New Library, Gundelsheim

摘要

Exemplary The intention was that the new library in the small Upper Franconian town of Gundelsheim am Neckar should provide a meeting place with a model function. It is the flagship for a local development program initiated more than ten years ago. The driving force behind this program is the mayor Jonas Merzbacher together with actively involved citizens, the financial assistance comes from the urban planning fund. This subsidy and monitoring instrument has existed in Germany since 1971 and provides support for urban renewal and town centre development projects and aims at strengthening social cohesion. For centuries Gundelsheim was a small rural village. After the Second World War its population began to grow steadily and it has expanded rapidly in area since the 1960s. Gundelsheim had about 1000 residents in 1960, the figure today is 3600. This above-average growth is paired with high fluctuation levels - a dynamic that many areas could not keep pace with, and which made it difficult for many people to see Gundelsheim as their home rather than just a place of residence. The council is therefore committed in a very comprehensive and exemplary way to making up for missed opportunities and to equipping the structures to meet the demands of the next decades.