From hotel to boarding school: Tenant complains about unsustainable conditions on the Nordberg

From hotel to boarding school: Tenant complains about unsustainable conditions on the Nordberg

in the remote Bergkamen, where the Hotel am Nordberg once housed a pulsating life, the situation for the last remaining tenants is anything but gratifying. While the former hotel is largely empty and converted into a girls' boarding school, the remaining tenants fight with unreasonable conditions that make everyday life a challenge.

One of the last tenants, Claudia Greiz (name changed), is particularly difficult. With her family, she moved into a 55 square meter apartment to her daughter, while the 26-year-old daughter Greiz 'keeps her place in the former 120 square meter apartment on the Nordberg. However, there is no longer a normal life possible: "If she wants to wash or take a shower, she comes to us", Greiz describes the absurd situation.

unsustainable living conditions

The somewhat nostalgic memory of the living conditions a few years ago is quickly obtained from reality. When she moved to the house about ten years ago, Greiz felt comfortable. But in 2017, the building was sold by a new owner, the European Mosque Building and Support Association (EMUG) from Cologne, which heralded the beginning of a creeping expiry that continues to this day. With the vision of setting up a boarding school, however, the conversion measures seem to have the last priority.

The problems are versatile: In the past few years there have been water damage in the apartment that penetrated through walls and blankets. The central heating did not work properly in winter, and despite the night storage stoves, the insulation of the heating pipes was so bad that the rooms were hardly warm. "So you never get the apartment warm," explains Greiz frustrated. But the worst challenge is not over yet. The family has had no electricity for two months.

"According to GSW, the landlord would have to renew the electricity meter", she describes the predicament. But the emug does not respond to repeated complaints. Even a written request to the emug remained without an answer. This shows a worrying image of neglect and apparently also of indifference to the needs of the few remaining tenants.

a building in the state of expiry

The remaining resources of the building standing in the background are apparently on the retreat. The Santander bank closed its branch on the ground floor in 2015, and the catering rooms in the basement have long been unused. The vacancy has developed into a visible sign of the change of the former hotel. According to the city of Bergkamen, the hotel rooms are being rebuilt to offer the new residents of the boarding school.

The despair around Claudia Greiz and her family is symptomatic of what was previously considered harmonious living, but now drifts into an uncertain future. While the renovation of the building progresses, the fate of Greiz and the few other tenants seems to be hanging in the hover. Again and again she draws the conclusion that the emug apparently also wants to scare her and her family. "The other tenants have gradually moved out, under the given circumstances it is understandable," she notes.

The urban authorities could soon have to intervene in the situation if the living conditions for the remaining tenants do not quickly 개선. In the meantime, the emergency of the Greiz family remains a warning sign for the challenges and the responsibility associated with the renting of such properties. Where people once found a home, the neglected legacy of a community is now threatened to fall in the silence of vacancy.