Sights of the city of Esslingen am Neckar
Esslingen am Neckar is one of the few cities in Germany that did not suffer any significant destruction during World War II . Thus the architecture of the city shows examples from over 1200 years of history.
Official, town and town halls
Old town hall with carillon
The old town hall was built around 1420 as a municipal department store and wheelhouse and, with its magnificent half-timbered south gable, is considered the main part of the Alemannic half-timbered building. From 1586 to 1589, Heinrich Schickhardt built a gable front with an elegant clock tower in the Renaissance style in front of the north side . In 1592 an astronomical clock was added with the allegorical figures Justitia and Temperantia , which move with every strike of the hour. An eagle , the heraldic animal of the Free Imperial City, flaps its wings. The clock at the old town hall in Esslingen is an astronomical clock and the oldest working wrought-iron tower clock in Germany. It was named " Monument of the Month March 2007" by the Monument Foundation Baden-Württemberg .
From 1586, important interiors were redesigned under the direction of Schickhardt. This includes the vaulted hall on the ground floor, which is closely aligned with the ground floor hall in the New Lusthaus built in Stuttgart from 1583.
On the occasion of a renovation in 1926, the citizens of Esslingen donated a carillon with 24 bells. Another citizens' initiative in 1976 renewed the carillon and added 5 bells. It has a range of more than two octaves . There are more than 200 songs available, which are controlled with perforated tapes . The carillon can be heard every day at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
District Court
The district court was built between 1705 and 1715. It replaced the town hall, which burned down in 1701. It was confiscated from Württemberg in 1803 along with the Imperial Hall and thus the seat of the court authorities and, until 1806, of the Oberamt. It was designated as a district court in 1879.
Saxony's house
The Sachsen house is located at Heugasse 1 and was built in the 15th century. There are ceiling paintings from the Renaissance in the house .
Yellow house
The yellow house at Hafenmarkt 9 was built in its current form after 1739. In the western part of the baroque half-timbered building is a well-preserved stone residential tower from the period between 1259 and 1269. Together with the baroque neighboring building Hafenmarkt 7 (with splendid stucco ceilings) the house now houses the city museum .
Port market
The oldest known row of houses in Germany is located on the Hafenmarkt with house numbers 4 to 10 from 1328 to 1331.
House to the unicorn
The Haus zum Einhorn was built in 1598 and is located at Heugasse 17. The arched gate with the carved door was installed in 1797 during a major renovation. In the period after 1805 it was the seat of the town clerk's office.
Latin school
The early establishment of the Latin school in Esslingen probably originated in the Dominican settlement in the early 13th century. Today's Georgii-Gymnasium in Esslingen am Neckar emerged from this Latin school of the Esslingen schoolmaster Magister Henricus Scholasticus, which was first documented in 1279 AD . The enclosing walls on the first floor of the Latin school at Abt-Fulrad-Straße 3 date from the 13th century. From 1326 a Latin school was housed in this house, later a grammar school, which then moved to a new building on Lohwasen in 1910 and was named after Theodor Georgii from 1937 .
new town hall
The New Town Hall in Esslingen was built between 1748 and 1751 as the city palace of Baron Gottlieb von Palm. From 1831 to 1840 it was owned by Count Alexander von Württemberg and has been the town hall of Esslingen since 1841. Next to the town hall is the listed deanery building .
Palmscher building
The Palmsche building was built after the fire in 1701, during the years 1708-1710 by Jonathan Baron Palm as a city palace. At times the Thurn and Taxis postal administration was housed in the Palm building. In 1862, the real shield economy was granted for the building and a restaurant with beer garden is still operated there today, which bears the name Palmscher Bau.
Ratskeller
The Ratskeller originally dates from the 14th century. In the 16th century, an extension was added to the south side of the house and paintings were attached to the gable. He is at Hafenmarkt 1.
Knight's building
The knight's building was built between 1722 and 1725 as the office building of the knight's canton of Kocher . From 1806 to 1978 it housed the Oberamt (later the District Office ). The district court currently resides there .
