“Dörfle” sounds cute doesn’t it? The Postdörfle is a residential area in Stuttgart. It was Stuttgart’s first worker settlement. It was built between 1869 and 1871 for postal and railway employees.
The architect Georg von Morlok designed it. He used Renaissance architectural styles. The Postdörfle wasn’t a real village. It was a village-like settlement for postal workers and railwaymen. The Swabian habit of using the suffix “-le” made the name Postdörfle stick.
The Postdörfle is located in the Stuttgart-Nord district. It sits on Heilbronner Straße. This is a main road from the city center to Heilbronn. The rectangular area faces south. It is bordered by Heilbronner Straße and Birkenwaldstraße. Im Kaisemer and Vordernbergstraße also border it.
The area was once a vineyard. There is a 30-meter height difference. It runs from Birkenwaldstraße to Heilbronner Straße. In the late 19th century Stuttgart’s housing market was tight. The state intervened to provide affordable housing. This was for lower-ranking employees of transport companies. Karl von Varnbüler pushed for this. He was Württemberg’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Railways.
A vineyard outside the city center was bought cheaply. Georg von Morlok planned the Postdörfle. He had experience building railways. He also helped build the first worker settlement in Kuchen. Morlok cleverly used the sloping site. He divided it into seven terraces. Twenty-one residential buildings were built. They contained 196 apartments and two community buildings. The community buildings featured Renaissance styles. This terraced design was new to settlement construction. It provided good ventilation and spacing between houses.
The community buildings stood on the lowest terrace. They housed a bathhouse, canteen, and laundry. These were equipped with modern technology. A main path ran along the central axis. It led from a staircase and basin to a fountain in the middle. Side paths branched off to the residential buildings. Gardens were divided between the houses.
Levels two through seven held 21 buildings. There were thirteen individual buildings with six apartments each. Seven semi-detached houses contained twelve apartments each. A five-section building held 34 apartments. Each comfortable apartment had a living room. Some had bay windows. There were bedrooms, children’s rooms, and kitchens. Some kitchens had balconies. Each apartment had a toilet, storage, and a garden plot.
During World War II the Postdörfle was mostly destroyed. The community buildings survived. The residential buildings were rebuilt simply. The original layout was kept. The central fountain was replaced with a lawn. New buildings were added later. They included modern apartments.
In 2007 the former community buildings became a hotel. The architects Harald Schreiber and Christoph Mäckler designed the conversion. A new building was added for the hotel lobby. The facades were preserved.
The Postdörfle was initially called Kleinhemmingen. This was after Karl von Varnbüler. His family seat was in Hemmingen. Eduard Mörike mentioned the Postdörfchen in a letter from 1874. The term Postdörfle appeared in 1882. It described modern city baths. Back then the location was outside the city. The proximity to jobs at the post office and railway was key. The sunny hillside location was also beneficial. The land was affordable.
The terraced design addressed the steep slope. It allowed for open spaces and gardens. The community buildings offered modern amenities. These included laundry machines, a kitchen, and a bathhouse. The buildings used German Renaissance styles. This was a popular style at the time.
The Postdörfle quickly became part of the city. The Eisenbahnersiedlung soon followed. The Erlöserkirche was built nearby. After World War II the Postdörfle was rebuilt. New buildings were added in the 2000s. The urban layout has been preserved. Today the Postdörfle stands as a testament to early social housing. It reflects Stuttgart’s industrial past. It also shows innovative urban planning.