Volksbildungsheim

The Volksbildungsheim is a landmark building at Eschenheimer Tor in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, whose history spans over a century of adaptive reuse. Opened on 1 February 1908 as a society house for the Kaufmännischer Verein, it was designed by architect Wilhelm Helfrich and included shops, a restaurant, a café, and two event halls seating 1,400 and 300 people. After World War I, it was acquired by the city and in 1919 transferred to the Bund für Volksbildung, reopening as the Volksbildungsheim—a centre for adult education, concerts, and public events. Under the Nazi regime, the Bund was dissolved and the building was run by Kraft durch Freude as Volksbildungsstätte Stadtmitte. Damaged in Allied bombing raids in 1943–44, it was rebuilt in 1953 by the new owner Saalbau GmbH. From 1963 to 1995, the large hall housed the Theater am Turm (TAT), a venue known for avant-garde productions, including the premiere of Peter Handke's Publikumsbeschimpfung in 1966 and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's controversial tenure in the 1970s. In the late 1990s, the city sold the building to a private consortium. Between 1998 and 2001, it was largely demolished except for the listed façade and rebuilt as the Kinocenter Metropolis, a 12-screen multiplex with 3,551 seats, designed by Cologne architect Till Sattler at a cost of 105 million Deutsche Mark. The cinema is operated by the CineStar group under the name CineStar Metropolis. The building is owned by Treuhand & Verwaltungs-GmbH and Co. Metropolis Premiumfilmpalast mbH and leased to Greater Union Filmpalast GmbH, part of the Australian Amalgamated Holdings Limited. The ground floor houses two restaurants and the top floor a dance school. In 2012, the cinema faced temporary closure due to a defective fire alarm system, but it continues to operate as a major cinema in Frankfurt.

The Volksbildungsheim was opened on 1 February 1908 at Eschenheimer Anlage 40 in Frankfurt am Main. It was built by the Kaufmännischer Verein (Commercial Association) as a society house, designed by architect Wilhelm Helfrich. The building contained club rooms, several shops, a restaurant, a café, and two event halls: a large hall seating 1,400 and a small hall seating 300. During World War I, it served as a military hospital. After the war, the Kaufmännischer Verein had dissolved, and the city acquired the building for 1.6 million Marks. In 1919, with public and private donations—including from industrialists and bankers such as Heinrich Roessler, director of Degussa, and philanthropist Charles Hallgarten—it passed to the Bund für Volksbildung (Association for Adult Education) and reopened on 5 October 1919 as the Volksbildungsheim. It hosted educational events, concerts, social gatherings, and the city's public library. After the Nazi takeover, the Bund was brought into line and dissolved in 1936. The building, renamed Volksbildungsstätte Stadtmitte, was run by the Kraft durch Freude (KdF) organization. In 1943 and 1944, Allied bombing raids damaged the roof and large parts of the building. Because the damage was less severe than at other large halls and theatres in Frankfurt, in 1950 it was decided to protect the structure from further weather damage. In 1953, the new owner Saalbau GmbH rebuilt it, replacing the damaged mansard roof and stone gables with a simple hipped roof. The interior was modernized, featuring a large hall with 1,000 seats, teaching and administrative rooms, and three smaller halls with 180 seats each. The main branch of the city library was also housed there. In 1963, an extension was built on the adjacent northern plot, which had been the site of the Hoch's Conservatory since 1888; the conservatory received rooms in the extension from 1951. From 1953, the large hall was used by the Landesbühne Rhein-Main, which from 1963 became known as the Theater am Turm (TAT). Under Claus Peymann (intendant 1965–1969), the legendary premiere of Peter Handke's Publikumsbeschimpfung took place in 1966. In the 1970s, Rainer Werner Fassbinder was intendant for eight months; his play Der Müll, die Stadt und der Tod, about Frankfurt's housing struggles, was cancelled after protests that its rich Jewish character used antisemitic stereotypes, and Fassbinder left the theatre. After a temporary closure in 1978/79, the TAT was renovated and reopened in 1980 with a new concept but without its own ensemble. Until 1986, it was a venue for free experimental groups and international artists such as Company Vivienne Newport, after which numerous international guest productions were staged. From 1986, under dramaturge Tom Stromberg, more in-house productions were staged again. In 1995, the TAT moved to the Bockenheimer Depot. In the 1990s, the city sold the Volksbildungsheim via a heritable building right contract to a private consortium. From 1998, the building was demolished except for the listed façade, and by 2001 the Kinocenter Metropolis was built according to plans by Cologne architect Till Sattler, with 12 screens and 3,551 seats, at a cost of 105 million Marks. The roof echoes the original mansard design. The golden lettering 'Volksbildungsheim' on the façade was replaced with 'Metropolis'. The planned opening on 15 March 2001 was delayed due to construction defects; the first two screens opened on 12 April 2001, and the rest followed months later. The building is owned by Treuhand & Verwaltungs-GmbH and Co. Metropolis Premiumfilmpalast mbH, which leases it to Greater Union Filmpalast GmbH, operating under the CineStar brand as part of the Australian Amalgamated Holdings Limited. Monthly rent is estimated at 250,000 euros. Other tenants include two ground-floor restaurants and the Wernecke dance school on the top floor. In early 2012, film distributors criticized the condition of the cinema, questioning its cost-effective operation. On 28 February 2012, the building authority issued a temporary ban on use due to a defect in the central fire alarm system; the operator promised quick repairs.

• Building opened as a society house for the Kaufmännischer Verein, designed by Wilhelm Helfrich.

• Reopened as Volksbildungsheim under the Bund für Volksbildung.

• Bund für Volksbildung dissolved; building run by Kraft durch Freude as Volksbildungsstätte Stadtmitte.

• Rebuilt by Saalbau GmbH after WWII damage.

• Theater am Turm (TAT) established in the large hall.

• Premiere of Peter Handke's Publikumsbeschimpfung under Claus Peymann.

• TAT moved to Bockenheimer Depot.

• Demolition began except for listed façade; construction of Kinocenter Metropolis started.

• First two screens of CineStar Metropolis opened.

• Temporary ban on use due to defective fire alarm system.

A historic landmark repurposed as a modern multiplex cinema under the CineStar brand.

• CineStar Metropolis multiplex cinema

  12-screen cinema with 3,551 seats, opened in 2001.

1. 1Cinestar: So macht Kino Spaß!cinestar.de
2. 2Volksbildungsheim - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Volksbildungsheim Frankfurt am Main - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org