Schwörhaus
The Schwörhaus was built towards the end of the 13th century. From the balcony, the mayor and citizen of the imperial city swore the oath on the constitution of the city from 1376 to 1802 on the Sunday after the day of St. James (July 25, the feast day of St. James ), the so-called day of oath. In 1807 the balcony broke off.
Hospital press (Kielmeyerhaus)
The hospital press was built in 1582 as the press of the St. Katharinen Hospital , which was demolished around 1811. To be found as the most powerful town house on the market square. At its left corner, about three meters high, there is a small black figure, the black man . This black man is said to represent a wine press spirit who beat up every wine press helper in the cellar who committed a theft or fraud. In addition to the black man, a crocodile is said to have lived in the depths of the cellar, which is said to have devoured one of the coopers down to his leather apron. These operations are said to have led to the construction of a clearer new wine press. The black man holds a heraldic shield in his hands on which the year 1582 can be read.
City Archives
The city archive was built around 1240 as a cemetery chapel. It was first mentioned in a document in 1324 as the All Saints Chapel. In 1444 the building was rebuilt. Upstairs, the chapel room was a three-aisled ossuary. In 1610 it was expanded to become the city archive.
To the Red Lion
The former guesthouse Zum Roten Löwen was first mentioned in documents in 1456. After the city fire of 1701, it was rebuilt with baroque ornamental frameworks. From 1728 it was the first post office in Esslingen. From 1908 to 1983 the building with the National Cinematograph housed the first Esslingen cinema.
Kanalstrasse 12/1
The building at Kanalstrasse 12/1 is a classicist building from the time of the industrialization of the Neckar Valley and is located on a plot of land that was probably used by a tannery or glue factory in the Middle Ages.
Fortification
Esslingen got a fortification around 1220 , which initially enclosed the city area with the market. The first written mention of the city wall comes from the year 1241.
As the contrasts with Württemberg grew, the valley was completely sealed off by newer walls from 1281 around the Pliensauvorstadt . Around 1330 the Obertorvorstadt was included in the fortification. With 28 gates and around 50 towers, Esslingen was considered impregnable.
Around 1460, porches and kennels were built in front of the inner fortifications in order to be protected against the increasingly better weapons. Towers were built for the use of guns.
In the years from 1519 to 1531 the fortifications were expanded for the last time. When they became out of date after a short time, they were left standing, as they still offered a certain protection against raids and were a symbol of the independence of the imperial city. At the end of the 18th century, the inner city wall was torn down. After 1850 the outer wall and the towers were torn down, with the exception of a few remains.
Esslingen Castle with the thick tower
The thick tower of Esslingen Castle is the landmark of the city of Esslingen. It was built in 1527 as part of the city fortifications. The spire was put on in 1887. In 1976/77 the tower and the outdoor facilities were renovated. A restaurant was housed in the thick tower until 2011.
Pliensau Bridge and Pliensau Tower
Esslingen developed where the trade route from Flanders to Northern Italy crossed the Neckar with a ford . The Pliensau Bridge was built in place of the ford and included with three towers in the fortification of the Pliensau suburb. The year of construction of the bridge is unknown, it was probably built between 1213 and 1259. It is considered to be the second oldest stone bridge north of the Alps after the Regensburg Stone Bridge . The bridge was repaired several times between the 16th and 18th centuries.
The middle tower was demolished in 1819, the outer one in 1837. The Chapel of the Holy Spirit was demolished in 1838 and the Pliensa Mill on the town side in 1844. The restored Pliensauturm was used as an apartment until the 1980s. Today the Esslingen Fanfarenzug Blau / Weiß has its club rooms on the first floor.
Only five arches on the southern side of the medieval Pliensau Bridge have been preserved. These form almost semicircles with a clear width of 13.00 to 10.50 meters. The width of the bridge is about 7.70 meters. In the course of the Neckar canalization between 1962 and 1964, the arches of the bridge at the Pliensauturm were replaced by a steel structure about 52 meters wide.
