Hans Geiges

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Hans Geiges as head of the building construction department of the city of Freiburg in 1965

Hans Geiges (born September 30, 1904 in Freiburg im Breisgau ; † September 22, 1988 in Ebnet ; full name: Hans Melchior Geiges ) was a German architect and town planner and chief construction director of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau.

Life

Hans Geiges comes from the long-established Freiburg Geiges family , his great-grandfather Sigmund Geiges (1810–1898) was a city architect in Freiburg, his grandfather Oskar Geiges (1849–1923) and his father Franz Geiges (1879–1968) were architects and building contractors. The most famous representative of the family was the great uncle Fritz Geiges (1853-1935), glass painter and restorer a. a. the Freiburg cathedral window.

Hans Geiges graduated from the Rotteck-Gymnasium in Freiburg in 1924 , studied architecture in Karlsruhe and at the Technical University of Stuttgart , among others with Paul Bonatz and Paul Schmitthenner . In 1931 he completed his studies as a graduate engineer "with distinction".

He registered a trade as a freelance architect and took part in many competitions with prizes and purchases (e.g. Heimathaus in Triberg , Knabenkonvikt in Sigmaringen , war memorial in Stein am Rhein , Catholic kindergarten in Sulz (Lahr) and others).

In 1935 he was appointed by building director Joseph Schlippe to the municipal building construction office in Freiburg, where he worked on numerous designs a. a. for the "musicians' quarter" around Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Strasse, which Jensenstrasse, Sonnhalde and Eichhalde created.

After being drafted into the Reich Labor Service in 1939, he was drafted into military service as a telecommunications operator and pioneer in 1940. The turmoil of the war took him to Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland and Russia. In April 1945 he was taken prisoner by the US, but was then handed over to the French and used in the Auvergne first as a forest worker and later as a farmhand until he was released back home in January 1948.

Freiburg old town after the air raid of November 27, 1944 (summer 1945 or later)

In May 1948, Geiges resumed work for the Freiburg building authorities, became Joseph Schlippe's deputy in 1950 as municipal building officer and his successor after his retirement in 1951. In 1967 she retired at her own request. From 1964 to 1978 he was chairman of the Upper Rhine section of the Baden Architects and Engineers Association (BAIV).

Hans Geiges died on September 22, 1988 in his house in Freiburg-Ebnet.

Services

Hans Geiges, together with his predecessor in the office of chief building director, Joseph Schlippe, spent the decisive years in the reconstruction of the city of Freiburg after the destruction of the Second World War. a. the aftermath of the air raid on November 27, 1944.

The urban planning work of Hans Geiges in the Freiburg Building Department followed the main features of the reconstruction plans drawn up by Joseph Schlippe since 1945 and the principles of the conservative Stuttgart School . The reconstruction should "preserve historical scale", as far as possible take into account the medieval Zähringer plan and thus the cityscape, determined by the old streets, squares, the "Gässle" and "Bächle" and of course the cathedral , be recognizable again, even if much was irretrievably lost.

Freiburg was not to become a “characterless reconstruction city” with anonymous, faceless residential, business and administrative silos. However, all requirements for a modern city should be taken into account, economic issues as well as traffic-related requirements. The block gutting of the formerly densely built-up courtyards created better living and working conditions. The development of the inner courtyards took place z. T. via newly developed roads. In terms of urban planning, the arcades in Kaiser-Joseph-Straße , which made it possible to widen the street without reducing the building line, set a completely new accent. Businesses were settled on the outskirts of the city in newly designated business areas in order to offer them greater opportunities for development.

In the old town, the reconstruction of the historically significant monuments - old town hall , Basler Hof , St. Martin , Palais Sickingen - began early. The determining factor for the cityscape was the early determination that by limiting the height of the storeys in the city center, the cathedral should retain its dominant position and not be impaired by the surrounding skyscrapers .

In the 1960s, there were increasing conflicts about the urban development. The enormous expansion of the city and general social upheavals arose to which the political leadership of the city demanded “modern” answers. A permanent consensus was not possible here, so Geiges retired early in 1967. The reconstruction was essentially complete by this point.

Buildings and designs

House Nittel and House Herr in Freiburg
Berthold High School in Freiburg
City library on Münsterplatz
  • 1951: House Nittel in Freiburg, Kaiser-Joseph-Straße (under monument protection )
  • 1951: Haus Herr in Freiburg, Kaiser-Joseph-Straße (under monument protection)
  • 1958: Bertholdgymnasium in Freiburg, Hirzbergstraße 12 (planning together with Hellmut Phleps)
  • Werner Blust department store
  • 1954: The Schwabentor is dismantled
  • library
  • 1958: Holy Spirit pen
  • Lortzing School
  • Weiherhof School
  • Mooswald School
  • Extension of the old town hall

Fonts

  • Our city in the course of our times. In: Freiburger Almanach 1962, p. 61ff.
  • The old town of Freiburg and its reconstruction. In: Festschrift for the 48th German Geodetic Day in Freiburg , 1963, p. 22ff.
  • The old town of Freiburg and its reconstruction . In: Badische Heimat 1999, p. 529 ff.

literature

  • Joseph Schlippe: How Freiburg should rise again. In: Freiburger Almanach 1950, p. 13ff.
  • Joseph Schlippe: Freiburg then and now. In: Badische Heimat 1959, p. 214ff.
  • Adolf J. Schmid : Hans Melchior violins. Senior Building Director of the City of Freiburg. In: Badische Heimat 1989, p. 53ff.
  • Jürgen Gröning, Rüdiger Mag: 75 years of settlement society 1919–1994. Settlement Society Freiburg im Breisgau, 1994.
  • Ulrich P. Ecker: Freiburg 1944–1994. Destruction and rebuilding. Freiburg im Breisgau 1994.
  • Paul Bert: 1950-2000. Half a century of building in Freiburg. In: Badische Heimat 1999, p. 531ff.
  • Closely associated with the reconstruction. Senior Building Director Hans Geiges retired. In: Badische Zeitung of October 6, 1967.
  • Karl Schmitz: Saved from the zeitgeist. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of May 17, 1980.
  • A piece of contemporary history. Hans Geiges will be 80 years old on Sunday. In: Badische Zeitung of September 29, 1984.

Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Saskia Durian-Ress (ed.): 100 Years of Freiburg Architects' Book. Build at the end of the century 1898–1998. (Book accompanying the exhibition at the Augustinermuseum Freiburg, Wentzingerhaus - Museum für Stadtgeschichte, from November 27, 1998 to January 17, 1999) Poppen & Ortmann, Freiburg im Breisgau 1998, ISBN 3-7930-9206-2 , p. 22f.
  2. ↑ Klaus Humpert : Freiburg - a stroke of luck in Freiburg on the way to the "Green City" , Sven von Ungern-Sternberg (ed.), Rombach Verlag, Freiburg 2020
  3. ↑ Peter Kalchthaler : Freiburg Mitte: Stadtgeschichte: Arcades did not exist on Kaiser-Joseph-Straße until after the Second World War. Badische Zeitung, June 27, 2016, accessed on June 27, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Violin, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Violin, Hans Melchior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German architect and urban planner
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Freiburg in Breisgau
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1988
Place of death Level