The fence under construction is still on the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt

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The artist colony Mathildenhöhe is considered the intersection of modern architecture. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a good year. But the years of restructuring aren’t over yet.

Wedding tower, Russian chapel, an ensemble of buildings, park and sculptures – the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt was a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a good year. And around the planned exhibition building there is still a construction fence, there are graffiti on the walls of the ensemble and in the lily pond there is litter swimming in the water that is no longer completely clear. According to previous announcements from the city, the renovation of the exhibition building is expected to be completed as early as 2019, then in 2020, in 2021, now at the end of this year.

Completion expected by the end of 2022

The city sees no delays. “At the moment we are not seeing any delays in the construction process that go beyond the time period that was last communicated. In particular, we expect the refurbishment to be completed by the end of the year 2022/23 “, says a spokesperson. Then there will be a test run lasting several months to adapt the technical equipment of the building. The inauguration of the first exhibition is therefore scheduled for spring 2023.

In addition to the construction time of the exhibition house, the price has also changed in the meantime. At the start of the design in 2012, ten million euros had been allocated for energy-related renovations. According to the city, the cost framework is now three times higher by around 30 million euros with a complete renovation of a monument and some new construction sections.

The visitor center will be built starting in 2023

A year after the decision of the United Nations Education, Science, Culture and Communication Organization (UNESCO), a new construction site was found for the planned visitor center. “Against the backdrop of the Unesco 2021 intervention, we have found a new location on urban land a little further east of the original location, which is outside the central area but still in close proximity to the World Heritage area”, says the spokesperson. Unesco had criticized the originally planned construction site for its location in the middle of the World Heritage Site. Construction is now scheduled to commence in summer 2023.

According to the city, the cleanliness of the area is constantly monitored by various authorities. “At the same time, measures are constantly being taken to protect green areas, historic buildings and sculptures, to renovate them if necessary, to clean them and to secure and preserve the entire inventory, in line with Unesco’s expectations” . The plane tree, on whose walls graffiti has been smeared, will be extensively renovated this year and traces of repeated vandalism will be removed.

Unesco title from 2021

The city went on the offensive in 2011 and expressed its interest in making the Mathildenhöhe a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After ten years of hard work, there was a triumph on July 24 of last year: Unesco classified the whole as a World Heritage Site.

The early 20th century Mathildenhöhe consists of the wedding tower, a Russian chapel, other buildings, a park and sculptures. The artists’ colony is considered the intersection of modern architecture: not just an Art Nouveau ensemble, but a step towards the Bauhaus. Peter Behrens, one of the first artists, was later the teacher of the founder of the Bauhaus Walter Gropius. At the end of the nineteenth century the intention to build the colony was not only of a cultural nature, but of a tangible economic nature. Due to the lack of mineral resources, the Grand Duke of Hesse Ernst Ludwig saw an economic boom guaranteed only by better quality in the manufactures and brought artists of all kinds to Darmstadt.

Foundation stone for the Bauhaus

On the website of the German Unesco Commission it sounds like this: “Opulent Art Nouveau ornaments alongside reduced facades, new living rooms and houses designed down to the last cup of tea: the artists of the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt laid the foundation for what the Bauhaus then perfected and which is now associated with the new building concept. “

dpa

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