Old Town Hall (Soltau)
The old town hall in Soltau is the former town hall of the Lower Saxon town of Soltau and is still the seat of various institutions today. It was built in 1826 and is a listed building.
Construction and history
In 1533, Duke Ernst the Confessor gave the town the "Chapel Tom Hilligen Lichnam", built around 1470 in Marktstrasse, for use as the town hall. On October 14, 1818, the Soltau Council discussed the further use of the now dilapidated building. Against the vote of the new lawyer Dr. Johann Friedrich Daniel Jaep, the council initially decided to repair the existing building and postpone a new one by 20 years in order to raise money for the construction. The syndic then switched on the royal government, which on May 31, 1820, requested an expert opinion. Only a year later, the Soltau council around Mayor Dransfeld commissioned the Celle master builder Mithoff, who began work on the report on August 7, 1821. His recommendation was an immediate new building elsewhere. It was not until November 6, 1823 that the new building of the town hall came back on the agenda and the council finally voted for a new building. Mithoff had already submitted a draft proposal for the new building in 1821, but as a result there were renewed disagreements about the location. On January 29, 1825, Landdrost von derdeck commissioned the Fallingbosteler Drosten von der Wense to investigate the matter. On February 10th and 11th, the responsible government commissioner came to Soltau to get the negotiations going again. Due to the dilapidation of the previous town hall, the meetings had to take place in an inn. Finally, an agreement was reached on the location on what was then Hamburger Chaussee.
The new town hall building had four floors from the basement to the attic. The Ratskeller with a hall and increased space for music took up more than twice as much space as was intended for the administration and the court. Two prison cells were housed under the roof. This also included an outbuilding with stables for a cow, two horses and pigs, as well as two toilets, a peat and wooden barn and a carriage shed. In 1826 construction was carried out as planned. The exact date of completion and the handover of the keys are not known. The first lease for the Ratskeller was paid on May 1, 1827.
Twelve years after the inauguration, plans arose for an expansion, mainly to provide more overnight accommodation in the Ratskellerwirtschaft. It was only with great reluctance that the Landdrost approved the extension on July 3, 1840, which was completed in October 1841. The annex also contained prison cells. The newly created Royal Office (today's district administration) and the Soltau District Court also had their seat in the Soltau Town Hall from the start of their activity on October 1, 1852, which resulted in the Ratskeller moving out. The new facilities, which were made available to the two new authorities free of charge, included an office, two registry rooms, two business rooms and rooms for archives and for the storage of evidence. There was also an official apartment for the prison guard and a guard room. On October 1, 1853, the authorities were given two more rooms for an annual rent of 26 thalers. The stable buildings disappeared from the town hall courtyard, instead new outbuildings were built for the clerk and the prison guard.
Due to the limited space in the town hall, there were repeated disputes between the city and the judiciary, so in 1904 both led a lawsuit against each other, in which the repair costs of the stairs in the town hall were concerned. In 1908 the first plans for a new courthouse with a prison wing were presented. However, none of the numerous plans was initially implemented. In 1939 construction began on the district court building on Rühberg and the district judge's house on Blumenstrasse. But it was not until the end of March 1950 that the district court finally and completely moved from the town hall to the new district court building.
In 1981 the New Town Hall was opened in the immediate vicinity. Most of the administration, the citizens' office and the assembly rooms of the council moved into the new building.
Todays use
The registry office and the city archive are still located in the old town hall. In addition, the Freudenthal Society has its headquarters in the Old Town Hall, which also maintains the Freudenthal Room. Friedrich Freudenthal worked in this room in his years as mayor from 1884 to 1887. The furniture in the former mayor's room is a permanent loan from Marianne Schröder, Freudenthal's granddaughter.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Bargmann: The city of Soltau in the history of Lower Saxony , Volume 2: From the Thirty Years War to the end of the First World War, 1620 to 1919, chapter: "The new town hall" , pp. 126-130
- ↑ Sigmar Rundt (Ed.): 150 Years of the Soltau District Court - Justice in constant change , Mundschenk Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3-933802-05-9
- ↑ Freudenthal Room on the Freudenthal Society website
literature
- Wolfgang Bargmann : The city of Soltau in the history of Lower Saxony , Volume 2: From the Thirty Years War to the end of the First World War, 1620 to 1919, Mundschenk Verlag, 2005.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 59 ′ 14 " N , 9 ° 50 ′ 17.8" E