The Night the Stairwell Burned - Geißstraße 7
At about 3:30 a.m. on 16 March 1994, a fire set in the cluttered, unlocked entrance of Geißstraße 7 raced up its wooden stairwell and killed seven people, two small children among them, in Stuttgart's worst fire since the Second World War. A serial arsonist aged 23 was caught 15 months later and convicted of seven murders.
About this place
Facing the cheerful Hans im Glück fountain of 1909, with its farm boy and gilded pig, stands the listed house at Geißstraße 7, built in 1907. In the early hours of 16 March 1994, a fire started in its unlocked entrance hall, which was crammed almost to the ceiling with carpet scraps, cardboard and wooden crates from a botched renovation. The flames shot up the wooden stairwell as if through a chimney and trapped the sleeping residents: 52 people from many countries who lived here without rental contracts at usurious rents. Twenty to thirty fled onto the roof, five jumped into a rescue cushion, and seven died, among them two small children and a heavily pregnant young woman. It was the worst fire in Stuttgart since the Second World War. Fifteen months later, police in Esslingen arrested a serial arsonist aged 23; he confessed, retracted, and in 1996 was convicted of seven murders and 86 attempted murders. The court found no racist motive, a conclusion that is still debated. Out of the ruin grew the Stiftung Geißstraße, a citizens' foundation for remembrance and civic dialogue that still has its home in the rebuilt house.
Key facts
- 7 people killed — Two small children and a heavily pregnant young woman were among the dead in Stuttgart's worst fire since the Second World War.
- 86 counts of attempted murder — On 23 May 1996 the arsonist was convicted of seven murders and 86 attempted murders and sentenced to 15 years, followed by preventive detention.
- 231 percent overcharge — Residents paid 500 marks for a room that should have cost at most 151, and the tenant and subtenant were later fined for rent usury.