Lutherstadt Eisleben

Common Responsibility – Redeveloping the Luther City

Lutherstadt Eisleben, a former mining city in the district of Mansfelder Land, based its urban renewal on the region’s historic heritage. As part of IBAIBA Internationale Bauausstellung Stadtumbau 2010, a concept-driven urban renewal plan governed the demolition and preservation as well as ambitious new buildings. The so-called Lutherweg route now connects places associated with reformer Martin Luther, the city’s most famous son.

Eisleben had lost one fifth of its citizens due to the job losses in the mining industry. One quarter of the building substance in the historic old town was left unused. The memory of reformer Martin Luther, who was born and died in Eisleben, provided the UNESCO World Heritage city with a starting point for urban development. An informal planning committee, the “Gemeinschaftswerk Lutherstadtumbau“, initiated idea and concept workshops which resulted in the Lutherweg route. It runs across the inner city and includes surprising stops. The Lutherweg starts at Luther’s Birthplace, a multi-award-winning new building, that blends into the UNESCO listed ensemble of buildings in its modern architectural language. In the “whispering Garden”, visitors can listen to Luther, admire the silhouette of Eisleben from the city terraces and relax on the “Wortbank”, a bench bearing quotations from Martin Luther’s sermons, outside the Church of St. Andreas, where he preached before his death. The route ends at Luther’s last residence in the city’s museums quarter. The urban renewal plan integrated sensitive preservation concerns, but also used demolition as a way of upgrading redesigned open spaces. The overall look of the inner city has changed, making Lutherstadt Eisleben a far more popular destination for tourists.

The rebuilt birth house, the Luther Charity School and the new buildings for the museum form the Luther birth house ensemble, 2007. Image: Doreen Ritzau © IBA-Büro GbR

A mobile information board provides information on the public Luther walk, 2008. Image: Ursula Achternkamp © IBA-Büro GbR

The rebuilt birth house, the Luther Charity School and the new buildings for the museum form the Luther birth house ensemble, 2009. Image: Doreen Ritzau © IBA-Büro GbR

View of the Luther birth house ensemble with redesigned Schöpfungsgarten, 2009. Image: Kerstin Faber © IBA-Büro GbR

At “Ohrenweide”, a temporary garden on a waste site, ear trumpets whisper texts and quotes from Luther, 2009. Image: Michael Uhlmann © IBA-Büro GbR

AddressMartin Luther’s Birth House:
Lutherstrasse 15, 06295 Lutherstadt EislebenProject participantsIBA office: Kerstin Faber, Sonja Beeck, Günter Graviat
IBA experts: Iris Reuther, Holger Schmidt
Municipal administration of Lutherstadt Eisleben: Gisela Kirchner, Manfred Rensch, Michael Richter
Urban projects office: Andreas Paul, Iris Reuther, Björn Teichmann
Foundation for Luther Monuments in Saxony-Anhalt: Christian Philipsen, Stefan Rhein
St. Andreas-Nicolai-Petri Parish: Claudia Bergmann, Scott Moore
St. Annen Church Parish Council: Joachim Rost
State Heritage and Archaeology Department of the State of Saxony-Anhalt: Mathias Köhler, Ulrike Wendland
Lower Heritage Authority of the Mansfeld-Südharz District: Volker Büttner
DSK Regional Office Halle: Holger Graf, Association of Friends of the “Altes Vikariat” e. V., citizens of Lutherstadt Eisleben, private property owners
Designers:
Luther Birth House Ensemble: Springer Architekten
Luther’s Last Residence Museum District: Von M Architekten
Luther Route station Ohrenweide (Feast/Meadow for the Ears) and Rosenbecken (Rose Pond): atelier le balto (Berlin)
Luther Route station Schöpfungsgarten (Creation Garten) and Stadtterrassen (City Terraces): lohrer.hochrein landschaftsarchitekten GbR (Magdeburg, Munich)
Luther Route station Showfenster (Display Window) and Wortbank (Word Bench): René Weiszbarth, Dessau-Roßlau
Luther Route station Lesezeichen (Bookmark): Anne Hentschel, Stefan Petrat (Halle/Saale)
Luther Route station Inside/Outside: Stefan Adlich (Leipzig)
Luther Route station Ausblick (Outlook): complizen Planungsbüro (Halle/Saale)
Final presentation workshop on-site: Ria Uhlig, Sonja Beeck, Kerstin Faber, Ursula Achternkamp, Matthias Brettschneider, René Weiszbarth
Final Presentation 2010: Stefan Adlich, Leipzig Büro für urbane Projekte (Leipzig)Sources and further information:Ministerium für Landesentwicklung und Verkehr des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt (Hrsg.): Internationale Bauausstellung Stadtumbau Sachsen-Anhalt 2010: Weniger ist Zukunft. 19 Städte – 19 Themen, 2010.Linkshttp://www.iba-stadtumbau.de

Lu­ther­stadt Eisleben

Common Responsibility – Redeveloping the Luther City

Further IBAIBA Internationale Bauausstellung

Lutherstadt Eisleben