Old Town (Marktbreit)
The medieval and early modern old town of Marktbreit in Lower Franconia is a historic settlement core of the city. Today it is synonymous with the Ensemble Altstadt Marktbreit , which was placed under protection as a building and ground monument in the walling of the 16th century . The dynamic development of the trading city in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the creation of several suburbs that surround the city center. The unprotected Bachgasse is part of the ensemble .
Geographical location
Marktbreit lies on the border of several natural spaces that have shaped the characteristic appearance of the old town. From the southeast, the so-called Ifftal area approaches with its deeply carved brook valleys of the Breitbach and the Steingraben. At Marktbreit the Breitbach flows into the Main , where the area widens to the so-called Würzburg-Ochsenfurter- Main valley section in the Middle Main Valley . In the south-west, the elevations of the Ochsenfurt Gäuf areas limit the area of the old town. In the north, the Mainbernheim plain of the Steigerwald foreland protrudes into the district.
Today the old town is surrounded by new building areas on almost all sides. The Buheleiten-Vorstadt in the west (around Ochsenfurter Straße / corner of Buheleite) and the Steigvorstadt in the south (the extension of today's Bahnhofstraße) go back to early modern expansion phases . The city cemetery has also been located here since 1566 . The row of houses along Mainstrasse , which forms an independent building ensemble, dates from the 19th century . The old town Marktbreit ensemble is delimited by the walling of the early modern city fortifications. In the northeast, the historically significant settlement along today's Bachgasse is included in the ensemble.
history
From "Broite" to "Niedernbreit"
The town of Marktbreit or its predecessor settlement was founded quite late. While the raised terraces north and south of today's city were first settled, alluvial forests grew along the Breitbach estuary for a long time . Only in the 11th century did the deforestation wave also affect this area. In a legend , twelve peasant serfs were identified who established the original cell of the settlement, each of whom received 15 acres from the authorities and was allowed to farm. The double settlement "Broite et Broite" was first mentioned in a document in the 1260s.
Two old traffic routes ran along the Breitbachfurt: On the one hand there was a land connection with the long-distance destination Regensburg and a ferry that was operated by the residents of Segnitz in the legal district of Main. The new settlement grew on the edge of the flood zone of the Main. The later market was probably part of the Staufer Reichsland for a long time in its early days . The core of the later town emerged to the left and right of the Breitbach, where the roads to Würzburg - (Markt-) Steft and Willanzheim - (Obern-) Breit were bundled. In addition, the fishermen and boatmen settled on the other side of the Bachfurt, “Am Stutz”.
The core settlement soon underwent expansion, with the timber trade on the Main playing a major role in this. The front broad quickly took on a distribution function for the stake wood of the vineyards. In the course of the Middle Ages, several noble families raised claims to the growing settlement, which was called Niedernbreit from the 14th century to distinguish it from Obernbreit. The Lords of Hohenlohe , the Ansbach Zollern, the Brauneck and the Counts of Castell are proven here.
"Niedernbreit" becomes Marktbreit
As early as 1324, the small chapel in the south of the settlement was separated from the parish of Ochsenfurt and became a parish church. The later Nikolaikirche stood on a flood-free place and was surrounded by a defensive wall. In addition, a town hall was first mentioned in 1480 directly above the Breitbach. The three settlement centers, the Fischerviertel, “Ursiedlung” and the church district, were acquired by the Lords of Seinsheim from 1409 and 1451 in two sales by other families . The new village lord set up a courtyard on the site of the later castle. In 1498, Niedernbreit received the stacking right , which led to a further economic boom.
At the transition from the Middle Ages and Early Modern Line acquired the emerging settlement of Seinsheim-High Kottenheim. In 1553, the Jews living in the southeast of the settlement were banished, and the Seckendorff noble mansion was built on the site of their homes. The von Seckendorff family also had local rights. On October 29, 1557, the Imperial Councilor Georg Ludwig von Seinsheim-Hohenkottenheim was able to acquire market rights for his settlement. Georg Ludwig lived permanently in Niedernbreit from the 1570s and gave the order to build the new town hall and to expand the St. Nikolai Church.
