Flechtheimspeicher, Architectural heritage monument near Dortmund-Ems Canal, Münster, Germany.
The Flechtheimspeicher is a five-story masonry grain warehouse built in 1899 on the south side of the harbor basin in Münster. Its cast-iron central columns carry capitals modelled on Egyptian art, which support ceilings made of wooden planks, and the roof truss is ornately worked. Each of the five floors measures 1,620 square meters, with story heights between 3.10 and 3.80 meters. A shared stairwell links it on every floor to the adjoining Rhenusspeicher.
Emil Flechtheim, a Jewish grain wholesaler (1850–1933) and father of art dealer Alfred Flechtheim, had the five-storey masonry warehouse built in 1899 for his firm M. Flechtheim und Comp., then one of the largest grain trading companies. Rhenus bought it in 1939; the Stadtwerke acquired the site in 1968/69 and have owned the building since 1999. It was used until January 2007, stood empty and deteriorated until 2012, and was renovated from February 2013.
The Wolfgang Borchert Theater moved into the converted granary on 6 September 2014, opening with "Die letzte Soirée", a play written for the occasion by Berlin author Arna Aley. Its central figure is Alfred Flechtheim, the art dealer and publisher who was the son of the building's original owner, Emil Flechtheim. Intendant Meinhard Zanger directed the premiere.
The building sits directly at the harbor with clear signage for accessing different facilities and institutions located inside. Multiple separate entrances serve different tenants, so it helps to know in advance which institution you want to visit.
The cast-iron capitals of the interior columns carry a ceiling of wooden planks and are modelled on Egyptian art, a detail easy to miss. The roof truss is also intricately worked. The building was listed because it is one of the few surviving historic industrial structures in Münster.
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