Kulturpalast Bitterfeld
The Kulturpalast Bitterfeld is a former cultural center and is now a monument in the Bitterfeld district of the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district in Saxony-Anhalt . The building became known above all in connection with the Bitterfelder Weg, which was largely proclaimed here by Walter Ulbricht . The Kulturpalast is one of the landmarks of Bitterfeld, but its demolition has also been discussed since the 2010s.
history
In the first half of the 20th century, Bitterfeld developed into a center for open-cast lignite mining and the chemical industry. After the founding of the GDR , it had cultural palaces and houses built in many of the country's cities as central sites of social and cultural life, including in Bitterfeld from 1952 onwards. Much of the work involved in the construction work was carried out by local chemical workers on a voluntary basis after work ( Nationales Aufbauwerk ). The building was opened on October 13, 1954 and was named Kulturpalast Wilhelm Pieck .
The building became famous in 1959 and 1964 through the Bitterfeld Conferences , at which the socialist cultural policy of the young GDR, the so-called Bitterfeld Way , was proclaimed under the significant responsibility of Walter Ulbricht . Under the motto grab your pen, mate , working people were to be called upon to engage in artistic activity in line with socialist ideology. Conversely, artists and cultural workers should also be tied more closely to the working people and the regime.
In the times of the GDR the hall of the Kulturpalast was used for performances by national and international artists. Among other things, Udo Jürgens gave a concert in 1965. The GDR television recorded entertainment shows in the Kulturpalast. Plays were also performed. In addition, the building offered space for the activities of local clubs and circles.
After the fall of the Wall in 1990, the house was sold to a private entrepreneur who renovated it and continued to use it for events until 2015. Under the ironic title “Art. What is that about ? ”Invited Eugen Blume together with Klaus Staeck and Christoph Tannert to the 3rd Bitterfeld Conference in the Kulturpalast from May 1st to 3rd, 1992.
After it was closed, the Kulturpalast became the property of Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen GmbH, which applied for demolition in 2017. This met with resistance from the population and the city, who pointed to the urban and cultural-historical importance of the Kulturpalast. The city will support “every serious opportunity that proves to be viable”.
architecture
The house has a large hall with 1000 seats, a restaurant and smaller stages as well as more than 240 rooms, which clubs and circles could use free of charge. The list of monuments lists the Kulturpalast as “ neoclassical monumental architecture from the GDR era”. Along with the Kulturpalast in Schkopau and the former Kulturhaus Zinnowitz, it is one of three preserved buildings of this style.
TV shows from the Kulturpalast Bitterfeld (selection)
- 1958/59: marriage ring free!
Web links / sources
- What should become of the Kulturpalast Bitterfeld , report on mdr.de
- What happened to the culture houses of the GDR? , mdr.de
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 37 ′ 32.5 ″ N , 12 ° 18 ′ 7.4 ″ E