At the same time, the settlement was now surrounded by a stone fortification . The oldest elements go back to the 15th century, while in 1529/1530 the church district was included in the walling. In 1561 the storm in the fields was covered. Only along the river side there was only one weir. In 1600 the representative main gate was completed. In the course of the construction work, the southern area around Steiggasse (today's Bahnhofstrasse) was given a new centrality . Around 1600 the market-wide old town received its present appearance.
In the course of the market survey, more and more people moved here. Among other things, a weighing house has now also been built in the market settlement . The Reformation was introduced in Marktbreit as early as 1551 and the Nikolaikirche was converted into a Protestant church. At the beginning of the 17th century, the ascent was abruptly interrupted when the settlement fell into disrepair due to a bond from Johann Erkinger von Seinsheim. It was not until 1613 that the town was able to free itself from this situation through a compromise.
During the Thirty Years' War , Marktbreit initially benefited from the admission of many exiles who had become homeless. In 1629 the market was ravaged by the plague. On September 10, 1634, the Catholic troops under Octavio Piccolomini plundered Marktbreit and almost completely devastated it. For a short time the Catholic Monastery of Würzburg succeeded in integrating the settlement into its domain. At the end of the war, today's old town was largely razed to the ground and had to be rebuilt in the decades that followed.
Commercial city and city elevation
In 1643 Marktbreit came to the Schwarzenbergs, who were related to the Lords of Seinsheim . However, the Hochstift Würzburg and the Lords von Seckendorff also claimed shares in the village rulership. It was not until 1661 that the Schwarzenbergs finally succeeded in integrating the settlement into their domain. In the period that followed, Marktbreit was expanded into a trading center, with the actually Catholic village lord ruling over the evangelical subjects with tolerance. In 1673, however, Marktbreit was shot at by Field Marshal Montecuccoli's cannons during the Dutch War .
At the beginning of the 18th century the market town invested in the expansion of its river port . These measures led to further population growth. In 1660 about 1200 people still lived in Marktbreit, by 1740 the population had grown to about 1800. The goods landed on the river were traded on the town's market square in front of the town hall. Since 1635 people of the Jewish faith were allowed to settle in the city again. In 1717 they received permission to build a new synagogue on the upper market in the immediate vicinity of the castle.
In the beginning of the 18th century, the trading houses along Marktstrasse, which are still influential today, were built. At the same time, the influx of people of the Catholic faith increased. However, long-distance trade was only granted a brief flowering. In the Seven Years' War Marktbreit was sacked several times. Similar to 1643, the destruction also changed the layout of the old town, which was densified with the reconstruction. With the trade orientation, the central place importance of Marktbreiten increased, so that the market place was already referred to as a " city " in the 18th century .
After the transition to Bavaria , Marktbreit was initially listed as a market town due to its small population . It was not until July 18, 1819 that the city was raised. In the following period there was again a strong influx of people into the place. Together with the increasing traffic, this development caused problems for the city. The city fortifications in particular had to give way as a result. The overbuilding of the trenches led to further densification. From 1846 the Catholic Church was built east of the Edelmannshof seckendorff .
In the course of the establishment of the empire in 1871 , a new building boom set in, which was closely related to the export of the market-wide mussel lime . As a result, the municipal trade school was established in the old town. In 1876 a beautification association was founded , which endeavored to decorate streets and squares. The old town retained its early modern appearance. Further demolitions of historical building fabric could be prevented by the beautification association.
At the end of the Second World War , the Americans moved from Ochsenfurt to Marktbreit. There was resistance in the village, so Marktbreit was bombed for three days. This caused great damage, which also affected the old town. Reconstruction began in the 1950s. It was not until the 1950s that the first residential areas were designated around the old town. Today the market-wide old town and its suburbs attract tourists, with the center shifting from the town hall and Marktstrasse to Schloßplatz.
