Bahnhofstrasse (Aarau)
The Bahnhofstrasse is a 700-meter-long street in Aarau . It leads from Aargauerplatz in an easterly direction to Aarau train station . In addition, it is the most important shopping street in the city and an important traffic artery. Along the street there are several buildings in the classical and neo-Gothic style.
location
The starting point of Bahnhofstrasse is Aargauerplatz (formerly called Government Square), where the government building , the Aargauer Kunsthaus and the Obere Mühle are located. To the west the Schanzrain leads towards Schönenwerd , to the south the Obere Vorstadt towards Unterentfelden , to the north the Vordere Vorstadt and the Hintere Vorstadt to Aarau's old town. After about 400 meters you will pass the train station. To the east of the station, Bahnhofstrasse ends at Kreuzplatz, where the Laurenzenvorstadt and the main streets in the direction of Buchs and Rohr meet.
Bahnhofstrasse is an important thoroughfare for motorized individual transport, and all lines of the Aarau bus company are bundled here . The section between the train station and Kreuzplatz is a one-way street ; traffic in the opposite direction is routed via Laurenzenvorstadt and Poststrasse.
history
The course of the Bahnhofstrasse corresponds roughly to that of the Roman road between the legionary camp Vindonissa and the city of Aventicum . During excavations, various traces of Roman settlement came to light. Finds of coins, wall remains and sewer pipes indicate the existence of a mansio near the intersection of Bahnhofstrasse and Casinostrasse. In the Middle Ages and in the early modern period, the traffic route known as the Alte Strasse was of secondary importance, as the west-east traffic ran from the old town via the Laurenzenvorstadt.
This changed with the opening of the train station in 1858. As a result, Bahnhofstrasse developed more and more into Aarau's main traffic axis, on which commercial and administrative buildings, school buildings and museums were built. From 1906 to 1967 the narrow-gauge Aarau-Schöftland-Bahn operated as a single -track tram through the western part of Bahnhofstrasse, with a hairpin in front of the government building.
Significant buildings
(from west to east; odd house numbers on the north and even house numbers on the south)
No. 5/7 (Upper Mill)
The Obere Mühle or Alte Mühle at the upper end of the Vorderen Vorstadt is a former mill building from the early 17th century . The water of the now covered city stream once drove the mill wheels. From 1893 to 1907 the building served as the first municipal power station. The upper mill is built in the late Gothic style and has a saddle roof , which makes it resemble a town house from the early modern period. On the eastern long side of the three-story oblong cube, half a protruding polygonal stair tower is built under an angular pointed helmet . As with many other Aarau houses, the round is painted.
No. 38 (Turnerheim)
The headquarters of the Swiss Gymnastics Federation are located in the “Turnerheim” . The building is one built from 1850 to 1860 Villa in the late classical style. In 1928 the home of the Zurlinden family of manufacturers became the property of the gymnastics association, whereupon two wings were added. On the ground floor, the building has smooth plaster ashlars and rectangular windows with ornamented parapet fields. The upper floor, which is framed by a corner cuboid, is set off from it by cornices . A frieze band decorated with rosettes and a console complete the building under a gently sloping hipped roof .
No. 46 (Pestalozzi School House)
The Pestalozzi school building has simple but monumental facades in the neo-renaissance style . The three wings are structured by striking side and central projections. After the city received the building site for free in 1869 and also inherited the inheritance of a wealthy citizen, it launched an architectural competition. The project of the competition winner Caspar Otto Wolff was not carried out for reasons of economy, however, the contract was awarded to Carl Rothpletz and Felix Wilhelm Kubly . Construction began in 1870 and was completed in 1875. The schoolhouse has been named after Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi since 1927 . Today the building is used by the commercial school. Comprehensive renovation work costing CHF 21 million was completed in 2014.
No. 49 (bank building NAB)
In 1910, Robert Curjel and Karl Moser designed the new headquarters of this company on behalf of the Allgemeine Aargauische Ersparniskasse, which has now been incorporated into the Neue Aargauer Bank . The building was erected in 1912/13. It stands out from the neighboring buildings with its expressively stylized neo-baroque forms , which were considered very modern when they were built. The massive building sculptures come from the sculptor Otto Kappeler. The facade is a series of closely placed fluted pilasters , a high mansard hipped roof forms the end of the building. A decorated portal and a dwelling with a decorated gable field emphasize the central axis.
No. 61 (UBS bank building)
The Aargauische Kreditanstalt announced an architectural competition in 1918, one year before its merger with the Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft. The winners were the brothers Friedrich and Robert Saager. This execution took place in 1922, whereby the simple neoclassical competition design was revised and expanded to include monumental elements (addition of a portico with Doric columns ). The building has been the Aarau branch of UBS since 1998 .
