Renovation of the mourning hall is progressing well
27.03.2026 – The renovation of the mourning hall at the New Cemetery is well on schedule. The shell for the new cold rooms has been completed and most of the roof has been renewed. Inside the hall, extensive work is currently underway on the building services.
"Almost all contracts have now been awarded and the renovation is currently on budget," says city treasurer and responsible department head Martin Wilhelm. "We are therefore confident that the budget of 8.8 million euros for the refurbishment will be met."
As things currently stand, the modernization of the building will be completed by the end of 2026 to the beginning of 2027. Final finishing work will then follow. Funeral services should be able to be held in the renovated hall again in the first quarter of 2027. "Then the familiar utensils from the temporary hall built within walking distance will also be put back in place," says Gabriele Schreiber, Head of Municipal Cemeteries. "In the meantime, the interim hall has been well received and the number of bookings remains unchanged."
Work on the interior of the mourning hall is progressing
Large parts of the technical infrastructure have already been installed inside the old mourning hall, including pipes and ventilation. Around 80 percent of the shell installation of the building services has been completed, including in the sanitary facilities for the crematorium staff. The need for renovation was particularly high here. The open walls are currently being gradually closed up again. The subsequent final assembly is scheduled for the end of the year. Among other things, radiators, sanitary objects, lighting, switches and sockets will then be installed and the walls painted.
The structural work for the new elevator in the foyer of the hall has been completed. Alongside the new disabled toilets on the first floor and the removal of the steps between the parking lot and the mourning hall, it is part of the future accessibility of the renovated building. Parts of the façade, such as the wall with glass blocks, were removed and replaced with an energy-efficient outer shell. The new large window front on the first floor has been fitted with a special film to prevent bird strike. Frosted glass in front of the farewell rooms creates a protected atmosphere.
Photovoltaic system is installed on the roof
Work on the roof is also well advanced. Most of the new zinc sheet roof on the funeral hall has been installed. While the old roof only kept out the weather with roofing felt and boards, insulation with a newly bonded seal now reduces frost and heat. The old and mostly cracked skylight domes in the roof of the corridor and social area were replaced.
A photovoltaic system is being installed here, with the cable harnesses and brackets being laid as part of the roof work. The workers will only install the modules themselves once the construction work is complete. The climate-friendly energy generated will primarily be used to power the round-the-clock cooling system and for lighting. The system itself is part of the photovoltaic offensive that has been running since 2024, which aims to equip all roofs of municipal properties on which this is possible with solar systems to generate climate-friendly electricity.
Windows are gradually being refurbished
As part of the refurbishment, the windows by artist Bernd Rosenheim that characterize the mourning hall are gradually being refurbished. A family business is gradually renewing the window putty, treating the metal parts against rust and replacing damaged panes. The glass specialists always come when all other work in the façade area has been completed and there is no longer any risk of glass breakage. They use the time when the scaffolding is still up.
Delays could be made up for
"Due to the frosty temperatures with ice and snow as well as persistent rainfall in the previous months, some work has been delayed that can only be carried out when the surface temperature is at least five degrees and the weather is dry. In the meantime, however, it has been possible to catch up on almost all of the work without affecting the completion date," says Christian Loose, deputy head of ESO's own municipal services department. "Among other things, the painting work on the façade was affected."
Work on the outdoor facilities will begin in late summer. However, work on the new rainwater drainage system around the building is already underway. An excavator will be used again for this.
With each day that the structural work progressed, everyone involved in the renovation project became a little more relaxed: "The mourning hall was built in 1968. When renovating such an old functional building that has never been completely refurbished, you always have to expect unpleasant surprises, even with good planning and preparation," says Frank Herrgen, project manager at Stadtwerke Offenbach subsidiary OPG Offenbacher Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH. "We did have to overcome challenges from time to time. But none of them brought construction progress to a standstill."