EIsenhüttenstadt

Eisenhüttenstadt is a socialist model town built in eastern Germany on the Polish border.  Founded in 1950, it was originally named Stalinstadt and was constructed to house the workers of the huge neighbouring steel plant.   It was renamed Eisenhüttenstadt (“steelworks town”) in 1961 during de-Stalinisation.  The intent of the original construction was based on East Germany’s “sixteen principles of urban planning”, combining employment and comfortable residential accommodation in a manner which emphasised the politically desired collective nature of socialist society - with much space for community activities and minimum space for individualism. The central area was constructed in the 1950s and saw the establishment of four residential complexes which were numbered in Soviet style.  Each complex was designed to be self-contained with shops, kindergartens, schools, doctors’ surgeries.  The central axis of the town contained a large parade ground in front of the town hall and cultural facilities including a large theatre. Additionally a large hospital was constructed on the southern edge of the residential complexes. After its construction, Residential Complex I was deemed by Walter Ulbricht, the First Secretary of the ruling Socialist Unity Party, to be insufficiently expressive of the the will to develop the fledgling East German republic.  As a consequence the subsequent Residential Complexes II-IV display a more elaborate architectural style with balconies, murals and sculptures. Perhaps fittingly, residential complex I contains the triste Platz des Gedenkens (“Memorial Square”) with a monumental Soviet war memorial at its centre.After German reunification and the privatisation of the steelworks employment plummeted, as did the local population. This central area of the erstwhile model town has been placed under listed property protection and remains a living and working town.  It is widely regarded as the best preserved example of socialist model living as it was envisaged in the EastGermany of the 1950s.