Refurbishment worth millions: new life in the Schocken department store

After years of vacancy, life is returning to the historic Schocken department store in the heart of Zwickau. The building complex was renovated and converted at a cost of around 33 million euros. More than 10,000 square meters of retail, hotel and office space will now be available in the city centre.

The project is a "quantum leap" for the development of the city center, stated Mayor Constance Arndt (Bürger für Zwickau). Many retailers and tradespeople will now be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Minister President Michael Kretschmer spoke of a courageous project with an impressive history.

Zwickau once home to the department store group

Zwickau was once home to the Schocken department store group. It was here that the brothers Simon and Salman Schocken developed their successful department store concept, which also focused on modern architecture. They established branches in around 20 German cities, including Chemnitz, Stuttgart and Nuremberg. The company was once one of the largest department store chains in Germany. However, the Jewish owners were expropriated by the National Socialists in 1938.

The roots of the revitalized Zwickau flagship store itself go back more than 100 years to 1901. Its use as a department store continued after the Second World War - during the GDR era, the Konsument chain offered its goods for sale here. After reunification, it was initially taken over by a West German chain, which closed the building in 1999. Since then, it has reportedly been largely empty and dilapidated in places.

Supermarket, hotel & administration as tenants

The first tenants of the renovated building include a hotel and a supermarket. Further tenants are due to move in in October, including employees of the city administration and the state-owned company Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement.