Old Town Hall (Breaking Down)

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Old Town Hall (2011)

The old town hall is a listed half-timbered house in Niederbruch , a district of the Hessian community of Brechen .

History of construction and early use

Rear attachment

The building was built in 1700 as an Electoral Trier official and tithe house on already existing foundation walls, in 1722 an extension with a small bakery was built. There was an open arcade on the ground floor, and a meeting room was set up on the upper floor of the two-story half-timbered building, which was illuminated on three sides by artistically decorated Franconian bay windows.

The gable is curved three times, a face is carved in the ridge triangle, which is supposed to represent the "Rothesmannes" (town hall man). In the center there was originally a dwelling , the exact position of which can still be seen today from the mortises. The Zwerchhaus was used to store the tithe levies in the two-storey attic of the house, which had to be supported by two columns in the hall soon after it was built.

Conversion to the town hall

In 1791 the tithe house was converted into the town hall. In the following years, the arcade on the ground floor was closed, and the building was completely plastered for fire protection reasons. The Franconian bay windows of the assembly room and large parts of the carving fell victim to this. The dwelling was also removed and a hose tower for the fire brigade was installed. 1895 was replaced by the small dormers wider at a roof thatching the towing dormers .

Remediation and restoration

Decorations on the Franconian bay windows
Badge "Hessian Monument Preservation Prize 2003"

In 1912, under the Frankfurt conservator Ferdinand Luthmer, the half-timbered structure was exposed again, and in 1965 a major renovation was carried out for modernization, in particular the interior of the building was almost completely changed. The half-timbered construction was badly damaged because the clay compartment was replaced, the collar walls were removed and unsuitable materials were used. In addition, the wooden connections were not worked professionally, resulting in rotten tenon and corner connections. In 2001, when parts of the gable and the western side of the eaves threatened to collapse onto the street, extensive renovation was necessary.

In the course of the renovation, the original appearance was almost completely restored. The Franconian bay windows were also reinstalled, and the parapet panels with winged angel heads framed by a leaf garland were re-carved according to the remains. The large meeting room on the upper floor was also restored by removing the new interior walls and reconstructing the former wall.

The construction costs amounted to almost € 250,000 and were borne by the municipality of Brechen, the State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse supported the project with a grant of € 30,000.

In 2003, the community was awarded the Hessian Monument Protection Prize for “exemplary renovation using traditional craftsmanship” , and in May 2005 the old town hall was presented as “Monument of the Month” on the State Office's website.

Todays use

The old town hall houses the community archive, the hall on the upper floor is used as a wedding room and for cultural events. Until the end of 2009 there was a bank branch on the ground floor. From 2010 to 2015, the old town hall also served as the headquarters of a consulting company for information security. Today it is used entirely for cultural events and as a meeting room for parties and committees.

literature

Web links

Commons : Altes Rathaus (Niederbruch)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Jochen von Sichart: Renovation in the truest sense. Published in May 2005 on the website of the State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen . Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Monument Preservation Dreier: Renovation of the old town hall Accessed on May 5, 2012. (Accessible via "References" → "Renovation of the old town hall (1700) Niederbruch")
  3. ↑ Bernhard Trost: Dine in the old town hall? Nassauische Neue Presse, October 9, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2012.

Coordinates: 50 ° 21 '47.7 "  N , 8 ° 9' 55.4"  E