In 1881, the construction of the Protestant Lutheran St. Pauli Church in Dresden began – located in the residential area of “’Hechtsviertel’ in Dresden, the center of a rapidly growing area during the period of promoterism. After ten years of construction, the neo-Gothic building was consecrated in February 1891, under the motto "Our whole church shall be a living church."
The church of St. Pauli was heavily damaged by air raids of the US Air Force in January and March 1945. In voluntary work, the ruins have been removed and the building partly retrofitted by members of the church community in the 1960s. In 1997 the ruin was re-opened as a cultural and meeting place. Just two years later, in 1999, new life ‘came between the walls’ when the Theater club “<link https: www.pauliruine.de external-link-new-window external link in new>Theaterruine St. Pauli e.V.” found their new stage here; nevertheless the building fabric inexorably deteriorated. In addition, improved noise protection was required by local residents.
The concept for the reconstruction was developed by <link http: cms.daehne-architekten.de opencms daehnearchitekten de projekte index.html external-link-new-window external link in new>Dähne Architekten, Dresden. For a total of 2.7 million euros, a 400 square meter glass flat roof was built and a basic expansion of the building was undertaken.
Since the reconstruction in the years 2011-2012, the St. Pauli Church Ruin has been able to unfold its full potential as a summer theater and god-house. The St. Pauli church ruins were ceremonially reopened on 26 May 2012 with the premiere of the play "Servant of two masters". Since then, a broad repertoire of productions from the commedia dell'arte and adapted classical fabrics up to German contemporary drama and music theater has been offered in the months of April to October.
The decisive element for the design was the broad holding of the nave of the church - so the game of natural light over the course of the day determines the special appeal as a cultural center of the city. A space has been created whose transitions are flowing and unobtrusive from the inside outwards. The result is a charming idea, probably the most unusual and attractive venue in Dresden.
For this purpose, a new glass roof was designed as a flat supporting structure, which is delicate and simple in the church ruins. 26 meters in length and 16 meters in width are built on the underlying steel profiles, which have been let into the ruins of the church.
The easy control of HAHN Louvre Windows by connection to the building control panel made them ideal for use as ventilation and air-condition in the building. In the façade, 21no HAHN louvre window systems type S9-45 ° were used circumferentially in the construction. The Louvre Windows are designed double breasted with a motor operating two window surfaces parallel to each other. Further 14no HAHN Louvre Windows of the same type are installed at other parts in the building; ensuring a pleasant temperatures inside by night cooling function.
Of course, the Louvre Windows also offer the desired and necessary noise protection for the residents.
We wish both the public and the audience a lot of fun and success for the 2017 season, which was opened on 21 April with a theater festival at the start of the season. You can find the schedule here.
Many thanks for the photos provided to <link https: www.pauliruine.de external-link-new-window external link in new>www.pauliruine.de
