Freiberg „Redevelopment of the Old Town“
Freiberg is an example of how buildings were secured and urban structures maintained - despite the accepted decay of large sections of historical building substance during DDR times. Wide-scale demolition was avoided and buildings in both the old town and the “founding period” buildings in the railway station suburbs were maintained. Today, Freiberg stands for a very successful and extensive redevelopment and revival of a complete old town.
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Context
Source: Katharina Wegelt, Stadt Freiberg
Despite the fact that the DDR focused on erecting blocks of flats in developing areas and many vacancies in the old building stock, it had been possible to at least secure large parts of the building substance. Freiberg still possessed a generally enclosed and valuable old town ensemble in 1990. But at the same time, there was a danger of a further weakening of the town centre through the building of large-scale centres for commerce, services, business and leisure, and also through the designation of new peripheral residential areas.
The City of Freiberg, however, decided on a strategic concept to stop the urban decay and prioritised maintenance and revival of the old town. The project was funded and evaluated as a model plan in the research project "Städtebauliche Erneuerung/Denkmalschutz" (urban renewal / preservation of historic monuments) in the federal research programme "Experimenteller Wohnungs- und Städtebau“ - ExWoSt - (experimental residential and urban development) at the beginning of the 1990s.
Encircled by the town walls and wall installations, the 47 hectare old town with its approx. 550 listed buildings has been a conservation area since 1992 and a redevelopment area since 1994. In 2000, this was extended to 70 hectares through the inclusion of park and ponds.
Project description
Source: Katharina Wegelt, Stadt Freiberg
Based on the concept of the "Redevelopment of Freiberg´s old town", the city of Freiberg (pop. around 40,280) developed, together with the urban redevelopment agency, a differentiated system of planning instruments (framework planning, building plan drafts, block concepts) and simple administration procedures with appropriate external and publicity effect. In order to preserve the old town's unique heritage, enable a resource-conserving, socially and environmentally compatible town centre development and to promote an orderly cooperation of all stakeholders, the city councillors’ general meeting decided on the "10 Commandments of City Redevelopment" in February 1993. These commandment were developed further .Two commandments were added with the updating of the redevelopment objectives in 2004 and in 2009. This addition was especially in the interest of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, which requested a stabilization of the inner city.
The old town will be designed as an urban centre for the entire city and region, in which the strengthening of the residential function plays a particular role.Businesses will be settled in the axes relevant to the development, the pedestrian areas and along the connecting streets between the upper market and the lower market. Thanks to the different historic quarters and building forms, a varied mixed use arises around the concept of a city with "everything close at hand".
A plethora of public and private measures have been carried out based on the urban development objectives and the renewal concepts. To achieve the mobilization of private funds, the establishment of a “closed property leasing fund” played a central role. The first fund stock covered 29 redevelopment objects, the second fund stock 45 further buildings. Meanwhile there is no longer a redevelopment need for 80 % of the 800 residential and business buildings.
The structural regeneration featured a rise of the population number in Freiberg’s old town. 8,5 % of its Population live there. The percentage of age groups is balanced, which is a indication that the old town has become an interesting place for all generations. 500 of the private building and order measures have been carried out.
Source: Katharina Wegelt, Stadt Freiberg
Furthermore the modernisation and repair of community, social and cultural facilities was carried out. It was, for example, possible to concentrate Freiberg's oldest secondary school in the old town. The city also showed further visible signs of renewal with the redevelopment of the town hall, the city theatre, the city and mining museum and the 'Donatsturm' tower. The redevelopment of the Nikolai church, which was converted to an inner-city communication centre, was also completed in 2002.
An important impulse concerning the vitalisation of the old town came from the completion of the redevelopment of the Castle “Freudenstein” in 2008. Since then the castle is used for one of the world’s largest mineralogical collections and as the Saxon montane archive. Consequently there are more measures to be expected in the area of the castle. Until 2015 a new lecture hall complex for the subject area economic science of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg is to be developed in the course of an architecture competition. Through this, the TU Bergakademie, who’s school enrolment annually rises, can complement its administration buildings in the old town
A key project was the building of a new shopping centre on the grounds of an old brewery on the outskirts of the historic city centre. There was a success in relocating a provisional, non-integrated commercial site into the inner city. At another site it was possible to revitalise an inactive department store site, by combining and integrating historical parts with new buildings.
The re-arrangement of the streets and places is running parallel to the building-related measures. The inner-city development and communication axes form a focal point here, leading from the sites of the former city gates. Until 2012 the building measures will be finished at the most important inner-city streets and places.
Project chronology
Year | Event |
---|---|
1991 | Sale of urban property to secure or locate living, commerce and trade in the stock. |
1993 | Creation of the so called "10 Commandments of City Redevelopment" |
Since 1994 | Building repair and modernisation |
2004 | Updating of the redevelopment objectives |
2009 | 2nd Updating of the redevelopment objectives, additions made to the “commandments” |
Aims
Source: Katharina Wegelt, Stadt Freiberg
- Integrated solution approaches for maintaining and renewing the old town
- Preservation and revitalisation of the old town cultural heritage and the town centre
- Socially and environmentally compatible urban renewal in connection with listed building measures
- Arrangement of places together with traffic-calming
- Urban re-arrangement of the entire area with consideration to the historical building substance
Types of measures
Source: Katharina Wegelt, Stadt Freiberg
- Development of the "12 Commandments of City Redevelopment"
- Committed cooperation between politics, administration, economy, science, listed building care and culture, plus building clients, investors, associations, clubs and citizens
- "Closed propery leasing fund" to mobilise private capital
- Urban development framework plan
- Repair and modernisation of buildings
- Material-specific recovery of historic streets and places
- Protection for city walls and green belt
- Simple legally binding land-use plan - "Freiberg Old Town"
- preservation statute
- Conformation statute
- Redevelopment of the castle: utilisation as a mining archive and for scientific collections
- Appropriately dimensioned, new replacement buildings in which old substance was partially preserved
- Closure of gaps in construction through new residential buildings
- Amendment of the administrative buildings of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg
- A new lecture hall complex for the subject area economic science
- Solving of the problem “inactive traffic”
Innovations
Source: Brigitte Kaczmarek
A closed property leasing fund has proven to be an innovative instrument for mobilising private capital.
All in all, the model project Freiberg shows how a clear political will can realise concepts on extensive revitalizing of old towns and at the same time includes the consideration of an ambitious monument protection. Another condition of success was the committed cooperation of politics, administration, economy, care of listed buildings and culture plus the many involved building clients and investors, associations, clubs and competent citizens' representatives.
Sources
Source: Katharina Wegelt, Stadt Freiberg
- Stadtverwaltung Freiberg (City Administration), Am Obermarkt 24, 09599 Freiberg, Tel.: 0 37 31 / 27 31 04, Fax: 0 37 31 / 27 37 31 04, Email: pressestelle@freiberg.de
Further information
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 09599 - town: Freiberg - street: Am Obermarkt 24.
Poject site on Google-Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/ipgNPeBiXcP2
Last update: 19.03.2018