Jugendherberge „eins“ im ehem. Umspannwerk
The building once served to supply power to the city’s tram network: underground, energy was stored in batteries covering an area of 500 m² to meet demand during peak hours. Designed in the classical modernist style, this listed building is of significance in terms of architectural and engineering history, as well as urban planning.
This striking building on Getreidemarkt was constructed around 1909. At that time, Chemnitz was growing rapidly, and with it, public transport. Horse-drawn trams had been running through the city since 1879, and the first trams had been using electricity since 1893. A substation was needed in the city centre to cope with the increasingly frequent tram services. Batteries for storing large quantities of energy to meet the trams’ peak-hour demand were housed in a 500-square-metre underground area within the building. As one of the few structures in the city centre, the building survived the devastating bombing raid on Chemnitz in March 1945. It is one of the few remaining examples of modern architecture from the Golden Twenties in Chemnitz.
Since 2012, the former substation on Getreidemarkt has been used as a youth hostel.
Guests at City Hotel 1 on Getreidemarkt can explore numerous sights in this Saxon industrial city on foot. To see one of them, they don’t even need to leave the building. This is because the building used to be a substation. Today, it stands as a testament to Chemnitz’s industrial architecture and is of significance in terms of the city’s history, as well as the history of technology and transport.
Let’s turn back the wheel of history to the beginning of the 20th century. In the age of industrialisation, energy demand was rising. More and more electrical energy was required. In 1909, the city planning officer Richard Möbius was commissioned to build a substation. It went into operation by the end of December that same year.
Four years later, electricity consumption stood at 4.36 kilowatts per hour. Under the direction of City Planning Officer Richard Möbius, the museum and the opera house were built in the same year, 1909, whilst the main fire station had already been completed in 1905 and the new town hall in 1911.
As electric trams were consuming ever-increasing amounts of electricity in the 1920s, a new substation or transformer station was required. Friedrich Wagner-Poltrock was commissioned to design the extension or new building. The architect was born in Brandenburg in 1883. Today, he is classified as a representative of classical modernism. He worked as a city planning officer in Chemnitz from 1914 to 1925 and set up his own architectural practice in 1924. Friedrich Wagner-Poltrock also worked as a poet, photographer and graphic designer.
The new substation was intended to convert the high-voltage electricity supplied by the municipal power station into the voltage required for the tram network. In addition, large accumulators were to be stored in the underground section of the building, covering an area of around 500 square metres. These were designed to supply power to the tram network for one hour in the event of a power cut, operating on the same principle as a car battery. However, this did not proceed without complications. Local residents feared an explosion caused by escaping sulphur gases, which could form as a result of inadequate ventilation. Experts were commissioned to carry out assessments. At times, there was even a threat that the work would be halted. Eventually, case studies were sought from other major German cities such as Berlin and Leipzig. This helped to dispel doubts about the safety of the facility.
An employee of the historic preservation authority reports: “Even back then, there were various concerns among local residents about the property. These were not so much about the construction of the building itself, but rather about the underground battery cellar, which was not only situated beneath the building but extended as far as the centre of the Getreidemarkt. Neighbours lodged complaints with the building authority. I was also able to find in the building records that even the neighbouring St Pauli Church, the parish, had raised concerns with the building authorities about the battery cellar, precisely because there were worries about explosions and noise. After all, it was quite a revolutionary undertaking for its time.”
An employee of the heritage protection authority reports: “Even back then, there were various reservations among local residents about the property. These were not so much directed against the construction of the building itself, but rather against the underground battery cellar, which was not only situated beneath the building but extended all the way to the centre of the Getreidemarkt. Neighbours lodged complaints with the building authorities. I was also able to find in the building records that even the neighbouring St Pauli Church, the parish, had raised concerns with the building authorities about the battery cellar, precisely because there were worries about explosions and noise. It was, after all, quite a revolutionary undertaking for its time.”
During the refurbishment in 1929, three new upper storeys were added and a 22-metre-high tower was erected to serve as a ventilation shaft. The rectifier station was installed at the base of the tower. The substation thus took the form of a clearly structured building complex with a cubic design. After the end of the Second World War, the building was used by the energy supply authority before passing into the ownership of the municipal transport authority in 1954. In the 1960s, the long building and the tower were extended once again, under the supervision of the engineer Gerhard Kötz. This gave the building yet another significantly altered appearance.
From 1993 onwards, the building stood empty for some time. In May 2012, the Eins Youth Hostel opened following a complete refurbishment. A number of technical details were skilfully and lovingly integrated into the refurbished building: a trolley and half a flywheel weighing a considerable three and a half tonnes. The hostel can accommodate up to 130 people in rooms with three to eight beds. There is a communal lounge, a conference room and a gallery. Outside, there are table tennis tables and a barbecue area.
The heritage conservation authority states: “For us as the heritage conservation authority, this is a very positive example of the conversion of an industrial heritage site into a youth hostel. In this instance, construction errors made during the GDR era – such as the addition of extra storeys or the raising of the tower – have also been rectified. The building has thus been restored to its original state of modern functionalism, just as the architect Wagner-Poltrock had planned in the 1920s.”