Kortum department store
The department store Kortum was a traditional department store in Bochum .
Overview
After the renovation and conversion, the building is now called the Kortumhaus and offers one of the largest office and retail space in Bochum. The building offers space for 14 rental units (from 193 to 4800 m²) with a total area of 7596 square meters for startups and larger companies, plus retail space . The Cologne-based company Strunk-Immobilien is responsible for leasing and managing the property .
In December 2007, branches of the consumer electronics store chain Saturn , the cooperative bank Sparda-Bank West and the toy retail chain Spiele Max AG moved into the building after a thorough renovation of the building's interior . This was followed by the insurance company Swiss Life , the personnel service provider Staffxperts GmbH, gynecologist Nathalie Behrens, the fashion store Kamo and the glass and porcelain retailer Halfmann.
location
The Kortumhaus is located in downtown Bochum. The building is enclosed by the pedestrian zones Harmoniestraße, Kortumstraße and Grabenstraße. Two underground stops nearby and a parking garage directly at the building connect the Kortum department store. The main train station is an eight-minute walk away.
history
The client and original owner was Gebr. Alsberg AG , which belonged to the Cologne- based retail group of Siegfried and Alfred Alsberg , but after a few years moved its official headquarters to Bochum.
The building, known as the Alsberg department store until 1934 , was constructed between 1914 and 1921 by the Düsseldorf architects Walter Klose and Georg Schäfer . The shell was already finished in 1915, but the First World War interrupted the construction work and the building served as a food store. The stone relief above the former main entrance of the Alsberg department store and other decorative elements were made by the sculptor Johannes Knubel . The Alsberg department store was finally opened in October 1921 .
After 1933, the Alsberg family was expropriated by the National Socialists in the course of Aryanization due to their Jewish descent or religious affiliation. The Bochum department store Alsberg was renamed “Kaufhaus Kortum” in 1934 after the doctor, scientist and poet Carl Arnold Kortum . From August 9, 1935, the "Certificate of the successful completion of the Aryanization" was in a showcase in the entrance area of the house.
Alfred Alsberg, his wife and brother were deported to the Łódź ghetto in 1941 and were murdered - presumably there.
The building was badly damaged during the air raids in World War II . A partial reopening took place in 1946. The house and especially the facade was repaired by the Bochum architect Heinrich Kirchmeier from 1947 to 1949.
During the economic boom, the Kortum department store also flourished. Books, clothing, kitchen supplies and groceries were sold on the various floors. In a café-restaurant, a live band provided constant entertainment. Until the end of the 1980s, many items in the grocery department were traditionally sold “loose” and individually packaged. B. butter, flour or cookies.
At the end of the 1980s, it was converted into a shopping center. The 1993 four-part TV series The Great Bellheim , which deals with the economic problems of a department store, was filmed here after the store had closed .
restructuring
Soon afterwards, the real Kortum department store itself found itself in dire straits. It was closed and now stood empty, then retailers and service providers became tenants of the premises.
The since 1996 under monument protection standing department store Kortum was from 1996 to 2000 by the architectural firm SchürmannSpannel AG total renovation from Bochum (architect Thomas Schmidt). The historical characteristics, such as the natural stone facade and the historical staircase, were preserved in a material-friendly manner. After the renovation, the department store with shops, offices and practices was used as a commercial building. In 2000, the Kortum department store received recognition in the BDA “Award for Good Buildings” competition. In 2003, the Kortum department store was awarded the BHU Federal Prize “for the protection of monuments and the preservation of historical buildings” and was awarded the special prize of the Wilhelm Münker Foundation among 100 participants .
The bimbo box , a music machine with an orchestra made of stuffed animal monkeys, which moves to the music (after inserting money) and which has given the many children a lot of fun all the time, is now housed in the Kemnade house. An identical copy can be viewed in Cologne (on Severinstrasse ), another is on display in the vending machine museum in Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco .
The building owner was convinced that the staircase, which was placed under monument protection in 1996, and other parts of the original building structure could not be integrated into this renovation plan and were demolished after the protection of monuments was partially lifted. A connection to the parking garage was built through the basement, which was previously only partially used, and the sales areas created on this level were leased to other shops.
literature
- Jan Gerdemann: A department store group in the Ruhr area. The "Alsberg / Kortum department store" in Bochum. Term paper for the first state examination, Dortmund, Bochum 1999.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ References , accessed on July 27, 2020.
- ↑ Carsten Bornemann: Staffxperts GmbH is moving: From now on you can find us in the Kortumhaus Bochum. In: staffxperts.de. Retrieved August 6, 2013 .
- ↑ Nathalie Behrens. August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2013 .
- ↑ Kamo. August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2013 .
- ↑ Halfmann. (No longer available online.) August 6, 2013, archived from the original on June 5, 2013 ; Retrieved August 6, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 51 ° 28 ′ 51 ″ N , 7 ° 13 ′ 4 ″ E