Bad Godesberg town hall
The Stadthalle Bad Godesberg is an event hall in Bad Godesberg , a district of Bonn , which was built in 1955. She became known among other things because of the Godesberg program that the SPD passed there in 1959. The town hall stands as since July 2012 monument under monument protection .
location
The town hall is located in the spa gardens of the former bathing town of Bad Godesberg. It forms a triangle with the electoral redoubt and the Godesberg city theater, which is the center of social and cultural life in today's Bonn district. The town hall, now the seat of the district administration, is also in the immediate vicinity. North-west of the hall is the pedestrian zone , north-east the Bonn-Bad Godesberg train station . As a result, the city hall is in the middle of Bad Godesberg according to its function and is also very easy to reach via public transport . The Stadthalle underground station , which is the end point of the Godesberg tram tunnel opened in 1994, is directly connected to the congress center .
To the south is the “Rigalsche Wiese”, a green area in front of the “ Rigalschen Kapelle ”. The oldest weather pillar in Germany was erected behind the town hall from 1955 , but it was moved back to its original location at Draitschbrunnen in 2019 .
history
prehistory
After the Second World War, tourism , the most important economic factor of the then still independent town of Bad Godesberg before the war, came to a complete standstill. Tourism essentially consisted of spa stays, and many guests also came to one of the Godesberg sanatoriums . In addition to the settlement of industry, the revival of tourism was also pursued.
In February 1947 an entrepreneur from Bad Münstereifel asked the city administration for a plot of land for a hall with a capacity for 1,000 people, in which the cinema and theater as well as conferences and congresses should take place. According to the investor's ideas, the city should finance the project alone and entrust the management of the project to him as the lessee. However, the administration saw this as an uneven distribution of risk and opportunity and rejected him in February 1947. This year there were no further impulses for the implementation of such a project.
In 1948 the city received an inquiry from the “Great Godesberg Carnival Society” as to whether it could lease municipal land for 99 years in order to build a festival hall there. In order to promote the new hall, the Godesberg doctor Dr. Schampel founded a “Konzerthaus- und Theaterbaugesellschaft e. V. Bad Godesberg ”. Another suggestion came from interested parties from Bielefeld, they favored the establishment of a GmbH with a 30 percent municipal share to build a hall. The efforts entered a further stage when a Godesberg real estate expert negotiated a hall project with the city for a Berlin investor group.
Presumably because of the different conditions imposed by the private investors, it later seemed more sensible to implement a significant measure that might help shape the cityscape, such as the construction of a town hall under municipal management.
Location question
In spring 1948, a plot of land near the former Godesberg town hall was discussed as a location for the town hall, which was the seat of the town administration until 1936. It was favored by local politicians, among other things, because it seemed suitable because of its central and “acoustically perfect” location. It was also seen as an advantage that “the expenditure on architecture at this point can be kept to a minimum” and “because the erection of an urban structure in the urban green spaces definitely appears undesirable” . The new building should therefore occupy a more modest place in the urban environment.
Building history
In March 1955 the demolition of the Volksgarten hall began as a prerequisite for the construction of the town hall. The Bonn architects Wilhelm and Dirk Denninger were commissioned with the planning and design . On July 15, 1955, the topping-out ceremony for the steel frame construction took place. Mayor Hopmann spoke about the objectives of the project :
“The topping-out ceremony is celebrated in Bad Godesberg, but this topping-out ceremony is a historic moment for our city. Here was a hall that had served its purpose for decades, but no longer met the requirements. Today we are celebrating the topping-out ceremony for a building that was expected in Bad Godesberg and is now nearing completion. We were happy when we got back the redoubt, in which we were allowed to welcome the Federal President, we were happy when we were able to open the city theater, and today the topping-out ceremony is being celebrated for a building that we need for the development of our city have believe. It should be a home for our many flourishing associations, it should accommodate the congresses and meetings that will take place in Bad Godesberg. We then have the redoubt for concerts, social and political events, the city theater for cultural events and this building for our associations, also for cultural events and for conferences ... So may this building stand there for the glory and pride of our city. "
In his opinion, construction was proceeding at an “unheard-of speed” . The construction costs rose several times, so that the Cologne District President also got involved. The city's financial possibilities were severely limited, so that the demolition of the Godesberg town hall and its replacement by a new one had to be postponed. Today, the bottleneck in the city's treasury at the time is viewed positively, since the demolition of the historic building would have destroyed an "urban development charter".
opening
On the evening of December 15, 1955, the town hall was officially opened in the presence of 700 invited guests. Among them were Federal President Theodor Heuss , Vice Chancellor Franz Blücher (FDP), Federal Labor Minister Anton Storch (CDU), numerous state secretaries from the federal ministries , heads of missions from many diplomatic missions, members of the Bundestag , representatives of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the city and University of Bonn . No Godesberg associations or artists were involved in the opening, not even a Bonn institution such as the announced Bonn Municipal Orchestra.
