That’s how much it costs the taxpayer to save the Hamburger Bahnhof
The Hamburger Bahnhof art museum in Berlin
Source: © State Museums in Berlin/David von Becker
It was one of the biggest cultural scandals of recent years, the loss of the Hamburger Bahnhof to an investor. But the case continues to smolder: the museum will have to pay rent in the future. But the sum is so high that one cannot actually afford it. And that’s not all.
Un Berlin’s most important museum for contemporary art, there has been a struggle for years. Together with its annex, the Rieckhallen, which were once converted for the Flick Collection, the Hamburger Bahnhof forms a unique art quarter in the fast-growing Europaviertel. Like most of the houses in the area, it belongs to the company CA Immo, which took over the area in 2007 when it bought the state-owned Vivico GmbH.
The privatization and upgrading of the district is now becoming an expensive affair for the museum. Instead of being able to use the space free of charge, as in the 25 years since it was built, it is now supposed to pay 200,000 euros in rent – a month. This was the result of research by WELT AM SONNTAG. The corresponding rental agreement was signed on Wednesday. “Due to the importance and size of the rental property,” said the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) on request, “the rental is made through the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks.”
In any case, a lot of tax money for a house that belonged to the federal government until 2003 and was once repaired by the city of Berlin for 100 million marks – always believing that the federal government, as the owner at the time, would keep the museum. Today everyone thinks it was a mistake that it was privatized at all. For the owner CA Immo, however, a free lease was no longer an option. Neither party is really happy about this solution, says a person familiar with the negotiations. According to the land register, the house can only be used for cultural purposes; a purchase by the federal government can still be quite expensive.
This also applies to the Rieckhallen. This in turn wants to acquire the state of Berlin from CA Immo, but not with money, because the Austrians don’t want that. The city should rather give up land of the same value. This is all the more ironic given that Berlin’s administration itself gave up the warehouses, which have been used for exhibitions since 2004, by not granting them any protection in the development plan. Nobody wanted to admit that the halls only belonged to art for a limited time.
Disaster announced
It is a disaster with announcement that threatens Berlin’s museum landscape – and of which most people don’t even notice. Negotiations are going on behind the scenes. On July 11th they met for a working meeting with the Governing Mayor Giffey. In the end, the House of Representatives still has to approve a property swap. If the deal falls through, CA Immo will demolish the Rieckhallen and build on the area. But then the location is finally mutilated. And the question arises as to why the Prussian Foundation should rent a Hamburg train station for an exorbitant amount of money for another 20 years, since there is no longer any room for future developments.
The district only has a chance if both buildings, the Rieckhallen and the Hamburger Bahnhof, go into public ownership. However, the city must know for sure that the Hamburger Bahnhof will be bought by the federal government and thus secured. And vice versa. These interdependencies make things so complicated – and so threatening for Berlin as an art location if the deal goes wrong.
But it will be expensive in any case. According to a declaration of intent, the Rieckhallen are to be exchanged for two fillet pieces at the main station. One directly at Humboldthafen and a larger one at Invalidenstraße No. 60. The state administrations were supposed to move in there on 60,000 square meters of gross floor space. “In this case,” Kultursenator Lederer informed the main committee of the House of Representatives, “rentals would have to be made on the high-priced private market or properties would have to be bought.” Berlin has to cut itself deep into its own flesh in order to save what can be saved.