Inner bridge
The Inner (Pliensau) Bridge , also from the Hohenstaufen era, is better preserved than the Pliensau Bridge . It forms the extension of the trade route over the tributaries of the Neckar within the walled city. Like the Erfurt Krämerbrücke or the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, it was built with stalls and craftsmen's houses as early as the Middle Ages . Today's buildings essentially date from the 19th century and offer a picturesque picture , especially from the lower-lying Maille Island .
Schelztor
The Schelztor marked the northwest corner of the inner city walled in 1228. The tower was restored in 1993. Today there is an Italian ice cream parlor in the tower.
Wolf Gate
The Wolfstor was built around 1220 and is the oldest tower in Esslingen. The long-distance trade route from Speyer to Ulm led through the gate tower . A pair of lions on the outside reminds of the former lords of the Staufer city . The name Wolfstor comes from the appearance of the weathered Staufer lions, which are more like wolves. The lions and mythical animals are also intended to drive away evil demons. The Wolfstor contains the principle of a shell tower. The defense took place from a weir plate.
Fountain
- Beutaubrunnen, at the small market
- Eichbrunnen, on Küferstrasse
- Fountain of Justice, on Kernenweg
- Herrenbrunnen, on Augustinerstrasse
- Well on the Katharinenstaffel
- Krautmarktbrunnen, at the harbor market
- Löwenbrunnen, at St. Paul Minster
- Market fountain, also known as the eagle or town hall fountain, at the old town hall
- Ottilienbrunnen, on Ottilienplatz
- Paracelsus Fountain, at the Athleteneck
- Postmichelbrunnen , on Fischbrunnenstrasse
- Onion Well, at the Heppächer
Churches
City Church of St. Dionys
Before the construction of the Church of St. Dionys , which became a Protestant town church with the Reformation , there was the single-nave Vitalis Church in the 8th century. It was replaced by a new building in the middle of the 9th century. The current church was built in the Gothic style during the 13th and 14th centuries and contains a number of special features and sights. Examples are the unusual double tower system, the famous choir windows, the Gothic rood screen and the organ with the unique telescope.
The archaeological museum is located in the basement of the church. The finds from excavations between 1960 and 1963 are shown there. Up until the 1200th anniversary of the city in 1977 it was assumed that Esslingen's history began around the year 777, further excavations under the city church of St. Dionys unearthed remains of sacred buildings that must have been built around 100 years earlier . Archaeologists hope to find final clarity about the oldest settlement remains under the market square to the side of the town church.
Minster St. Paul
The St. Paul Minster was the church of the former Dominican monastery . In 1233 the monks took over a plot of land within the city walls and will probably have started building the monastery and church immediately afterwards. The church was built according to a uniform plan in a few years (only the vaults of the six western bays were drawn in 1483-87). On April 29, 1268, the main altar was consecrated by Albertus Magnus , and two more altars were consecrated in autumn, which is why the completion of the church can be assumed that year. It is one of the earliest Gothic churches and the oldest surviving mendicant order church on German soil. With its vaults that run through to the choir without interruption and the harmonious proportions, it is considered the main work of early Gothic in Germany.
In 1531 the monks fled the city and the church was profaned and neglected. Protestant services were held in it from 1664 to 1794. It then served as a military magazine, wine press and syringe house. From 1828 to 1832 it was the scene of the Swabian song festival . In 1860 the growing Catholic community acquired the church and renovated it, adding neo-Gothic elements and fittings (which were removed from 1961–67). The glass windows of the choir polygon (they are each dedicated to a letter from Paul) and the window above the organ gallery (Mary, Dominic and Saints of the Dominican Order) were created in 1961 by Prof. Wilhelm Geyer . In the west wall of the south aisle, a window is dedicated to the victims of war and violence ( Emil Kiess , 1995). The lancet window at the baptism site in the south aisle was created in 2003 by the glass artist Johannes Schreiter . On the left in front of the choir a late Gothic Madonna and Child from the Frauenkirche was erected, which was probably made between 1490 and 1500 in the Ulm workshop of the sculptor Nikolaus Weckmann. She wears a crown and stands on a crescent moon. Ulrich Rückriem designed the altar and the font .
