Arcade construction (Bad Kissingen)
The arcade building in the Bavarian state baths Bad Kissingen was built from hewn yellow sandstone on the west side of the spa garden according to plans by the architect Friedrich von Gärtner between 1834 and 1838 . It was the first representative spa building in Bad Kissingen. The arcade building is now a listed building and is registered in the Bavarian monument list under the number D-6-72-114-6.
Building description
The Bad Kissinger Arcades is at the origin of about 200 meters (660 feet ) long and five meters (19 feet) wide-storey three-wing building of sandstone with shallow hipped roof , in the style of Florentine early Renaissance , with open handling the west side of the Kurgartens the Franconian Saale out delimits. The arched arcades , which open onto the garden, are divided into 46 arches resting on columns and pillars and four corner pavilions along their entire length . Only a few years later, the three-wing building was supplemented by a fourth wing, which is now glazed (closed arcade) to the south. At the end of this wing there was a transition to the cast-iron fountain hall built by Gärtner with a delay in 1841/1842 for cost reasons , and from 1911 to the stone fountain and fountain hall built at the same location by Max Littmann .
In the north is the transition to the city and to the stone Ludwigsbrücke, also built by Gärtner in 1841 .
In front of the two-storey central building, the conversation room , stands the bust of the client and Bavarian King Ludwig I, made in 1891 by the Munich sculptor Konrad Knoll .
Conversation room
Approximately in the middle of the arcades is the entrance to the two-storey conversation room, today's Rossini room, consisting of three large arched doors, with its Romanesque arched corridor on both sides and a colored coffered ceiling . Five axes of the arcades also form the vestibule to the hall. It is approximately 30 meters (100 feet) long, 20 meters (70 feet) wide, and 8.50 meters (30 feet) high. The walls are painted with rich fresco paintings in Byzantine style . The conversation room ( conversation = cultivated entertainment) was intended as a weather-independent meeting point for the predominantly aristocratic spa guests and as a ballroom for smaller parties.
Originally the conversation room was empty, had no stage space and only furniture as needed. In bad weather it served as a foyer while drinking medicinal water , but also as an event hall for concerts and dance events. The contemporary Johann Baptist Scharold described the interior of the conversation room, in which the colors white and red predominate in rich gold decoration, very precisely in 1838 in his "Memories from the history of the spa fountains and spa facilities in Kissingen" (Kitzingen 1838, page 122):
“It may be the place here to briefly state the nature of this grandiose new building. It contains a hall with a large niche to the west in the background, three boxes , five cabinets , a staircase to the royal box , a kitchen and four latrines . Of the with arabesques decorated ceiling of the room, which 64 ' [foot] long, 40' and 'wide 45 in lights is high, hanging 6 beautifully worked chandelier , one of which 24 lights in the center and four with 12 lights in the cassette above the arch towards the corners of the hall, then a chandelier with 12 lights in the rosette of the niche, which is 37 'wide and 18 1/2' deep, and the walls of which have the above-mentioned frescoed views of foreign bathing resorts represent. For the side halls of the hall, each 64 'long and 10' deep, while the front one is only 33 'long and 9' deep, a lamp with 4 lights and a lamp with 4 lights hang in the middle of each arch between each pillar In the middle of the entrance, in all , the side halls decorated with 40 whole and 6 half or pilaster columns contain 11 lamps. A splendid effect make when entering the elegant meublirten hall the jumping into the eyes landscapes of the niche in which a great Otto man from the quiet rest inviting. "
The mirror in the hall were with gilded ornaments decorated the fireplaces of Skyros - marble crafted and with gold, provided wrought iron grilles. On the upper floor, the five outer arches to the spa garden were temporarily glazed, making the outer balcony also independent of the weather.
In addition to the conversation room, there is still a small room, once intended for smaller standing receptions or as an entrance foyer to the ballroom.
