Old Town Hall (Dresden)

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Town hall on Dresden's Altmarkt , 1910.
Draft for the facade of the old town hall by Johann Christoph Knöffel

The Old Town Hall was the historic seat of the Dresden Council on the Altmarkt . In particular, the raised in the interior Old Town location Town Hall from that on the other side of the river, the New Town Hall from which, even after the incorporation Altendresden learned an urban use. Since the construction of the New Town Hall (1905–1910), the Old Town Hall has also been known as the "Old Town Hall".

history

Old Town Hall, facade details

The oldest known town hall in Dresden stood on the northwest corner of the Altmarkt. After the building had to be demolished in 1707, in 1709, with the consent of Elector Friedrich August I , the council acquired the Count's Taubische Haus on the corner of Scheffelgasse (formerly Grosse Webergasse) on the west side of the market. Due to the dilapidation of the building, a new building was necessary in 1740, which was to take place in the same place. Johann Christoph Knöffel provided the design, which was carried out from 1741 to 1745 by the council mason Johann Gottfried Fehre .

After the administrative offices of the city of Dresden had moved to the New Town Hall , the Dresden City Tram (or its successor companies), which was only founded in 1906, began using the building on October 1, 1910 : All administrative offices that had previously been decentralized were located here. The use ended with the destruction of Dresden in the attacks of the 13th – 15th centuries. February 1945.

View from the Kreuzkirche to the western side of the Altmarkt (1950): the trolley trucks of the rubble railway point to the ruins of a three-axle building. To the left of this stood the old town hall, which has already been largely demolished here.
On the subsequent buildings from the 1950s, the location of the old town hall is roughly marked by the roof tower. The Altmarkt building on the opposite side also partly takes up the design language of the town hall.

The building was damaged in World War II, so that the reconstruction would have cost 1.3 million RM according to an estimate made in 1946. Kurt W. Leucht said in a meeting on November 3, 1948 at the State Office for Monument Preservation that he considered a reconstruction to be impossible due to the damage. An intended salvage of the historically valuable balcony grilles in February 1949 was prevented by thieves. The ruin finally became a "victim of the old market clearing after 1949".

architecture

The facade of the new building was thirteen axes long and structured by two three-line templates. The first two upper floors rose above a plastered basement floor ( grooved ) and were combined by pilaster strips, the third floor on top - a mezzanine with windows with arched arches - was separated from the two lower floors by a wide cornice.

According to Fritz Löffler, the decorative pieces of jewelery such as balconies and trophy decorations on the risalites appeared “characteristic of Knöffel”.

The two three-sided risalits were particularly emphasized. Cartouches were located above the arched windows on the first floor, in which “ Soli Deo Gloria ” (Only for the glory of God) or “Salus publica suprema Lex” (the well-being of the people is the highest law) could be read in gold letters . They were adorned with decorative jewelry and medallions of Elector Friedrich August I and his wife Maria Josepha by Johann Benjamin Thomae . In front of the windows on the first floor of the risalite were protruding balconies with gilded wrought iron latticework. Furthermore, the risalites in the roof zone were adorned with cartouches, trophy decorations and a royal coat of arms, which were placed on a wide base in the roof zone. On the roof there was a delicate ridge turret with a clock.

Art historical significance

According to Fritz Löffler, "Knöffel's facade to the town hall [...] was one of his best works". According to the list of "Art-historically valuable buildings in the city of Dresden - findings after the terrorist attack of February 13, 1945, drawn up by the municipal building authorities - Baurat Rühle", the secular building was referred to as the "Old Town Hall on the Altmarkt" and a monument owned by the city listed.

literature

  • Fritz Löffler : The old Dresden - history of its buildings . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1981, ISBN 3-363-00007-3 , p. 122, 202, 245, 280, 281, 285, 302, 303, 346, 350, 376, 378, 380, 403 .
  • Matthias Lerm : Farewell to old Dresden. Loss of historical building stock after 1945 . 2nd supplemented edition. Forum Verlag, Leipzig 1993, ISBN 3-86151-047-2 , p. 49 f., 60, 235, 237, 243,  61 .

Web links

Commons : Altstädter Rathaus am Altmarkt, Dresden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (Ed.): From coachmen and conductors - The 135 year history of the tram in Dresden. , Junius, Dresden 2007, ISBN 978-3-88506-018-5 , p. 64.
  2. ^ Matthias Lerm: Farewell to old Dresden. Loss of historical building stock after 1945 . 2nd supplemented edition. Forum Verlag, Leipzig 1993, ISBN 3-86151-047-2 , p. 60 .
  3. ^ Matthias Lerm: Farewell to old Dresden. Loss of historical building stock after 1945 . 2nd supplemented edition. Forum Verlag, Leipzig 1993, ISBN 3-86151-047-2 , p. 49 .
  4. ↑ a b Fritz Löffler: The old Dresden - history of its buildings . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1981, ISBN 3-363-00007-3 , p. 281 .
  5. ↑ cf. Fritz Löffler: The old Dresden - history of its buildings . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1981, ISBN 3-363-00007-3 , p. 281, 302 Object number 376 (the town hall with old market).
  6. ^ Matthias Lerm: Farewell to old Dresden. Loss of historical building stock after 1945 . 2nd supplemented edition. Forum Verlag, Leipzig 1993, ISBN 3-86151-047-2 , p. 235 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 2 ′ 59 ″  N , 13 ° 44 ′ 12 ″  E