The Kulturzentrum Schlachthof (literally: Cultural Center Slaughterhouse) in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
,
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
, Germany, is a
cultural center
A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run.
Asia
* Cen ...
in a complex which formerly housed the municipal
slaughterhouse, approximately 500 meters southeast of the
Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof
Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof is a railway station for the city of Wiesbaden, the state capital of the German state of Hesse. It is a terminal station at the southern edge of the city centre and is used by more than 40,000 travelers each day, so it is t ...
railway station. The cultural center, known as Schlachthof, was founded in 1994. It offers two concert halls for events from 300 to 2,000 people; the large concert hall has an area of about 1,200 square meters. The location is used for concert in rock, metal and punk, for music parties,
poetry slam
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...
s and readings. It is surrounded by a leisure park.
History
The slaughterhouse closed in 1990 due to inefficiency and non-compliance with
EC hygiene guidelines. In the following years, most of the abandoned buildings were torn down. Only two halls and a 36 meters high, historic
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...
(built 1897-1899) remained.
In 1994 these remaining buildings were occupied by the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof. While the large hall served from 1994-2010 for large concerts and parties, smaller concerts took place in the former
smoke house
A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more. from 1994 to 2015. This building also contained rehearsal rooms and studios.
Among the groups performing at the Schlachthof are
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasi ...
,
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
,
Simple Minds,
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical- ...
,
Dropkick Murphys,
Die Fantastischen Vier
Die Fantastischen Vier (, "The Fantastic Four"), often shortened to Fanta 4, is a German hip hop band from Stuttgart. The members are Michael Schmidt (Smudo), Andreas Rieke, Thomas Dürr, ''janitor''), and Michi Beck. They were, together with ...
,
Die Toten Hosen
Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf.
History
The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...
,
Bullet for My Valentine,
Sportfreunde Stiller
Sportfreunde Stiller () is a German indie rock band from Germering near Munich, Bavaria.
History
The band was founded by Peter Brugger (guitar, vocals), Florian "Flo" Weber (drums), and Andi Erhard (bass). They initially wanted to name themsel ...
,
Deichkind
Deichkind (, literally '' Dyke Child'') is a German electropunk band formed in Hamburg in 1997. Current members are “Kryptik Joe” alias Philipp Grütering (rapper/songwriter), Henning “DJ Phono” Besser (DJ), Sebastian “Porky” Dürre ...
und
Fettes Brot
Fettes Brot () is a German hip hop group that formed in 1992.
History
Band name
Fettes Brot means ''fat bread'' in German. "Fett" is a German slang term for "excellent" and brot is slang for "hash". The band took the name from a fan who ca ...
, in around 150 concerts per year. The Finnish band
Nightwish produced a video, ''Wish I Had An Angel'', which shows the buildings, then with singer
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half oct ...
.
After the great concert hall had to close in 2010 due to danger of collapse, a new concert hall was inaugurated in November 2012. The historic water tower was renovated for E4.5 million and inaugurated in March 2015, marking the end of a five-year renovation program for the entire complex. It is now used as an office building; its outbuildings are used for small concerts and house a bar. The last of the old slaughterhouse buildings was torn down in 2015.
In 2008 the approximately 3 hectares of fallow land around the historic water tower and the former slaughterhouse were remodeled for leisure and cultural park with tree plantings, walk lawns, a beach volleyball court, a boule court, a track for skateboarders and children's play equipment.
References
External links
*
Kulturzentrum Schlachthof – Stadt-PanoramaKulturpark Wiesbaden*
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Wiesbaden
Culture in Wiesbaden
1994 establishments in Germany
Cultural centers