Saxony, the Institute for Physical Education at the University of Leipzig moved in under the direction of sports pedagogue Hermann Altrock . The school was badly damaged in the air raid on Leipzig on December 4, 1943. As early as 1945, thanks to the efforts of institute members and students, parts of the school building could be used again as a temporary facility. The sports facilities were initially ruins. In 1953, after renovation work, the Institute for Physical Education (IfK) at Karl Marx University moved in. With the commissioning of the German University for Physical Culture (DHfK) in 1955, the university lost the training of sports teachers .

In 1961 the sports complex of the former federal school was back in good condition and was now used for university sports. Parts of the Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine Section and the University's Institute for Tropical Agriculture moved into the main building and stayed there until shortly after the fall of the Wall. After that, the house was used by the University of Technology, Economics and Culture (HTWK) until it moved to the building of the former district council in Karl-Liebknecht-Straße .

Because of the great need for renovation, the state of Saxony sold the property to a private investor who built high-quality apartments and apartments into the entire complex, including the sports facilities. The south side of the main building now has balconies. The dormers have given way to skylights and the tower structure is missing. In the place of the gym there is a glass-roofed inner courtyard.

literature

Web links

Coordinates: 51 ° 18 ′ 59 ″  N , 12 ° 22 ′ 30 ″  E