At the Stechbahn

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Historical site plan from 1896
Berlin 1688.
Pos. B. h .: the Stechbahn
New lane at Schloßplatz , around 1830, engraving after a drawing by Johann Heinrich Hintze
At the Stechbahn, photograph by Friedrich Albert Schwartz , 1865

On the Stechbahn was the name of a Berlin street by the former city ​​palace . Since the middle of the 18th century it had been at the southern end of the Schloss Freiheit and stretched from there to Brüderstraße . Its back bordered on one arm of the Spree .

Street name

The historical development of the row of houses, which can be found in the street name, was described by Samuel Heinrich Spiker in 1833 :

“In earlier times there was a tournament area , 300 feet long and 65 feet wide , enclosed by barriers  between the Breite Strasse and the long bridge , which Elector Joachim II had set up in 1537 to use it on the occasion of the birth of his eldest daughter, the Princess Elisabeth Magdalena giving a knight game . The Elector Joachim Friedrich had this old Stechbahn restored in 1600 and decorated with 31 figures made by Caspar Zimmermann . Little by little, a row of booths was built on the inside of the Stechbahn . The Elector Friedrich Wilhelm had the Stechbahn canceled and the riding house on the Werder was set up for tournaments and fighting games , but the stalls were transformed into stone shops by Memhardt's orders , with a Doric arched arbor in front of them . "

- Samuel Heinrich Spiker: Berlin and its surroundings in the nineteenth century

Relocation and new construction around 1800

“During the further expansion of the castle, these shops, which had still existed under the name Stechbahn to gain a clearer view, were torn down and moved to the place where today's Stechbahn stands. The houses they make up were built in 1702 from a plan by Bodt ; As can be seen from the compact picture, they appear to be only a large house decorated with Ionic pillars [note: the first three-storey retail and residential building in Berlin]. In the middle you notice a balcony. It belongs to the pub of the Volpischen (formerly Martinetschen) coffee house. The view from the same over the Schlossplatz and the gas candelabra in its center , on the long bridge, on the lively Königs-Strasse and on the friendly row of houses on Burgstrasse running along the water is excellent. "

“The open arched arbor is 200 feet long; under it one finds the bookstore of Mr. Mittler and the music shop of Mr. Lischke. The fine world chooses from the plaster, fashion, art and industrial goods of Mr. Quittel - the restaurateur sips the original chocolate with great pleasure in the well-known establishment of Mr. Josty & Comp. - The businessman goes to Messrs. Jacquier & Securius' swap shops , - Hope leads hundreds into Mr. Matzdorff's much-used Lottery Comtoir, - the military finds his clothing items in Mr. Bock's warehouse, [...] "

- Samuel Heinrich Spiker: Berlin and its surroundings in the nineteenth century

The owners and tenants of the Stechbahn give another description in a letter dated March 28, 1840 to the Ministry of the Interior and the Police:

“Every year, different cooperage markets are held in front of our houses under the Stechbahn and the pyramid market is held at Christmas time. […] [From this arise] all kinds of inconveniences, disturbances, disadvantages and dangers. One of the disadvantages is the damage to the pillars forming the colonades, the lime plaster of which is always repelled, especially by the cooper's vessels, no matter how often we may have it repaired; moreover, panes of the front windows are not infrequently knocked in. The main disadvantage, however, is the inhibition of our business: since these are all of the kind that we only associate with the noble public, and it is made impossible for them, especially the ladies, to make their way through the dense human and merchandise - We suffered considerable damage from this, especially in the last Christmas season, and several tenants have threatened to quit the locale if these disturbances are not remedied. The above-mentioned dangers consist mainly in the use of braziers, which the market women, regardless of all prohibitions, are accustomed to use, which is all the more precarious because the room in question is above our cellars, the purpose of which is to store supplies for burning , and that these cellars are and must be provided with light and air holes leading to the outside. "

- GStA PK I. HA Rep. 93 B No. 1479

19th century

The "Red Castle" around 1880

The passage from Schloßplatz to Werderschen Markt was enlarged in 1866, which resulted in a rebuilding of the street; the "New Stechbahn" was torn down and the "Red Castle", also called "Red Castle", was built in 1867. The four-storey residential and commercial building at An der Stechbahn 1/2 owes its name to its resemblance to the Berlin City Hall . The Castan brothers opened the first Berlin Panoptikum here , but shortly afterwards it moved to the Kaisergalerie in Friedrichstrasse . The building housed the "Hirsch'sche Schneider Academy Berlin" for many years.

20th century

In 1936, parts of the “Red Palace” sank so that the central building had to be torn down. The house was finally largely destroyed during the Second World War .

From 1939, the Grüber office, originally located at Oranienburger Strasse 20, was located in the house at An der Stechbahn 3/4 . The organization of the Confessing Church , founded in 1938 by the Berlin pastor and later provost Heinrich Grüber , primarily pursued the purpose of enabling the racially persecuted Protestant Christians to emigrate from National Socialist Germany .

From 2012, the ThyssenKrupp House , the capital of the corporation of the same name , was to be built at the former location of the Red Castle . Due to the sharp public criticism, ThyssenKrupp decided not to build the new building.

Web links

Commons : At the Stechbahn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New cube building: Thyssen-Krupp gives up. In: Der Tagesspiegel , June 27, 2012

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 56.9 ″  N , 13 ° 24 ′ 1.6 ″  E