Old town (Iphofen)
The medieval old town of Iphofen in Lower Franconia is a historical settlement core of the city. It is synonymous with the old town Iphofen ensemble , which was placed under protection as a building and ground monument in the walling of the 13th century with the former city moats . The city remained restricted to this area for many centuries. Only in the 14th century was an extension made with the inclusion of the Gräbenviertel .
Geographical location
Iphofen's old town is located in the so-called Schwanbergvorland , which forms the transition between the flatter Steigerwaldvorland and the ascent to the Steigerwald . The city is dominated by the Schwanberg , which is a striking elevation at the beginning of the Steigerwald low mountain range. The city lies at some distance from other early centers and thus refers to its position in the borderland between the areas formerly belonging to Würzburg and the places of the burgraves of Nuremberg.
The old town is largely surrounded on all sides, but the trenches of the core city can still be seen. The unity of the medieval city was thereby preserved. What is striking is the division of the old town into two parts, which can still be recognized by a belt of trees in the middle of the built-up area. The division between the actual old town and the so-called Gräbenviertel led to the creation of a twin town . The city center is the market square in the center of the old town. The ensemble is bounded by the largely preserved fortification including the former moat zone.
history
Before the city elevation
The history of the old town of Iphöfer begins in the early Middle Ages . The city was first mentioned in 741, where one of the original churches of the newly founded diocese of Würzburg stood . At the same time there was a royal court yard as the administrative center in the settlement . The old city with the church, which was consecrated to John the Baptist, was probably further south of today's area at the site of the city cemetery.
In the period that followed, the village of Iphofen lost its central position because there was no important trade route directly on the edge of the inhospitable Steigerwald . The so-called Hohe Strasse, which connected Würzburg with Nuremberg and Frankfurt am Main , was further south outside the sphere of influence of the Iphöfer. In the late Middle Ages, the citizens of the city tried to relocate the street by detour, but got into a dispute with the neighboring Mainbernheim , which was able to enforce its older rights.
Iphofen did not succeed in becoming a town through trading functions such as Volkach . Instead, the territorial conflict between the Lords of Hohenlohe and Würzburg made a decisive contribution to the city's development. In the 13th century, the noble family managed to unite rights in Iphofen, especially in today's Gräbenviertel. The prince-bishops of Würzburg had rights in Iphofen since the early days and defended them against intruders.
The location was significant for Iphofen insofar as it marked the beginning of the sphere of influence of the Würzburg prince-bishop. The Burgraves of Nuremberg, who later became the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach , ruled further to the southeast . In the north along the Steigerwald rise, the Counts of Castell in particular had an influence in the High and Late Middle Ages and repeatedly harassed the bishops on these edges of their territory.
City elevation and expansion
In 1293 the Würzburg bishop Manegold von Neuenburg drew the consequences from this situation and strengthened his border settlement Iphofen. He granted it city rights on February 22nd and obliged the population to encircle the new city with a fortification of ditches, walls and towers. The settlement was moved further north, where there was already a small chapel dedicated to St. Vitus. For a long time it was additionally fenced.
In the period that followed, the St. Vitus Chapel combined the functions of a parish church after the early church of St. John the Baptist had previously given up its duties towards a St. Martin's church in the area of today's cemetery . The Martinskirche lost its functions compared to today's Blood Church, which was the most important place of worship in the Gräbenviertel, which was still part of Hohenlohe, southwest of the newly created city.
The division of the city into two parts was also noticeable externally after the city elevation. While the Hochstiftisch-Würzburg core city received walls, the Gräbenviertel remained open and thus retained its rural character. The prince-bishops strengthened Iphofen by further conferring rights. So the city became the seat of a central court and later a prince-bishop's office .
The economic strengthening took place through the granting of a market right , which was established with the confirmation of the town elevation by Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria in 1323. From then on, the city organized three markets on various religious holidays and developed into a central market for the places in the vicinity. However, this trade orientation remained comparatively low because in the early urban period the situation in the border region regularly interrupted trade.
The rise of Iphofen contributed to the decline of the Lords of Hohenlohe , who were more and more pushed out of the Steigerwald foreland. The prince-bishops of Würzburg benefited from this situation. Around 1380 the family finally gave up their claims to Iphofen. In the following period, the Gräbenviertel was included in the fortification of the city of Iphofen, and the wall separating the two parts of the city gradually disappeared.
