Funding approval granted – foundation laid for future renovation of the cCe Kulturhaus Leuna

With today's handover of the approval notices for urban development funding amounting to a good €3.6 million by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Digital Affairs to the city of Leuna – of which a good €1.3 million is earmarked for cCe Kulturhaus Leuna GmbH – the way is now officially clear for the first renovation measures at the Kulturhaus Leuna.

In the afternoon, representatives of the city of Leuna and cCe Kulturhaus Leuna GmbH welcomed Saxony-Anhalt's Minister for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs, Dr. Lydia Hüskens, to cCe Kulturhaus Leuna, where she personally presented the grant notifications to Michael Bedla, Mayor of Leuna, and learned about the current condition of the building and the planned measures.

“Attractive centers – especially in rural areas – are more important than ever in order to offer people livable residential areas away from urban centers and to strengthen their continuous development. We are working on this every day,” said Lydia Hüskens.

The city council of Leuna had previously decided by a clear majority to support the renovation of the cultural center with urban development funds and to conclude the necessary partial grant agreements with cCe Kulturhaus Leuna GmbH. The city's own contribution amounts to one-third of the total renovation costs, while the federal and state governments are covering the remaining two-thirds.

The cCe Kulturhaus Leuna – a central cultural and social meeting place in the garden city – was built almost 100 years ago and has been a landmark of the city of Leuna ever since. As an important event and meeting center, it provides a platform for concerts, theater performances, conferences, galleries, restaurants, club activities, and numerous cultural formats. A number of historically-related structural defects and construction damage – particularly in the basement area – require urgent measures.
“For us, the handover of the funding decision means much more than the start of a construction project. It is a visible commitment to the future of a building that has been the cultural heart of Leuna for almost 100 years,” says Martin Naundorf, managing director of cCe Kulturhaus Leuna GmbH. “We are delighted to welcome Minister Hüskens here today and would like to thank the city, state, and federal government for their joint commitment. The renovation gives us the opportunity to gradually preserve this historic building for the coming decades and upgrade it for contemporary use.”

This support underscores the cultural center's great importance to the citizens of Leuna. “The goal is to be able to use the building in a long-term and sustainable manner. The cultural center has shaped the cityscape for decades and should continue to be preserved as a cultural meeting place,” emphasizes Mayor Michael Bedla. Accordingly, the project has been included in the city's integrated urban development concept.

InfraLeuna GmbH, the operating company of the cultural center, also considers the renovation to be indispensable for the cultural and social life of the region. For many decades, the cCe Kulturhaus Leuna has formed a bridge between industry, the city, and the community – and is intended to continue in this role in the future.
With the funding approval, planning can now seamlessly transition into implementation. The goal is to secure the statically and structurally sound listed building and thus preserve it for a wide range of cultural activities in the long term.