No. 67 (main post)
Due to the chronic lack of space, the Federal Department of the Interior decided in 1909 to build a new main post office building in Aarau, which should also take over the administration of the district post office. Bracher & Widmer and Marcel Daxelhoffer prevailed in the architectural competition . The project underwent numerous changes: The originally planned building site on the corner of Bahnhofstrasse and Zeughausstrasse was abandoned and the building was erected directly opposite the train station. The neoclassical main post office with Doric columns built in 1914/15 finally established the symmetry of the station square. In the 1980s, an extension was built at the rear.
No. 71 (Naturama)
The natural history museum of the canton of Aargau is called Naturama and is based on the collection of the Aargau Natural Research Society . The company announced a competition in 1917/18. From 1920 to 1922, an angular complex in the expressionist neo-baroque style was built according to plans by Hans Hächler, including a villa that was built in 1890. Above the main entrance there is a cartouche with the inscription «Natur u. Heimat Museum »attached. The extension on the north side of Feerstrasse built in 1945 was replaced in 2001 by a building designed by the architect Arthur Rüegg .
No. 72 (train station)
The street is named after Aarau train station , which is set back on the south side on the edge of a forecourt. The current building is a modern glass-concrete construction by the architect Theo Hotz , which was completed in 2010. The most striking feature is one of the largest station clocks in Europe. When the railroad reached Aarau in 1856, there was initially only a provisional station in Schachen. The opening of the Aarau city tunnel in 1858 made it possible to move it to its final location. In 1859 the station building, built according to plans by Jakob Friedrich Wanner , was ready to move into. After various renovations, the building no longer proved to be contemporary, which is why it was demolished in 2008. On the forecourt was from 1924 to 2009, the Protect monument .
No. 79–83 (Karl Moser House)
The cantonal school for vocational training is housed in the Karl-Moser-Haus. In 1862 Carl Feer-Herzog had a villa built on the site. On behalf of the canton, the trade museum was built between 1894 and 1896, with the architect Karl Moser including the existing villa in the project. From 1959 (opening of the Aargauer Kunsthaus ) the building served as a school. Together with the neighboring Albert Einstein House, it forms a historical ensemble, but the architectural styles are different. The neo-Gothic villa and the new building adjoining it to the west together form a courtyard closed on three sides. A tower with a tiled pointed spire forms the transition between the two parts of the building. The two three-storey wings have roughly embossed facades made of stone . The southern gable facade is adorned by a bay window and closed off by a high stepped gable.
No. 91 (Albert Einstein House)
This building, named after Albert Einstein , is the main building of the old canton school in Aarau . It was built at the same time as the neighboring trade museum (1894–1896), also based on plans by Karl Moser. The same architect designed the west wing, built between 1914 and 1916. Stylistically, he leaned on the German Renaissance . The three-storey symmetrical building consists of a central wing with a staircase and auditorium as well as two side wings with most of the classrooms. The south-facing main facade consists of flat sandstone masonry . The extension is attached at the rear and stands out clearly through the neoclassical design language.
literature
- Othmar Birkner: Inventory of modern Swiss architecture (INSA) Volume 1: Aarau, Altdorf, Appenzell, Baden . Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History . Orell Füssli, Zurich 1984, ISBN 3-280-01509-X .
- Alfred Lüthi, Georg Boner, Margareta Edlin, Martin Pestalozzi: History of the city of Aarau . Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau 1978, ISBN 3-7941-1445-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Lüthi et al .: History of the City of Aarau. Pp. 32-37
- ↑ Othmar Birkner: INSA. P. 124.
- ↑ Michael Stettler: The art monuments of the canton of Aargau . Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History . Volume I, districts of Aarau, Kulm, Zofingen. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1948, p. 84-85 .
- ^ Turnerheim in the inventory of historical monuments of the Canton of Aargau
- ↑ Othmar Birkner: INSA. Pp. 128-129.
- ^ Lüthi et al .: History of the City of Aarau. Pp. 544-545.
- ↑ The school building with the most beautiful auditorium has been officially opened. Retrieved June 7, 2020 (Swiss Standard German).
- ↑ Bank building NAB in the inventory of historical monuments of the canton Aargau
- ↑ a b c Othmar Birkner: INSA. P. 126.
- ↑ NN: "Naturama Aarau" . Aargau Nature Museum Aarau. In: Werk, Bauen + Wohnen . tape 88 , no. 11 , 2001, p. o. S. , doi : 10.5169 / seals-47484 .
- ↑ Othmar Birkner: INSA. Pp. 129-130.
- ^ Kant. School for Vocational Training in the Monument Protection Inventory of the Canton of Aargau
- ↑ Old canton school in the monument protection inventory of the canton Aargau