e-werk Weimar

The e-werk Weimar is a cultural centre in a listed former electricity works on the Kirschberg in the city's northern suburb by the Ilm. The striking red-brick building with its tall wooden cooling tower was erected in 1897 by Siemens & Halske and supplied Weimar with electricity from 1898 and its tram from 1899. In 1920 the works passed to the municipality. After power generation ceased in 1996, the industrial monument began a second life as an arts venue: since 1997 the e-werk weimar association has fused high culture with subculture and sociocultural work. The old tram depot houses the Lichthaus, Thuringia's first independent arthouse cinema. Since the 2000/2001 season the Deutsches Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar have used the machine and boiler halls as a secondary stage; the Kunstfest Weimar also uses the industrial setting.