Bocholt's central location for education and culture

On Friday, 23 February 2024, the LernWerk in Bocholt was officially opened, a significant step for the city's educational and cultural landscape. The striking building, located at Industriestrasse 1, will become the central location for education and culture in Bocholt.

The opening ceremony was attended by 60 invited guests from the fields of politics, business, education, culture and administration to honour this urban planning milestone. The ceremony was accompanied by music from the teachers' band of the Bocholt music school.

The former Herding spinning mill building, a stone contemporary witness from the 19th century, was extensively renovated and remodelled, whereby historical fragments meet modern architecture. A striking feature of the LernWerk is the cube that protrudes from the building and is illuminated in the dark. It took around 3.5 years to build; initial thoughts of planning a central location for education and culture on the site arose shortly after the turn of the millennium.

The LernWerk will now serve as a central location for education and culture in Bocholt and is home to various municipal and cultural institutions:

• Adult education centre
• music school
• Young University in Bocholt (additional courses for children and young people between the ages of 6 and 16)
• Cultural administration of the city of Bocholt
• Freie Kulturszene Bocholt, a centre for all Bocholt cultural associations, including the Kunst- und Kulturgemeinschaft Bocholt (KuKuG)
• Learning workshop for secondary school teachers in the Borken district
• Seat of the integration council of the city of Bocholt

The relocation of these institutions to the LernWerk is planned for the Easter holidays, with business operations starting after the holidays.

121 rooms, including numerous offices, seminar rooms and an event hall, are spread over an area of around 6,000 square metres. The 300 square metre extension is available to Bocholt's independent cultural scene.

The cost of the conversion is 20 million euros, around half of which is subsidised by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

An open day " will be held on 14 September to give the general public the opportunity to explore the LernWerk. A café will also be set up in the building.

Comments on the opening

Mayor Thomas Kerkhoff: "A happy day for Bocholt. We have officially put the LernWerk into service and heralded the start of the utilisation phase. Then we will slowly move in and the users will take over the building. The main move will take place during the Easter holidays. After that, things can really get going. A really great project for Bocholt."

State Secretary Daniele Sieveke, NRW State Ministry: "Bocholt has utilised the impetus provided by the state with the urban development funding. A joint success of all those involved for the local people. I always enjoy coming back to Bocholt: Because things keep moving forward and you can always discover something new here."

Ulrich Paßlick, former city planning officer (1992-2016): "It's simply a great feeling to see the vision that you knew from paper now realised here. I am convinced that we are experiencing great open architecture that will almost magically attract the people of Bocholt. "Kubaai" has always been a project close to my heart for the last 16 years of my term of office, from vision to realisation. I hope that many people will flock to this magnificent building."

Peter Tautz, Stadtquartier Bocholt GmbH: "This is an exciting building with great architecture and creative use. The Kubaai-Quartier with the LernWerk can become a landmark and contribute to Bocholt's branding."