The finishing touch! - To ensure we have a structurally sound home for our many activities for the next decades - and centuries – we are now restoring the façade on the north, west and south side of the house. This is the last major building work (for the time being). At present, there is only a base coat of plaster on the outer walls of the house, which will protect the masonry for a limited time only. What is still missing is an exterior render, decorative elements, a primer and two coats of paint so that the 825sqm façade will not only shine in new splendour but also protect the building fabric in the long term.

Wall painting and disco ball inside - stucco consoles outside

The house has a long history. In 1848 it was built as the "Gesellschaftshaus zum Greif". In the foyer, there are wall paintings from the time when an elephant once stood on the stage and the Prussian theatre complained about this "uncontrolled cultural excess". On the outside, the street-side west façade was decorated with 75 stucco consoles connected by an ornamental band. These decorative elements will be restored during the renovation in accordance with the preservation order.   

Donations needed - We want to complete the façade construction site by autumn 2022. The work on the façade will cost about € 200.000 and is partly funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Rudolf August Oetker Foundation. We need to cover the rest of the costs through among other things, through doing some of the work ourselves (e. g. painting worth about € 40.000) and donations.  We look forward to your donation!