The buildings of the monastery are two thirds and z. Some of them have been greatly modified and are home to a primary school and a magazine from the city archive.
St. George
In 1237 the first Franciscans settled in Esslingen. The construction of the Franciscan Church (also: Rear Church ) began around 1270. The steep choir was built around 1300. Originally the church was consecrated to St. Mariae Krönung .
The magnificent colorful stained glass in the choir was created around 1320. They show a typological cycle of the Bible and, contrary to the Franciscan building regulations at the time, were only tolerated because general chapters often took place here. They were also painted with silver yellow, among other things. This color first appeared in Paris around 1300 and shows Esslingen's position as an art center in Swabia. In the 14th century the monastery also provided accommodation for the emperor and his entourage.
In 1390 the painting Admission of Mary to Heaven and the Choir of the Blessed was painted on the south wall . It shows an aged Franciscan kneeling at Mary's feet. According to the Latin inscription, it is Hoesso von Lampertkein, a Franciscan Magister who died in Esslingen in 1386. From the 15th century there is a depiction of the Man of Sorrows with angels above the sacrament niche on the north wall .
After the Reformation, the monastery buildings fell to the city. This had a part torn down in 1668. In 1840 the nave of the three-aisled basilica was demolished. Only old paintings remained. Today only the choir and the west wing of the once imposing monastery, which was heavily modified in the 19th century, remain.
During a renovation between 1908 and 1912, concrete was used , which in later years led to severe damage to the natural stones due to weathering . The renovation took place under the direction of Albert Benz . An organ gallery was built in and the sacristy was built. A round window by Aloys Staudinger with a depiction of St. George was installed in the west facade . Several high quality murals were found during this renovation.
The Franciscan Church was renovated from 1999 to early 2004. The total costs for this amounted to around 1.8 million euros, in which the church, the State Monuments Office and the city contributed. A support association raised 100,000 euros. The roof and tower were renewed, the floor sanded and new windows installed. In the sacristy , the floor, walls and electrics were renovated. During the renovation, eight differently designed gargoyles from the 14th century were also found.
woman Church
On May 26th and June 1st, 1321, the Citizenship Council called on the citizens to build a church to Our Lady . The three-aisled structure is considered to be the city's civic church. The real reason for building the church, however, was that the oldest church in Esslingen, the city church, belonged to the cathedral chapter of Speyer .
The Frauenkirche is said to be the first Gothic hall church in southwest Germany. It was built for almost 200 years. With the help of the well-known master builders Ensinger and Böblinger , it was completed by 1516 and has a 72 m high tower. The plastic representations of the Last Judgment and the Life of Mary in the tympana on the south side are remarkable .
Inside there are medieval glass windows in the choir (made around 1330). Windows by Hans Gottfried von Stockhausen were installed in the nave in the 20th century : the Passion window to the southeast and the women's window to the northeast.
Choir of the Frauenkirche
Sheet mask as a console stone
Marian tympanum
Stained glass around 1330
Portal figures with sheet masks
Bogenfeld Last Judgment
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The artistic features of the Parler family of sculptors , such as wrinkled robes, lean facial features with sharp-edged cheekbones and almond-shaped slit eyes, can be found in the figures of the Esslingen Church of Our Lady.
In the course of the construction of the Ringstrasse in the 1960s and the associated demolition of rows of houses, the Frauenkirche was structurally isolated from the rest of the inner city.
The Frauenkirche was extensively renovated from 1994 to 2016. The three original bells from the years 1350, 1496 and 1587 were reinstalled and three more from the 20th century were added.
Nikolauskapelle
The Nikolauskapelle was mentioned for the first time in 1350. It is dedicated to St. Nicholas , the patron saint of boatmen and raftsmen. In the 16th century it became a sales stand. From 1822 to 1848 it housed a workshop for the Friedrich Dick file factory . From 1880 antiquities of the beautification association were kept there. In 1956 it became a memorial for the victims of National Socialism .