Streets and squares
The market- wide old town is divided into four historical parts , which differ greatly in their floor plan . The oldest area is the area around Marktstrasse with the town hall. This “original settlement” also extends to the other side of the Breitbach. Younger, however, is the boatmen and fishermen's settlement outside the former fortifications along Bachgasse. It corresponds to the development settlement on the other side of the stream, the so-called Pförtleinsviertel around Schustergasse. The church district and the palace square form another center of the old town. In the 19th century, only the most important streets in the city center of Marktbreit were named. Today the old town is made up of 14 streets:
|
|
"Original settlement"
The center of the settlement was built in the far north of today's old town. Here the historic route from Ochsenfurt and the road to the southern hinterland formed a fork in the road. As early as the Middle Ages , the town hall was built in this area, which initially dominated the Breitbachübergang and was relocated to the current location immediately southwest of the brook as a result of the market uprising in 1557. This core area of the settlement was walled around as early as the 15th century , and the most representative fortifications were built here later.
The core of the old town was also subject to constant change in later centuries. Throughout the early modern period through was from the Main Gate to the castle square, which is so important for the commercial city along the market street market held. Initially inns were built along the later Ochsenfurter Straße. The Thirty Years' War fundamentally changed this core in particular. The small, late medieval structure made room for extensive streets .
With the boom in trade in the 18th century, individual buildings became bourgeois . In the city center, villas for the large trading families were built, the craftsmen and servants were pushed into the suburbs with their relatives. It is noteworthy that the area in front of the Main Gate, which was actually excluded from the fortification, but was already inhabited in the early Middle Ages, has now been included in the development. Only after the town was raised in 1819 were the streets in the core of Marktbreit paved and paved .
Bachgasse and Pförtleinsviertel
.jpg)
Together with the core settlement on the south side of the Breitbach, the so-called Bachgasse was created on the opposite side of the river. The center of this inhabited by fishermen and sailors district was initially today's "Am Stutz" below the already in pre- and early historic residential time of hills north of the city. The fishing settlement along the stream grew together with the core city, but retained its sub-bourgeois character.
In the course of the fortification of Marktbreit in the 16th century, the socially disadvantaged fishermen and their families, as well as the hackers living here , smaller winegrowers, were excluded from the protective city wall. The main reason for this were technical difficulties, because after the complicated overcoming of the creek, the steep climb followed. The settlement "under the Buk" always remained closely connected to the old town, especially by a footbridge that led into the so-called Pförtleinsviertel.
The Pförtleinsviertel (also Pförtleinsviertel) is located between the current streets of Schustergasse and Pfarrgasse. In the course of the market survey, a more regular planned settlement was created here . Along the Schustergasse, the area is developed with streets in the form of a regular ladder system with branching off lanes . The eponymous shoemakers, who also settled here, as well as other traders, sought proximity to the tanners who lived between Markt- and Obernbreit in the far east of the settlement. Only in the 19th century did Bachgasse and Pförtleinsviertel grow closer together with a bridge.
Church district and palace square
The south of the old town is occupied by the older church district and the younger palace square. The Nikolauskapelle initially formed a separate area, which, unlike the “Ursiedlung”, was surrounded by a defensive wall early on. The result was a fortified church that was surrounded by apartments for the teacher and the armory . In the course of the fortification expansion, the church district was also included in the walling. The so-called Steiggasse, today's Bahnhofstrasse, remained a church area in the east. Warehouses and stables were built in the west .
For a long time, the environment of the church district was very inconsistent and subject to constant changes. In the north, the castle was built for the village lords in the 1580s. The representative building was preceded by a square, the so-called Obere Markt, which never took on the function of Marktstrasse. To the south of the church, the Catholic Ludwig Church was built on the former moat in the 19th century, which today also shapes the cityscape with its roof turret.
Important architectural monuments
In the market-wide old town, buildings from almost every century since the Middle Ages have been preserved, with most of the buildings dating from the early modern period. Many older buildings are now classified as architectural monuments , but only a fraction of the buildings in the old town were placed under protection. The monuments are distributed almost evenly over the city center, a traditional island can only be made out around the town hall along the historic Marktstrasse .
