Eisenhüttenstadt
| Eisenhüttenstadt is a neat city. Unlike other German cities with histories that stretch back for centuries, Eisenhüttenstadt (meaning Iron Forge City) is only fifty years old. It was planned and created by the newly formed East German government to house workers for the EKO steel concern that was being built nearby. But it was also built as a model communist city. As a completely planned city, Eisenhüttenstadt provided the workers with everything they needed (housing, childcare, recreation, and healthcare) and nothing they didn't need (there wasn't a church in Eisenhüttenstadt until after the communists fell from power). This city was East Germany's pride and joy during their early years and was even named Stalinstadt (Stalin City) until Stalin was discredited in the 1960's. It was both a showcase city used to highlight the achievements of East German communism and a vision of the future. Eisenhüttenstadt was (in a utopian way) what the world would have looked like if the evil empire had won the cold war. But they didn't. In 1989 people decided they wanted banana's and pineapples more than they wanted state-enforced stability so (with no interference from Russia) they quietly pushed the communists out of power. Now Eisenhüttenstadt is an island of communist nostalgia It has a very distinctive architecture. The main streets are wide and straight. The shopping district is uniform with all of the stores having broad plate glass windows and wide sidewalks in front (reminiscent of the outdoor shopping malls that sprang up in America in the 1950's). For a modern affect, highrise apartment buildings are geometrically placed around town. The majority of the housing though is made up of long rows of apartments arranged into different complexes. The apartment buildings run unbroken down the entire length of the block and often completely around the block. Then within that outer perimeter, there are often several more rows of similar buildings on the interior of the block that can be reached by tunnel through the outer building. The entire city is composed of this type of structure. The buildings are four and five stories high and all have the same dormitory-like appearance (brick covered by grey plaster), While this gives it a very institutional appearance, there are enough differences between the blocks of buildings to make them interesting to look at and to differentiate them from one another. Strategically placed within these complexes were all of normal things the worker would need from day to day. There were childcare centers where the worker could drop off his child before work, hospitals, theaters and beer halls where the worker could go after work. These buildings had the same general dull style, but were clearly different from the living quarters. The designers of the city placed emphasis on public space. With everyone living close together in the grey apartment buildings it's not hard to see why. The streets and sidewalks are wide and there are many public squares and flagstone covered parks. There is also a good bit of odd, public art (made out of bronze or concrete) placed around the city. If, as under communism, even the artists work for the state, then you have to keep them busy doing something I suppose. Much of the art is abstract or would fit under the category of social realism. The city has fared well since the wall fell, but it still retains many of its old socialist trappings. The streets are still named after communist heroes, the old Interhotel is still open, and worker is still celebrated (the bowling alley still has a sign in front proclaiming it to be the Kügelbahn der Eisenhüttenwerker or bowling alley of the Eisenhütten Worker as does the sports complex. But much has changed for the better. Now you can eat at a Burger King at the end of Lenin Strasse. And the EKO steel concern is shiny and new from western investment. Much of the town has been renovated and even those buildings not renovated are not in bad condition. You still see the unkempt public spaces and peeling paint, but you don't see buildings about to collapse as you see in other eastern cities. Eisenhüttenstadt is also home to the Dokumentationszentrum Alltagskultur der DDR (Archive of Everyday Life in the GDR). This facility has an interesting and extensive exhibit on what life was like in East Germany for the common man. It includes many examples of eastern consumer goods, gives insight to how central planning worked (or didn't work), and showed what life was like for different segments of society (men, women, children and teenagers). |
 Old storefronts with wide open sidewalks in Eisenhüttenstadt.
The wide main street in Eisenhüttenstadt. Communist style high rise appartments in Eisenhüttenstadt. Lots of concrete used in most everything. Soviet war memorial in Eisenhüttenstadt. All of the flags are gone, replaced by uncut grass, untrimmed bushes and chipping concrete. An example of the dormitory style apartment blocks in Eisehüttenstadt. Socialist art outside the sports complex in Eisenhüttenstadt made of concrete showing from the left a gymnast, a diver, a runner, a weightlifter, a skier and a balerina. Click here for a detail of the statue.
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