Eisenhüttenstadt

Abstract

The chapter offers a complex, yet brief view on the seven decades of Eisenhüttenstadt’s formation – a town in East Germany that is an intriguing example for the widest implementation of both the socialist rationality in an industrial city foundation and the systemic submission of urban development to neoliberal capitalism. Through the lens of heritage, the study explores the legacies of this turbulent past, looking at the urban fabric and the people’s experiences and minds. It questions, how this urban heritage matters today. The chapter thus affirms that the materiality and immateriality of the socialist city form a heritage that is adoptable – or better: exploitable also in capitalism. However, this came along with the des-integration of the urban fabric and community, which produced structural consequences, such as demographic shrinkage, housing demolition, the loss of a dispersed network of supply, of people’s self-esteem and confidence. These legacies of the post-socialist era are perceived today as the difficult heritage, as the most important burden for the towns present and future. In contrast, the socialist past is re-valorised as liveable urban environment as well as stimulating source of ideas, knowledge and memories.