The centuries-long focus on trade also shaped the buildings in Marktbreit. In contrast to many other small towns in Main Franconia , town villas and town houses with the typical, very differentiated room layout inside were built. Most of the buildings were built in the course of the reconstruction after the Thirty Years' War, so that a large part of the 18th century date. In the side streets in particular, many simpler buildings have been preserved.
The southern center of the settlement is the Evangelical Lutheran parish church of St. Nicolai. It goes back to a chapel from the 13th century. In 1567 the church was expanded, shortly before the new denomination had been adopted. It was expanded to its present size by 1596. The choir tower with its stone tower gallery from 1712 is particularly striking. Inside, a so-called poor Bible from the 17th century has been preserved, which compiles important scenes from the Old and New Testament. → see also: St. Nicolai (Marktbreit)
The town hall was built in the far north of the settlement. In its current form, it was also created during the market uprising in the 16th century. The market-wide town hall presents itself as a three-storey, unplastered quarry stone building from the Renaissance . The town hall was a multifunctional building in which theatrical events took place as well as the meetings of the council. For a long time there were arcades on the ground floor where traders could advertise their goods. → see also: Town Hall (Marktbreit)
The town hall forms a building ensemble with the surrounding city fortifications from the 16th century. The back of the so-called Black Tower meets the administration building, the main gate is to the right of the town hall. The fortification was an important element in converting the self-confidence of the citizens into architecture after the town was raised . The city wall was about six meters high, and a round tower was built at each corner of the wall. In the 19th century, the increasing traffic had to give way to the southern Steigtor, the Buchleitentor and the “little gate” in the east.
Representative individual buildings are distributed over the city area. The most striking building is the castle on the place named after him. It was built in the 1580s by the Lords of Seinsheim. Initially, the village lords resided here. With the transition to the Schwarzenberg, it was converted into a purely official palace . The castle has an almost square floor plan and has three floors. The richly structured facade forms today's tourist center of the settlement. → see also: Schloss Marktbreit
Another ensemble can be found on Marktstrasse with the hotel and inn “Zum golden Löwen” and the two baroque trading houses. The half-timbered building of the inn, which is one of the oldest with accommodation rights in Germany, dates back to the 14th century, but was extensively renovated in the 18th century. The so-called Wertheimerhaus with its striking oriel tower was built in 1719 and corresponds to the Haus zur Groe from 1725, which is also equipped with such a tower. Both houses have a mansard roof .
literature
- Walter Härtlein, Johannes Wenzel: "Greetings from Marktbreit". Marktbreit and the surrounding area in old views (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood, issue 15) . Market wide 1989.
- Hans-Eckhard Lindemann: Historic town centers in Main Franconia. History - structure - development . Munich 1989.
- Johannes Wenzel: Market wide. History of a small Franconian town (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood. Special issue) . Market wide 1987.
- Johannes Wenzel: Market wide. Streets - alleys - paths - squares . Market wide 2001.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Johannes Wenzel: Marktbreit. History of a small Franconian town (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood. Special issue) . Marktbreit 1987. p. 63.
- ↑ Johannes Wenzel: Marktbreit. History of a small Franconian town (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood. Special issue) . Marktbreit 1987. p. 18.
- ↑ Johannes Wenzel: Marktbreit. History of a small Franconian town (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood. Special issue) . Marktbreit 1987. p. 60.
- ↑ Johannes Wenzel: Marktbreit. History of a small Franconian town (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood. Special issue) . Marktbreit 1987. pp. 103 f.
- ^ Hans-Eckhard Lindemann: Historic town centers in Mainfranken. History - structure - development . Munich 1989. p. 94.
- ↑ Johannes Wenzel: Marktbreit. History of a small Franconian town (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood. Special issue) . Marktbreit 1987. p. 196.
Coordinates: 49 ° 40 ′ 0.7 ″ N , 10 ° 8 ′ 39 ″ E