In his address, Mayor Hopmann said: “We are no longer the quiet, dreamy bathing town. We want to become the congress city, not only in the Rhenish region, but also in the whole of Germany and the Western European countries. " In doing so, however, he remarked: " Not megalomania, not arrogance, only a sober cause drove us to build the city hall . ” He was alluding to the need to strengthen Godesberg tourism. In retrospect, he explained to the press that an “architectural triad of redoubt - city theater - city hall” had now been created. All buildings would be on the edge or in the heart of the park. In the center, however, is the town hall, which - "like a conductor on his podium" - brings the triad to life.
designation
The current name "Stadthalle" was only viewed by the Stadthallen Committee as a provisional name for the working group. This name was found to be too simple for such a large project. To make this clear, the Deputy Mayor Hubert Peter said the new Godesberger Hall will be "the most beautiful building between Basel and Kleve" . The press issued an invitation to citizens to participate in the naming process and produced over 100 suggestions. On October 28, 1955, the city council finally discussed three proposals. 17 votes were then cast on “Stadthalle”, 11 council representatives spoke out in favor of “Park Halls” and no one voted for “Kurpark Halls”. This corresponds to the reduced importance of the location factor “spa and bathing city”.
Later changes
In order to be able to satisfy the demand for smaller rooms than the existing large and small hall, a "park hall" was added in 1979, which depending on the division of the room offers space for 20 to 100 people. The park hall itself was enlarged by 100 square meters in 1991. In addition, the city administration had the so-called “Fountain Hall” built at the intersection between the Terrace Hall and the Great Hall, which can accommodate up to 40 people. As part of these measures, new rooms were created for staff and renovation work was carried out on floors , ceilings , lighting and ventilation systems. Five skylights were built into the ceiling of the foyer, which has looked much brighter since then. This work resulted in a break in operation for several months for the event operations, the operation of the restaurant was maintained.
The opening of the Godesberg tram tunnel on September 25, 1994 was important for the accessibility of the town hall via public transport . The previously above-ground route was extended by one station to the town hall. In one corner of the basement there was already a wide steel wing door that was walled up before the Stadthalle underground station opened . The guests can now use it to enter the congress center; the stop is the current end point of the tunnel and also the 45.6 km long tram line 16 to Cologne.
Towards the end of the 1990s, the city decided to undertake the long overdue renovation and redesign of the restaurant, which was realized when it reopened on October 1, 1999. The restaurant has thus received a new appearance. However, further renovations had become necessary, especially in the area of the technical systems, the cloakrooms and the changing rooms for artists. In addition, moisture damage had occurred. This redevelopment backlog was partially resolved in 2005 when the city of Bonn provided 340,000 euros for the most urgent remedial measures.
The town hall was entered in the monuments list of the city of Bonn in July 2012.
reception
"Flat building with an almost bizarre floor plan, which is well integrated into its surroundings by parts of the building reaching into the park like arms."
workload
In 2004, an average of ten events took place every day, and 3,676 were counted for the year as a whole. The maximum load was with 19 events u. a. measured in December, the maximum weekly occupancy reached 92 events. In 2004 the town hall offered space for 366 private parties with 10–800 people. 37 banquets with 80–1,200 guests took place in the same year. Clubs, groups and social institutions with 10–50 people had the largest share, occupying rooms in the town hall 1,911 times. In 2004, 81 trade fairs and exhibitions with 50–1,500 participants chose the city hall as the location for their presentations.
literature
- Sonja Schöttler: The Bad Godesberg town hall . In: Godesberger Heimatblätter: Annual issue of the Association for Home Care and Home History Bad Godesberg eV , ISSN 0436-1024 , Issue 42 (2004), Association for Home Care and Home History Bad Godesberg , Bad Godesberg 2005, pp. 150–182. [not yet evaluated for this article]
- Stadthalle Bad Godesberg (Ed.): 50 Years of the Stadthalle Bad Godesberg (PDF; 1.8 MB) . Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the inauguration. Bad Godesberg 2005.
- Andreas Denk , Ingeborg flag : Architectural guide Bonn . Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-496-01150-5 , p. 107.
- Ursel and Jürgen Zänker: Building in Bonn room 49–69. Attempt to take stock . In: Landschaftsverband Rheinland (Hrsg.): Art and antiquity on the Rhine . Guide to the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn . No. 21 . Rheinland-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1969, p. 173/174 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ List of monuments of the city of Bonn (as of March 15, 2019), number A 4103
- ↑ Bad Godesberg town hall is now a memorial , General-Anzeiger , July 28, 2012
- ^ Ingeborg Flagge: Architecture in Bonn after 1945: Buildings in the federal capital and its surroundings . Verlag Ludwig Röhrscheid, Bonn 1984, ISBN 3-7928-0479-4 , p. 62.
Coordinates: 50 ° 40 ′ 51 ″ N , 7 ° 9 ′ 28.7 ″ E