The Green School
This former school building in Chemnitz in the German state of Saxony has been abandoned since 2004. It is now being renovated and converted. The Professor Reinhold Dahlmann School is a horseshoe-shaped school complex consisting of an old building, an extension wing with a striking entrance tower and the gymnasium and bathroom wing. The façade design is functional and austere, but in a traditionalist style. This can still be seen on the exterior and interior of the building today. Some of the details inside the building are still very well preserved.
The main building was constructed around 1882, but the current dimensions were only reached between 1927 and 1929. At that time, publicly accessible shower baths were also built on the first floor of the gymnasium.
However, the school was not mentioned in any major documents until 1984, when the Altchemnitz auxiliary school moved into the building. The focus was on supporting deaf children. The respected special education teacher Reinhold Dahlmann was chosen as the namesake. During the Third Reich, he was already committed to helping schoolchildren in particular need. After the Second World War, he was instrumental in establishing the special education system in the GDR.
The school continued to operate after reunification in 1990. In 1995, there were still 230 students here, six years later 165. Between 1998 and 2002, the school was also home to the school social work project of the local association "Selbsthilfe Wohnprojekt Further Straße".
However, the 2003/04 school year was to be the last in the history of the school with the small tower. The rooms have been officially empty since September 1, 2004. The following year, the city of Chemnitz finally began looking for potential buyers for the site.
The search was completed in 2022. The buyer plans to convert the property into apartments. A total of 6,500 m² of living space is planned, 1,500 m² in a new building. The opening is planned for 2025.
Visited: August 9, 2020
Location: Chemnitz, Germany
Status: Renovation
