Verwaltungsgebäude Hartmann-Werke

Richard Hartmann is a household name thanks to his contributions to the town and the region. He was born in Alsace in November 1809. He trained as a blacksmith. In the late 1820s, he set out on his journeyman’s travels and, after four years, arrived in the Saxon town of Chemnitz in 1832. The custom of journeyman’s travels had been a prerequisite for obtaining a master’s certificate in the guilds since the late Middle Ages. In Chemnitz, Hartmann worked for various manufacturers, including Karl Gottlieb Haubold, who is regarded as the father of Chemnitz mechanical engineering. It was here that the enterprising journeyman qualified as a master craftsman. In 1837, he was granted citizenship of the town. This turned out to be a stroke of luck for Chemnitz, as was later to become apparent.

Shortly afterwards, Richard Hartmann founded his own company, with others to follow. He made a name for himself as a manufacturer of spinning machines. A short time later, Hartmann expanded his product range and produced the first steam engine. This was a decisive step towards the development and assembly of the first German steam locomotive in 1848. At last, Germany was able to field a rail vehicle on a par with the English locomotives. The Royal Saxon State Railways sourced their equipment exclusively from Hartmann, and exports worldwide also flourished. Hartmann and his companies received numerous awards, a testament to the industrialist’s dedication and inventiveness.

Yet Hartmann did not rest on his laurels. He continued to develop and expand his range of products. New sites were established for the manufacture of turbines, mill equipment, mining machinery and drilling rigs. By 1857, all the businesses under Hartmann’s management employed around 1,500 people. A little over ten years later, his numerous companies were merged to form Sächsische Maschinenfabrik AG. From the very beginning, the successful industrialist served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of what was now the largest company in Saxony, which already employed 2,700 people. Hartmann retained these positions until his death in 1878. In the same year, the 1,000th steam locomotive rolled out of the assembly halls.

Hartmann-Werke continued to operate in keeping with his vision. Numerous expansions followed. The administrative department grew alongside the business. The time had come to construct a new building. In 1896, under the direction of Richard Hartmann’s son Gustav, construction work began on the corner of Hartmannstraße and Promenadenstraße. The new building was inaugurated the following year to mark the anniversary of Sächsische Maschinenfabrik AG. The imposing corner building made a striking impression. It was a flagship for a world-class company. In 1898, the company was renamed Sächsische Maschinenfabrik, formerly Richard Hartmann Aktiengesellschaft, in memory of its founder.

During the First World War, the factories also produced armaments. The expansion of the Hartmann Works, including beyond the country’s borders, continued until the mid-1920s. In 1922 and 1923, the architects Röhmler and Mehnert planned an extension along Hartmannstraße, which was to be designed to complement the corner building; this plan was subsequently implemented. Among other things, the complex was given a new entrance portal featuring two groups of sculptures by the Chemnitz-based sculptor Bruno Ziegler. In 1929, the architectural firm Rümmler and Mehnert was also responsible for the plans for the luxury palace on Hartmannstraße instead of the inner courtyard. The Hartmannwerke were not spared the aftermath of the First World War. In particular, orders from abroad became increasingly scarce. As a result, some parts of the business were shut down or sold off. In 1930, the entire company was liquidated, an early victim of the Great Depression.

The city of Chemnitz acquired the Hartmann estate for the then enormous sum of 800,000 Reichsmark and had the factory buildings behind the administrative building demolished. Residential buildings were erected on the land that had now been cleared, and the Schlossteichpark was extended behind them. The building complex was converted into a municipal police station in 1931 and, just one year later, became the headquarters of the Chemnitz Police Headquarters. Following Hitler’s seizure of power in 1933, a so-called ‘protective detention centre’ was set up in the inner courtyard of the headquarters. Opponents of the regime were now detained there. Towards the end of the war, anti-fascists occupied the headquarters. The building continued to be used as a police headquarters thereafter. In 1852, it was renamed the People’s Police District Office and later elevated to the status of People’s Police District Authority for the Karl-Marx-Stadt district.

Following German reunification, ownership of the buildings passed to the Free State of Saxony. The complex remained the police headquarters. Its new name was the Chemnitz-Erzgebirge Police Headquarters. It was time for a refurbishment and renovation programme in accordance with heritage conservation principles. The foundations are drained, and the stairwells and sanitary facilities undergo extensive refurbishment. The façades are given a facelift, and the windows are replaced in keeping with the building’s overall historical appearance. The former prisoners’ quarters in the inner courtyard are being demolished, and an extension is being built on the west gable of the complex. The monumental corner building at Hartmannstraße 24 now stands as a successful showcase of Chemnitz’s industrial architecture and as a testament to the work of one of the city’s great citizens.