Iphofen emerged as a planned city at the current location. Initially, this plan could also be seen in the cityscape, which developed along a fairly uniform longitudinal axis from which several side streets branched off. Today's picture, largely without crossings and a central axis, was only created in the course of the Thirty Years' War . In particular, the socially weaker citizens who settled in the northeast of the city lost their livelihoods due to the war. Vacant parcels were subsequently grouped into larger blocks with farm buildings.
Decline and tourism
The Thirty Years' War also caused the decline of the medieval fortifications, which could no longer withstand the improved guns . In the following years no more investments were made in the city wall and the ditches, but most of the elements of the complex remained and were not gradually inserted and dismantled , as in comparable cities in Main Franconia . As a result, Iphofen preserved its townscape with a strong fortification.
In contrast to cities in the hilly and narrow Main Valley , Iphofen was able to grow out of the wall ring in the following years without having to fear space problems. As early as the second half of the 19th century, the tourist value of the fortifications and the historic old town was recognized and the existing buildings were preserved. With the connection to the Würzburg-Nuremberg railway line in 1865, the centrality of the place increased.
In the second half of the 20th century, viticulture , which had shaped the culture around the city for centuries , also recovered and led to a further increase in the number of excursion guests. At the same time, the renovation of the old town began and was one of the first municipalities in the surrounding area to issue a design statute that preserved the cityscape from unhistorical interference and maintained its unity.
Streets and squares
In contrast to many comparable Main Franconian cities, there is no real main street in Iphofen . The role of the central square is taken over by the elongated market square with the town hall and, somewhat offset, the rent office. The parish church is set back, but forms an urban unit with the town hall. The decentralized image is underpinned by the Gräbenviertel, which was later enclosed by the city fortifications and adjoins the old city in the southwest. Its peripheral center is Julius-Echter-Platz with the hospital and the Blutkirche further south. Most of the street names date from the 20th century; originally only the most important streets were named. They were:
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Old town
The center of the old town is the market square , with the town hall and the former Rentamt (today's Knauf Museum) on the edges . The market is connected to the highest point of the city further north, which is dominated by the Catholic parish church of St. Vitus. The market square is an elongated green that is oriented towards the baroque town hall. The rest of the building is much more modest and was accentuated in the 20th century by trees and benches.
The south of the old town is divided into four large, square blocks. In earlier times, the small plots in the middle of the block were accessed through private alleys. Instead of intersections, junctions underpin the closed character of the old town. The streets of the old town have largely retained a rural appearance. Since there was no concentration of trade, gabled hackers' houses with courtyard entrances were built.
Exceptions are the large wineries and mansions that arose throughout the old town in the Middle Ages and early modern times . So they are not concentrated in one place in the city. The large courtyards have a much more representative external structure and all have large, deep cellars for wine storage.
The northeast of the old town is dominated by younger buildings that are traced back to the time after the Thirty Years War. Around the Geräthengasse, which got its name from the Grede stepping stones, most of the farms were deserted during the war. The poorer sections of the population settled there. In 1648 28 of the 62 farmsteads in this part of the city were still in desolation. During the reconstruction, eaves-standing houses with barns were built in the rear of the property.
Gräbenviertel
The Gräbenviertel forms the second core of the Iphöfer old town. It is older than the district with the town hall and St. Vitus Church and existed before the city was raised. The Lords of Hohenlohe sat there until they lost their influence on Iphofen in the 14th century. It was only in the following period that the Gräbenviertel was walled up and thus included in the city fortifications. Originally the district was also called "Krebenviertel", which indicates a wicker fence instead of a wall.
Julius-Echter-Platz is subordinate to the market square in terms of size and importance. The two regional institutions of the Gräbenviertel adjoin the square, the former hospital and the Heilig Blut pilgrimage church . The representative buildings of the district were built on Bahnhofstrasse, which was adjoining to the south and was previously important for traffic. Maxstraße in the north of Julius-Echter-Platz forms the most important transition between the districts.
Important architectural monuments
In the old town of Iphöfer, buildings from all centuries have been preserved since the Middle Ages. The representative buildings are, however, spread over the entire city area, only on the market square and in its side streets there is a concentration. Most of the monuments can be found around the market square and in the area north of the square. There are other traditional islands in Langen Gasse, Ludwigstrasse and Bahnhofstrasse.
