In Chemnitz, the Protestant parish of the Castle Church and St. Peter’s Church is taking drastic measures due to drastically increased district heating costs. Following a contract change by the energy supplier, the annual basic charge has, according to the parish, increased three to four times the previous heating costs, prompting the church council to shut down the heating system of the centrally located St. Peter’s Church. As a result, the church can no longer be used for events for the time being. The consequences are particularly severe during the colder months, as neither Easter services nor concerts with professional musicians can be held there. The parish is simultaneously using the smaller Castle Church, while other large churches in Chemnitz are also suffering under the same pricing structure. (welt: 26.03.26)
Chemnitz is hit hardest by the new basic fee
According to the municipality, the significant cost increase is not solely due to higher consumption. The decisive factor is the new pricing model. The annual basic fee alone is now three to four times the previous heating costs. This places a massive burden on the municipality, even though church buildings are only heated to a high temperature on a few days of the year.
However, this is precisely where the core economic problem lies. Church congregations typically only heat large buildings for services, holidays, or special events. According to the congregation, this often amounts to only 20 to 40 days per year. A high fixed base fee therefore hits such users particularly hard, because even low consumption no longer offsets the overall costs.
Concerts, church services, and operations are in jeopardy
With the heating system shut down, St. Petri Church is losing a significant portion of its function during the cold season. This affects not only regular church services but also concerts with professional musicians. Instruments require a contractually guaranteed minimum temperature, which cannot be maintained without heating. Therefore, Easter services at St. Petri are canceled this year.
The congregation is using the smaller Castle Church instead, but the financial pressure is also increasing there. According to the congregation, the heating costs for the Castle Church are now higher than the previous expenses for both churches combined. This clearly illustrates the scale of the burden. At the same time, it remains unclear whether church services will be held in unheated church spaces in Chemnitz in the future. According to the congregation, a total of four large city churches with district heating connections are affected, meaning the problem extends far beyond St. Petri.