Status: 02.10.2023, 09:00 a.m.
By: Elena Siegl
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Exterior view of the renovated Steingaden gymnasium: Above with lark cladding, which merges into a plastered façade. © São Paulo
An energy-efficient renovation turned into a general renovation: After three years, the "new old gymnasium" of the Steingaden secondary school has now been inaugurated - with a program that the community and the school have designed with a wink.
Steingaden – "La vita è bello" (yes, "bello") and "Long live sport", belts out students and teachers of the Steingaden Middle School at the inauguration of the completely renovated gymnasium in the same building. The joy is great in the church. After three years in which physical education had to take place in the gym at the Fohlenhof and in the neighbouring community of Wildsteig, gymnastics, ball and other activities can now be pursued again right next to the middle school building.
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Actually, the hall was only supposed to be renovated in terms of energy efficiency, Steingaden's mayor Max Bertl looked back in his speech at the inauguration ceremony. Students, teachers, representatives of the participating companies, the municipal administration and the school association were invited. Bertl thanked his predecessor Xaver Wörle and the municipal council of the previous legislative period for pushing ahead with the project – even though the gym renovation ultimately took much longer and was much more complex and expensive than initially planned.
Symbolically cut the ribbon: (from left) Headmaster Jürgen Jahrsdörfer and Mayor Max Bertl. © São Paulo
In the case of a pollutant report, it turned out that "everywhere, no matter in which component, there are fibers that should not be there," Bertl summarized. The gymnasium was closed immediately in June 2020, shortly after Bertl took office, and a general renovation was planned instead. At the same time, more subsidies were applied for, but a new building should also be examined as a possibly cheaper option for approval, the mayor explained.
Little more than the outer walls remained standing
After the promise of subsidies for the renovation, the building yard first got started and tore out "everything non-toxic". Then the building had to be sealed, pressurized and asbestos removed by professionals. Little more than the walls of the gymnasium remained, according to Bertl.
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During his speech, he showed many pictures documenting the elaborate procedure. The old roof was removed piece by piece and replaced by a new one. Then construction work began inside the hall. Underfloor heating and sports parquet flooring were laid, lines were applied, a wooden baffle wall was erected and a huge ventilation system was installed. (Bertl: "Hopefully it will last as long as it cost.").
Blessed the gym: Father Peter-Adrian. © São Paulo
A stage, as there was in the old hall, was dispensed with in order to have more space for sports. Instead, there is now a mobile stage. And because Steingaden has a "strong volleyball department", four youth volleyball courts could even be drawn, according to Bertl.
Shared hall can be used more easily
There is also a highlight: a dividing curtain. With this, the hall can be divided into two smaller ones, which do not comply with any DIN standard, but can be used excellently for physical education, as has already been shown since the second week of the new school year, Vice Principal Markus Nagel told the Heimatzeitung.
The gym has been equipped with parquet flooring and a baffle wall made of wood. © São Paulo
He could not yet say anything specific about the costs, Bertl said, there was no final invoice yet, but it would be between 3.5 and 4.5 million euros. The funding will probably amount to more than 2 million euros. This is in a good position, Bertl said, also with regard to the "2+1" hall planned by the district in Weilheim, which will probably cost around 12 million euros.
"I probably won't use it very often myself," but he was still very happy to be able to bless the gym, said Father Petrus-Adrian with a smile. He also wanted to include the wish that nothing would happen to the athletes in prayer, he explained. After the blessing and performance of a student with his guitar, headmaster Jürgen Jahrsdörfer took the floor.
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He sees the hall as a symbol that stands for the connection between the place and the school. Because not only lessons in the hall are planned. The TSV will also use them, and cultural events will also take place there, for example. In other words, "a place of encounter" in which values such as fairness and cooperation are also to be conveyed. "Breaking my neck and leg would be wrong. All the best!" he wished at the end.
"It is said that we live in a knowledge society. But it doesn't work without a body," said Bernbeuren's mayor Karl Schleich on behalf of the school association about the gym. The official part of the inauguration ceremony ended with a sugar-sweet performance by young volleyball players from TSV Steingaden, who also mimed all kinds of sports in a dance performance that the audience was supposed to guess.