South church
The Protestant southern church in the Pliensauvorstadt is a testimony to expressionist building after the First World War . The first plans date from 1919, it was built in 1925/26 by Martin Elsaesser with the significant participation of Pastor Otto Riethmüller. The church interior is divided into two parts: behind the altar is the lower round church.
Former care yards
The care yards were not hospitals , but branches of foreign monasteries that had property in Esslingen. The most important property of the monasteries in Esslingen was the vineyards. That is why most of the care yards had their own wine presses.
Quake houses care yard
The Bebenhausen hospital is located at Heugasse 9 and was first mentioned in a document in 1257. He belonged to the Cistercian monastery Bebenhausen . Today the city library is housed in the building.
Blaubeurer care farm
The Blaubeurer care farm is located at Mittlere Beutau 11 and was first mentioned in 1238. He belonged to the Benedictine monastery of Blaubeuren . When the Ringstrasse was built, the building was partially demolished.
Denkendorfer Pflegehof
The Denkendorfer Pflegehof is located at Franziskanergasse 3 . It belonged to the Denkendorf Monastery , from which it was bought before 1414. In the 19th century the building housed the Zum Schwanen inn .
Former nursing home of the Ursberg and Roggenburg monasteries
The former Pflegehof is at Webergasse 20 . It belonged to the direct imperial monasteries of Ursberg in the district of Günzburg and Roggenburg in the district of Neu-Ulm , from which it was acquired in 1589 and sold again in 1650.
Fürstenfelder Hof
The Fürstenfelder Hof is at Strohstrasse 13 . From 1320 it belonged to the Fürstenfeld Cistercian monastery and was rebuilt in 1702/03 after being destroyed in the town fire in 1701. Around 1880 the building was converted into an inn.
Kaisheimer Pflegehof
The Kaisheimer Pflegehof is located at Burgsteige 1 . It belonged to the Cistercian monastery in Kaisheim near Donauwörth. The G. C. Kessler & Compagnie sparkling wine cellar was founded in the former wine press of the Pflegehof .
Constance care yard
The Konstanzer Pflegehof is located at Webergasse 3 and was first mentioned in a document in 1327. It belonged to the Konstanz cathedral chapter and was rebuilt in 1770. From 1807 to 1894 the building housed the Eßlingen camera office .
Salemer Pflegehof
The Salemer Pflegehof is located in Untere Beutau 8-10 and was first mentioned in a document in 1229. He belonged to the South Baden monastery of Salem . From 1548 to 1552 it was the home of Emperor Karl V. In the years 1977 to 1982 it was renovated by the St. Paul parish, which received grants from the state and the city. Since 1999, the building under the roof has housed the JF Schreiber Museum as part of the Esslingen Municipal Museums.
Speyrer Pflegehof
The Speyrer Pflegehof , also called Speyrer Zehnthof or Kessler-Haus, is located on Georg-Christian-von-Kessler-Platz (formerly Marktplatz 21-23). It was part of the foundation of Emperor Friedrich II , who on December 30, 1213, on the occasion of the funeral of his uncle Philip of Swabia, transferred the Church of St. Dionyus with all associated rights to the Speyer Cathedral Chapter . The Pflegehof belonged to the cathedral chapter until 1547. Since 1832/33, the building has housed Kessler Sekt GmbH & Co. KG, Germany's oldest sparkling wine cellar . The explorer Ferdinand von Hochstetter was born here on April 30, 1829 (memorial plaque).
Other sights
Nymphaea animal park
The Nymphaea zoo is located on the Neckar Island in Esslingen and was named after a species of water lily . The park is dominated by lakes, around which ducks , donkeys , ponies , deer , birds and goats are tended by the members of the aquarium and terrarium association. Recently there are also aquariums with fish , sea urchins and starfish .