The parish church of St. Veit has been the central church that dominates the north of the city since the city was raised. The outside of the church has a Gothic style , and in 1414 the preserved choir was completed. St. Veit is a three-aisled hall church and has interior fittings from all eras. The choir windows and the figure of the apostle Johannes von Tilman Riemenschneider are particularly important . In front of the church there is a chapel with an ossuary with hundreds of bones left. → see also: St. Vitus (Iphofen) and St. Michael (Iphofen)
The counterpart to the St. Vitus Church in the Gräbenviertel is the Holy Blood Church. Its creation is connected with a pilgrimage , which is said to go back to a so-called host sacrilege . The church was enlarged by Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn and has a tower upper floor from the 19th century. A little further north is the hospital church used by the Protestant community. It has no church tower, but is surmounted by a high stair tower. → see also: Holy Blood (Iphofen) and Spitalkirche St. John the Baptist (Iphofen)
The center of the political community is the baroque town hall on an extension of the market square. It is three storeys high and has a magnificent portal . The coat of arms of Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp von Greiffenclau and the symbol of the urban community indicate the historical affiliation of Iphofen. The town hall is entered via a two-sided flight of stairs . The bell tower is framed by two ornate gargoyles. → see also: Town Hall (Iphofen)
A special feature are the many manor houses that indicate the outskirts of the city. So foreign gentlemen belonged as branches in the city belonging to the Hochstift Würzburg. Mention should be made here of the Wenkheimer Hof in Kirchstrasse 32, which has undergone major structural changes, the Ilgenhof in Agidiengasse, the Ilmbacher Hof in Langen Gasse 34, the Kastler Hof in Geräthengasse 6 and the Ebracher Hof in Oberen Gräbengasse 2 The prince-bishops had the chapter cellar built at Ludwigstrasse 14 and the tithe cellar at Bahnhofstrasse 12 in Renaissance style.
The houses of the Iphöfer citizens are far less representative. The "old Schenkstatt", today the so-called Rentamt, is an exception. It was built as an inn in 1693 and is considered the first baroque building in the city. Today the Knauf Museum is housed there. Further buildings of art historical importance are located at Langen Gasse 7 and 18. The Gasthaus zur Sonne at Marktplatz 22 was built in 1707. In particular, the artistic arrangement of the framework is eye-catching. → see also: Lange Gasse 7 (Iphofen) and Marktplatz 22 (Iphofen)
Iphofen is particularly known for its almost completely preserved fortifications. As a result of the border location, the double wall with ditches and gates was repeatedly promoted by the Würzburg bishops. The ensemble at Rödelseer Tor, for example, is impressive, as the outwork is dominated by the higher midday storm. The Owl Tower in the extreme southeast corner of the fortification once served as a watchtower . It was built between 1533 and 1548. → see also: Rödelseer Tor (Iphofen)
literature
- Andreas Brombierstäudl: Iphofen. A small Franconian town through the centuries . Iphofen 1983.
- Andreas Brombierstäudl: Iphofen in old pictures . Iphofen 1997.
- Andreas Brombierstäudl: Iphofen's market law . In: Stadt Iphofen (Ed.): Iphofen . Iphofen 1977. p. 13.
- Reinhard Gutbier: The community center in eastern Lower Franconia (= The German community center XXXVI) . Tübingen 1995.
- Irmgard Güssow: City layout and cityscape of Iphofen . Volkach 1956.
- Hans-Eckhard Lindemann: Historic town centers in Main Franconia. History - structure - development . Munich 1989.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brombierstäudl, Andreas: Iphofen . P. 18.
- ↑ Brombierstäudl, Andreas: Iphofen . P. 20.
- ↑ Brombierstäudl, Andreas: Iphofens market law . P. 13.
- ^ Lindemann, Hans-Eckhard: Historic town centers in Mainfranken . P. 88.
- ^ Lindemann, Hans-Eckhard: Historic town centers in Mainfranken . P. 89.
- ^ Gutbier, Reinhard: The community center in eastern Lower Franconia . P. 101.
- ↑ Brombierstäudl, Andreas: Iphofen . 146.
- ↑ Brombierstäudl, Andreas: Iphofen . P. 105.
- ^ Gutbier, Reinhard: The community center in eastern Lower Franconia . P. 102.
- ↑ Brombierstäudl, Andreas: Iphofen . P. 84.
Coordinates: 49 ° 42 '12.7 " N , 10 ° 15' 39.9" E