The former Kulturhaus, also known as Richard-Gärtner-Haus, waited many years to open its doors to the public again. To this end, the city of Dresden, as the owner, put the property at Hebbelstraße 35b out to tender for a ground lease through a concept award process . A jury selected the submitted concept of Konglomerat e.V. in summer 2019. Since then, a volunteer team of Bürger:innen has been working under the association structure of Konglomerat e.V. to reopen the house as a cultural and creative center.

The three pillars of the house unite:

• For a strong neighborhood: drawing workshops, garden parties or simply a space for drinking coffee together - What the neighborhood needs finds a home in the New Volkshaus Cotta.
• A heart for creative productions: We create a flexible working environment for creative professionals, social service providers and artists - as affordable as possible.
• Room for the future: In order to create something new, there needs to be room to try and fail. This can and may happen in the New Volkshaus Cotta.

in 2019, Konglomerat e.V. applied for the concept award procedure for the Volkshaus in Cotta, with the prospect of a leasehold on the building for at least 35 years. The association was also awarded the contract - cool! And then came many, many tasks: Submitting a building application, guaranteeing fire protection and accessibility, collecting funds for the conversion, founding a sponsoring cooperative, etc., etc. - that's all a lot, especially for a volunteer team.

That's why a new path was taken at the end of 2019. Together with the city of Dresden, it was negotiated to reopen the house initially in a pilot phase for three years - The New Volkshaus on a temporary basisthe lease agreement is in place, the construction work is (almost) completed and the network is growing! On 01 March 2023 we have started operations.

Status: 05/2023

We are open! Since 01 March 2023 we are allowed to realize public events in the house. And also the first commercial tenants have moved into the back part of the house. All major construction work has been completed, but work is still going on in this and that corner. So, don't complain if it's dirty, but ask: "Where can I lend a hand?"

All interested & committed people meet once a month. In the "Großplenum" the different AGs exchange their ideas and plans. Come and join us!

Konglomerat e.V. is the project sponsor, i.e. the association is responsible for the project.

There have been two part-time employees since July 2022. They take care of the expansion and community management:

• Jana Endruschat: Letting, finances
• Anja von Bahder: events, public relations

There is also a group of volunteers who organize events, establish contact with the neighbourhood or simply lend a hand wherever there is work to be done. Our cooperation is based on everyone doing what they are good at!

As part of the leasehold, the operator of the building will be a cooperative founded specifically for this purpose. This will be set up from 2024, the foundation is not until 2025 - the Neue Volkshaus eG

Since April 2022, it has been clear that the Volkshaus will become a cultural and neighborhood center for Dresden. As a result, we have received a large grant from the state capital.
From July 2022 to February 2024, we used this to finance the remaining expansion and staff positions for construction planning and community management.

In the long term, we want to refinance our basic costs by renting out space to cultural and creative businesses and external event organizers.

We also need donations and contributions for basic costs, events and unforeseen events.

Would you like to donate? Please send it to this account:

Konglomerat e.V.
BIC: GENODEF1SLR
IBAN: DE46 8306 5408 0104 7788 12
Subject: Donation Neues Volkshaus

We will also be happy to issue you with a donation receipt. Just write a short e-mail to: mitmachen@neuesvolkshaus.de