Day of urban development in Jena

As part of the Germany-wide Urban Development Day today, Saturday, May 4, 2024, all interested parties in Jena were able to find out about projects, plans and successes in the city. One focus this year was on Lobeda-West. The "Westside" youth club celebrated its second birthday there in the afternoon with an open day. In the outdoor area, the youth club in Karl-Marx-Allee had prepared a colorful program with music, show acts and fun for the whole family in cooperation with the district office, the neighboring schools and the swimming paradise. This included the opening ceremony at Brunnenplatz by Susanna Karawanskij, Thuringia's Minister for Infrastructure and Agriculture, Mayor and Head of Urban Development and Environment Christian Gerlitz, District Mayor Volker Blumentritt and Youth Club Director Christoph Jaros.

The area has now been completed with the finished design of the open space including the square, fountain and pathway between Karl-Marx-Allee and Alfred-Diener-Straße, the completion of the new "Schwimmparadies Jena" indoor swimming pool last year and the "Westside" youth club two years ago. The new building for the youth club and the design of the surrounding area were funded with the help of urban development funding as part of the federal and state "Socially Integrative City" program.

St. John's Cemetery

Visitors to the Johannisfriedhof cemetery were able to take part in guided tours and learn about the history of the historic cemetery and the current redesigns. The relic from the Middle Ages is currently used as a park and green space. With its historic gravesites and the preserved character of earlier times, the Johannisfriedhof cemetery is an attraction in the center of Jena. Since 2018, the cemetery has been undergoing a complete renovation with the help of urban development funding from the federal and state government's "Future Urban Green" program, which includes improving accessibility and the quality of the area.

Cultural slaughterhouse

The Kulturschlachthof in the Unteraue industrial estate opened its doors to all interested parties and offered a diverse cultural program as well as insights into the work of the association. The Kulturschlachthof is located on a section of the former abattoir. The city of Jena has handed over the building with open space to the associations Freie Bühne Jena e.V., Crossroads Jena e.V. and FreiRaum-Jena e.V. under heritable building rights. Since 2020, the building has been renovated and repurposed in stages with a great deal of input from the associations themselves and with the help of urban development funding from the federal and state "Urban Redevelopment Upgrading" program. After laying the necessary supply and disposal lines, the first changes were made to the floor plan to convert the building. A hall for roller sports was created on the first floor. The Kulturschlachthof is a place in the making - a place of socioculture where expertise from roller sports, (youth) culture, theater and.