Katharinenlindenturm
On the northern heights of the Lindhalde ( 471.8 m above sea level ), the Katharinenlinde observation tower was built in 1957 according to a design by the architect W. Kallhardt on behalf of the city of Esslingen, the Swabian Alb Association and a brewery in reinforced concrete. Its name comes from a Katharinenlinde in this place, which in turn reminds of a field chapel that was consecrated to Saint Catherine. The chapel was destroyed in the late 16th century. The tower and an adjoining restaurant are popular excursion destinations.
Fire station
The building, which was used as a fire station until the end of 2007 / beginning of 2008, was built in 1913 by city architect Gustav Blümer as a combination of fire station and business school and is characterized by stylistic elements of Art Nouveau and New Objectivity. The gable is adorned with a metal ship, reminiscent of the time when the business school was also housed in the building. On the first floor there is a figure of St. Florian. The curved gables, the hose tower and the artificial stone framing of the windows have remained unchanged; the entrances for the fire brigade's vehicles were originally rounded, but had to be adapted to meet modern requirements. The color of the building is currently being investigated (as of December 2007).
Association house of the old Pietist community
The clubhouse of the old Pietist community is located between the fire station and Küferstrasse, which is designed as a pedestrian zone. It is to be renovated together with the fire station and given a new use. The building was transformed into a community center between 1863 and 1871 and has a hall with a ceiling supported by cast-iron columns. It can be attributed to Swabian classicism .
Merkel's swimming pool
The Merkel'sche pool is one of the last Art Nouveau pools of Germany received. In the course of the renovation work, which was largely completed in 2006, the Art Nouveau elements were returned to their original state as far as possible (similar to the Art Nouveau Baths in Darmstadt ) and the bathing and wellness offers were adapted to current needs. In the warm bathing hall, mineral water heated to 34 ° C is now used, which was uncovered when drilling new holes. The hall is again adorned with its original high stucco ceiling and a stained glass window showing an Italian coastal landscape.
Villa Merkel
The Villa Merkel was designed by Otto Tafel in 1873 for the industrialist Oskar Merkel and has been used as the gallery of the city of Esslingen am Neckar since 1974. During restoration work it was recently discovered that, despite the backward-facing architecture, it was the first concrete house in Germany and the first cement building in Baden-Württemberg. Not only the decorative elements, but the whole house is made of concrete.
West town
After the railway connection was made, a Wilhelminian-style industrial area developed in the Weststadt. From that time still old industrialists and entrepreneurs villas such as testifying Villa Pebra or villas Kollwitzstraße 16 , Martin Straße 27 , Berliner Straße 17 and Mettinger Road 46 and former factory buildings, such as the thickness or the factory buildings for F. W. Quist or G. Boley and the former stables of the haulage company Blocher. In the second half of the 20th century, most businesses moved to cheaper locations or ceased. Since 2011, following the dismantling of the railway facilities, the Neue Weststadt has been built next to this area .
Weather pillar
There is a 19th century weather pillar near the Schelztorturm .
Obertal aqueduct
The aqueduct in Obertal once served to supply water to Hohenkreuz Castle .
See also
List of cultural monuments in Esslingen am Neckar
Individual evidence
- ↑ Leckerweg.de
- ↑ Description and construction history of the Neckar Bridge near Esslingen - Pliensaubrücke or Outer Bridge . ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. baufachinformation.de
- ↑ cf. Norbert Bongartz, Hartmut Schäfer: Emergency investigation of the Esslinger Pliensau bridge. In: Denkmalpflege in Baden-Württemberg , 4th year 1975, issue 2, pp. 60–66 ( PDF ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. )
- ↑ Forays through the old town ( Memento from July 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) History on city server
- ↑ Esslingen picture book: Frauenkirche
- ^ Pelizaeus, Anette: Christian Art in Southwest Germany. Württemberg Church History Online, 2019, August 13, 2019, accessed on October 19, 2019 .
- ↑ Jürgen Veit: Old and young bells in perfect harmony. In: StN.de. Stuttgarter Nachrichten, May 2, 2016, accessed on June 11, 2016 .
- ^ Regesta Imperii V n.714
- ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
- ↑ Katharinenlindenturm at the Swabian Alb Association
