Auditorium of the Georg August University
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The auditorium of the Georg-August University was to celebrate the first Centenniums the University of Göttingen in 1837 as auditorium in neoclassical built style. It was built on behalf of King Wilhelm IV of Great Britain and Hanover as a donor for the centenary on what was then the New Market in Göttingen .
Building history
The auditorium at today's Göttingen Wilhelmsplatz is the main university building that was built between the first phase of construction after the foundation in the 18th century and the expansion by the Prussian Cultural Administration after the annexation of Hanover by Prussia in 1866. After a long and unsuccessful search for a suitable building site near the main building of the university around the Paulinerkirche , the decision was made for a plot of land on the Neuer Markt, the edges of which have been gradually redesigned and redesigned since 1820. Mayor Conrad Hieronymus Tuckermann's palace was acquired for the university as a building site for the new auditorium . The first plans by the rather unknown architect Otto Praël from 1832 were revised after consultation by professors from Göttingen under the leadership of the philologist Karl Otfried Müller at the court in Hanover in order to make the building more representative. Müller later knew how to enforce his ideas in terms of interior design and furnishings, his position in the polychrome dispute was also reflected in the color scheme. Construction began in 1835, the young Hermann Hunaeus assisted Praël, and the construction was carried out by the well-known Göttingen master builder Christian Friedrich Andreas Rohns . The building has a T-shaped floor plan due to its garden wing. The late Classicist facade shows a rich building sculpture in natural stone created by the sculptor Ernst von Bandel , who was then working at the Hanoverian court , who also created the monument with the statue of King Wilhelm IV on Wilhelmsplatz, which was later named after him. Bandel and Rohns were friends. The entire architecture is strongly based on Karl Friedrich Schinkel's architectural language, without any direct or indirect influence of Schinkel on planning or execution could be proven so far. A few months after the completion of the auditorium and the university anniversary celebrations, the Hanoverian constitutional conflict overshadowed the joy of the new building and the university had to cope with the loss of the Göttingen Seven .
inside rooms
The large auditorium in the garden wing can be connected to the small auditorium in front to form an event room by opening several double doors in the wall between the rooms one behind the other. It then holds up to 1400 people. Behind the lectern of the Great Aula is the king's wall with the portraits of all British-Hanoverian rulers from the founding of the university in 1737 to the annexation by Prussia in 1866. All of these had reserved the office of rector, so that the university's highest representative on site was the prorector in Göttingen . In addition, there are the busts of the professors on free-standing pedestals on the other walls, which in the classical style in white marble fit into the spatial program specified by Müller. Two of them were seriously damaged in an attack in connection with protests against the study conditions on June 18, 2009 : David Hilbert and irreparably Christian Gottlob Heyne .
In the eastern wing of the front building are the reception rooms, formerly the vice-rector and now the rector of the university. On the street side, the western wing contains the conference room of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen , which is known for its decoration with wall paintings depicting Apollo and the muses of classical mythology.
Large auditorium with a view of the King's Wall
Bust of Karl Otfried Müller in the auditorium
Closing lecture of the Göttinger Historikertag 2014
Dungeon
The university dungeon is located on two floors on the rear garden side of the western wing, i.e. behind the academy hall. On the first and second floors there are four cells each, which are colorfully decorated with the naive paintings of the students who were once imprisoned. The upper detention center can be visited as a small museum of university and student history with the auditorium.
Until the 20th century, the university had sole jurisdiction over its members. A stay of up to 14 days was possible for students from Göttingen. Criminal offenses included insults, public drunkenness, nocturnal noise, laziness and riding too fast around town.
The later Chancellor Otto von Bismarck spent a total of 18 days here. At times it was even considered good form for the Göttingen student to have spent a night in the dungeon and immortalized himself on the whitewashed walls.
literature
- Marianne Bergmann , Christian Freilang : The auditorium of the Göttingen University. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-422-02004-7 .
- The auditorium of the University of Göttingen . Göttingen 2013 ( digitized version ).
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 32 ′ 2.6 ″ N , 9 ° 56 ′ 16.7 ″ E