Building history
After the spa town of Bad Kissingen became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria (1814), the royal family and the Bavarian government invested in the “ Weltbad ”, which was already popular with the European aristocracy at the time, and awarded several important construction contracts to improve the infrastructure that was relevant to the currencies. This also included the order from King Ludwig I to his well-known architect and royal senior building officer Friedrich von Gärtner to build the arcade building with a conversation room in order to offer summer visitors and spa guests the opportunity to stay in the spa garden, which was laid out by Balthasar Neumann in 1737, for the first time .
In July 1833, the king and his architect met on the spot for the first planning discussions in Bad Kissingen. At the end of June 1834, Gärtner arrived again in Bad Kissingen to make all the preparations for the start of construction. The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was carried out on the morning of August 25, 1834, the king's 48th birthday, by the district president of the Lower Main District , Count von Rechberg and Rothen-Löwen . The official ceremony was accompanied by a festival-like program that lasted into the evening hours.
The on-site construction management was entrusted to the royal building inspector Ludwig Krämer . As early as July 2, 1835, the king, accompanied by the queen, personally convinced himself of the progress of the construction work. On July 12, 1835, the Royal Building Inspectorate was looking for 60 to 70 practiced stone carvers in the region to start work immediately for the stone carving work . They were paid not according to the time spent, but according to performance. A year later, on June 21, 1836, the roofing work with rolled iron sheets planned for the spring of 1837, as well as the locksmith and carpentry work for all doors and windows, were outsourced to local craft firms.
The system was put into operation at the beginning of the summer course season in 1838. But the construction work was not yet finished. On May 24th, Gärtner came to Bad Kissingen for several days to make the final arrangements for the completion of the building. Three weeks later, King Ludwig I arrived in Bad Kissingen on June 13, 1838 at 6:30 p.m. - coming from his vacation home in Bad Brückenau . After viewing the arcade building, he took part in the evening ball in the conversation room until 11 p.m. He did not return to Bad Brückenau until 6 a.m. the next morning. Only after all the work had been completed could the arcade building be officially inaugurated with a festival ball on July 8th, 1838 on the occasion of Queen Therese's 46th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the rediscovery of the Rakoczy spring - at the express command of the king .
Even during the construction phase, the government in Munich was very reluctant to transfer the funds required for the construction. The final construction costs were 7,000 over the estimated 100,000 guilders .
As early as February 1839, the Kissingen district government in Munich complained about deficiencies in the new building: in places the plaster would break off the ceiling again. Munich therefore asked Friedrich von Gärtner to drive to Kissingen immediately and to correct the structural defects.
Historical meaning
The construction of this arcade building, the conversation hall and other important new buildings by Friedrich von Gärtner in Bad Kissingen ( jug magazine from 1839, fountain hall from 1842 and other things) as well as general improvements in the infrastructure of the state bath ( Ludwigsbrücke from 1837, Evangelical prayer house from 1846) resulted in them Years - in connection with a better management of the bathing business by the Bolzano brothers - to a rapid increase in the number of spa guests. In 1832 the number of 1,000 had only just been exceeded, in 1842 with 4,400 guests there were four times as many. Although this number may seem small compared to 250,000 overnight guests today, it should not be forgotten that those guests stayed in Bad Kissingen for one to two months, some even the whole season, were all extremely wealthy and, unlike today, without exception the upper social class Belonged to strata of the European nobility or upper middle class and came with their servants. This arcade building as the first representative spa building of the state bath was an important step in the development of Bad Kissingen into a "world bath" with guests even from overseas.
Conversions and renovations
In the years 1910 to 1913, the architect Max Littmann completed the existing buildings from 1838 to include the current building complex from the fountain and fountain hall in the south to the Regentenbau in the north. He also redesigned the conversation room, created an additional stage and adapted the interior to the tastes of the time.
As part of the general renovation of the entire building complex (1998–2004), the arcades and the conversation room were restored in the Littmann design and color scheme in 2002.
Todays use
The conversation hall, which was renamed the Rossini hall since the last general renovation (around 2000), is still used for cultural events of all kinds, for concerts and lectures, for conferences and private celebrations. Its 330 square meter floor space offers space for 280 people with row seating. The royal box in the tier with a rear view of the spa garden is used today to control the event technology.
