Old Town Hall (Chemnitz)
The late Gothic old town hall in Chemnitz was built between 1496 and 1498 on the site of previous wooden buildings and was later rebuilt several times. Among other things, the seat of the mayor's office is located here.
history
The old town hall is located in the immediate vicinity of the Jakobikirche , which was probably built with the first settlement. In their neighborly protection the market grew and with it the city. The town charter developed from the market charter, with the town charter the town or council regiment and so the town hall arose quite early, based on the St. Jakobi church and protruding into the market.
Many buildings were made of wood in the 14th century and so large city fires were unavoidable. The town hall also burned down several times in the town fires of 1379, 1389 and 1395. To prevent this in the future, a stone replacement building was planned for a new construction. But even this was destroyed in a fire on November 5, 1617. For this reason, the council meetings subsequently took place in the Dr. Vogelschen Haus at Roßmarkt . The town hall was built in 1618 and moved into again in autumn of the following year. The high tower was also completed in 1620 . The current baroque state was created in 1746 by Freiberg council carpenter Johann Gottlieb Ohndorff .
On March 5, 1945, during the bombing of the city of Chemnitz, the high tower, St. Jakobikirche and the old town hall were destroyed along with many other buildings. The town hall burned down to the vaults on the first floor and was increased by one floor during the reconstruction.
At the front of the town hall tower is the Judith Lucretia portal from 1559, which was attached to the side before the destruction. It was built by the councilor, cloth maker and dealer Merten Groß, passed to Agricola's heirs around 1580 and in 1589 into the possession of the Neefe family. There it adorned the patrician house of the wealthy long-distance trader Paul Neefe, built around the middle of the 16th century . This portal was located at the so-called “Neefeschen Haus” until 1910, but it was sold by the Neefes in 1804 and converted in 1815 into the “Römischer Kaiser” hotel. In 1921 the house had to be demolished after a major fire. A figural carillon has recently been installed above the portal.
The older high tower, which was probably part of an inner-city fortification from around 1200, belongs to the town hall complex. The high tower collapsed on the night of February 3rd to 4th, 1946. The ruins were initially blown up, but the tower was later rebuilt. In the years 1947 to 1951 the old and new town hall were rebuilt and the high tower was built from scratch until the tour. It was only completed in 1986. With the turn of the century in 1990, it became possible to revive the old tower tradition on this tower. The high tower once served as the residence of the mayor, is now the place of work of the Chemnitz tower keeper and functions as a viewing platform.
literature
- Adam Daniel Richter: Cumbersome Chronica of the Chrurfürstlich Sächzische Stadt Chemnitz, at the foot of the Meißnischen Ertzgebürges, compiled from reliable news, together with attached documents. Verlag Schöpfische Buchhandlung, Zittau / Leipzig 1767, part 1, p. 232. (online)
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 49 '57.4 " N , 12 ° 55' 8.1" E