New Neues Frankfurt

Stadt in der Stadt – Das Fritz-Heckert-Gebiet

In 1971, the SED party conference adopted a comprehensive social policy programme that focused on housing construction. The aim was to improve living conditions for more than half of the population of the DDR. Industrial construction methods, in particular prefabricated panel construction, were to be used to create the conditions for a significant increase in construction output. The so-called complex housing construction not only included the living space itself, but also the associated social infrastructure such as schools, kindergartens, sports facilities, polyclinics, and shopping facilities.

On October 7, 1974, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the DDR, the foundation stone for the “Fritz Heckert” residential area was symbolically laid. By 1990, around 32,000 apartments for approximately 92,000 people had been built in the south of Karl-Marx-Stadt, and four out of ten children in the city grew up here. This resulted in the development of one of the largest contiguous new housing areas in the DDR. For many, getting an apartment in the new residential area was like winning the lottery.

After 1990, Chemnitz and the Fritz Heckert underwent a profound structural change. However, the extensive transformation of the Fritz Heckert district also attracted national and international attention. Individual architectural projects were awarded prizes or featured in trade journals, bringing the residential area into the spotlight of urban planning discussions.

The event is free of charge. We welcome donations.

Founded in 2003 by interested citizens, the ernst-may-gesellschaft is a non-profit association that aims to document and preserve the unique work of Ernst May's group and New Frankfurt in general, in line with its international standing, and to contribute to the current debate on architecture and urban development.