In the smaller adjoining room, originally intended as a foyer, exhibitions are often held.
Others
During the German War , the arcades and the conversation room became the scene of heavy fighting. After the Battle of Bad Kissingen on July 10, 1866, of the total of 1,289 Bavarian and Prussian wounded who were cared for in the larger houses and hotels in the city, over 400 seriously wounded in the arcade corridors that had been converted into a field hospital and in the small room in the conversation room auf Mann “is housed lying on straw. All rooms were overcrowded with wounded and in the music pavilion only a few meters away in the spa garden, amputations were carried out . The arcades and the conversation room themselves had previously been the site of fighting. The arcade building was not free again until the end of July 1866 and regular spa operations could be resumed.
On July 11, 1895, the Louis Stern affair began at a dance event in the conversation room , which led to months of diplomatic difficulties between the Kingdom of Bavaria , the German Empire and the United States .
The Kissinger arcade building also served its architect Friedrich von Gärtner as a model for the arcades around the Munich south cemetery, which was expanded in 1844 .
literature
- Ewald Wegner: Friedrich von Gärtner and Bad Kissingen , Mainfränkische Studien, Volume 25, Ed .: Friends of Mainfränkischer Kunst und Geschichte, 1981
- Sigismund von Dobschütz: Thanks to the arcade building to the Weltbad , in: Main-Post from February 22, 2013
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Augustus-Bozzi Granville: The healing springs in Kissingen , Bad Kissingen 1850, page 44 ( digitized version )
- ↑ The new stone bridge (between today's Ludwigstrasse and Schönbornstrasse) replaced the old wooden one that previously led from the spa garden to the other bank of the Saale.
- ^ FJ Reichardt (Ed.): Address book of Kissingen 1865. Page 28. ( Preview on Google books )
- ↑ Johann Baptist Scharold: Memories from the history of the spa fountains and spa facilities in Kissingen , Kitzingen 1838, page 122 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Schabold's measurements differ from other sources; see. further up.
- ↑ There were the five views of Baden-Baden , Bad Ems , Bad Gastein , Karlsbad and Wiesbaden . - Source: Morgenblatt for educated readers of August 30, 1838, art sheet no 70, page 284 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Winfried Nerdinger : Friedrich von Gärtner, an architect's life , 1791-1847 , Verlag Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1992, ISBN 3781403335 and ISBN 9783781403338 , page 232f.
- ↑ Program for the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for the hall and arcade building in Kissingen . In: Allgemeine Zeitung von und für Bayern , issue 237, Nuremberg, August 25, 1834 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung von und für Bayern from July 9, 1835 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Royal Bavarian Intelligence Gazette for the Isar District of July 24, 1835 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Official announcement in: General Gazette for the Kingdom of Bavaria from June 4, 1836, pages 490 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Official announcement in: General Gazette for the Kingdom of Bavaria of June 8, 1836, pages 500 ( digital copy )
- ^ Munich political newspaper of June 2, 1838 ( digitized version )
- ^ Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung of July 19, 1838 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Morgenblatt for educated estates from August 30, 1838, Supplement Art Sheet No. 70 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Description of the opening ceremonies in: Bayreuther Zeitung No. 167 of July 17, 1838, page 665 ( digitized version )
- ↑ The Italian composer Gioachino Rossini came to Bad Kissingen for a spa stay in July 1856 and lived diagonally across from the arcade building in what is now Haus Collard until his departure in August .
- ↑ Landshuter Zeitung of July 21, 1866 ( digitized version )
- ^ Morgenblatt zur Bayerische Zeitung of August 1, 1866 ( digitized version )
- ↑ Ewald Wegner: Friedrich von Gärtner and Bad Kissingen , Mainfränkische Studien, Volume 25, Friends of Mainfränkischer Kunst und Geschichte, 1981, page 28 ( excerpt )
Coordinates: 50 ° 11 ′ 51.3 " N , 10 ° 4 ′ 31.4" E