House of Youth (Bonn)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The main facade of the former clubhouse, facing east towards the sports fields, in June 2007

The "House of Youth" in the Kessenich district of Bonn is the former clubhouse of a sports club, which is now run by the city of Bonn as a meeting place for young people. The building with the address Reuterstraße 100 is in the west of a park-like facility with sports fields, the Reuterpark . This facility is located between Bonner Talweg , August-Bier- , Hausdorff- and Reuterstrasse . The youth center can be reached via a narrow cul-de-sac from Reuterstrasse . The house is near the tram station of the same name "House of youth" and stands as a monument under monument protection .

history

Bonn ice club

In the winter of 1879 the "Bonner Eisclub eV" was founded. The club initially used the Poppelsdorf mill pond for ice skating, and later an artificial pond at the tree nursery in what is now Bonn's west town . In 1889, the club acquired an almost 30,000 square meter plot of land in Kessenicher Feld on the corner of what was then Schumann and Reuterstrasse , in order to use it in winter for ice skating and ice hockey and in summer for other sports.

According to a report in the Zeitschrift für Schulgesundheitspflege from 1889, the costs of purchasing the land and setting up the first facilities in the amount of 60,000 marks were financed by "friends and supporters of physical exercise" through the purchase of share certificates between 1,000 and 5,000 marks. The ice club therefore had around 2000 members who, with their contributions, were supposed to enable the club to buy back the shares issued in the future with low interest rates and gradual amortization. As early as 1889, croquet and tennis, which came from England, were played here in the summer on up to 22 courts , making Bonn one of the first German cities in which this sport was practiced. In addition, cycling and equestrian events were held in the summer.

Important tennis tournaments with international participation were held every year. The sons of the imperial family studying in Bonn (especially Eitel Friedrich von Prussia ) and many members of other royal houses, including Adolf Prinz and Viktoria Princess von Schaumburg-Lippe (sister of the emperor ), took part in the sporting battles and thus determined the social position of the emerging tennis. The club's best tennis player was the later Olympic champion Otto Froitzheim , who was studying in Bonn at the time. A circular track for cyclists was 460 meters long. In July 1893 a cycling race with international participation was held. The facility was also used for “folk gymnastics”. In the years 1895 and 1905, the German and European art and speed skating championships were held on the sports field. In 1905, the Lawn Tennis Club in Bonn was founded and played tennis here.

The then Bonn student and later Nobel laureate in literature, Luigi Pirandello, dedicated a poem to the sporting and social activities of the ice club in his "Rhenish Elegien" (Elegie renane, poems, 1889/90). In 1891, Raydt's script referred to Bonn as one of the few cities in which a "fresh sporting life is in active development" because of the ice club's sports facilities. In 1907 the author of an article in the monthly Kunst attributed the Bonner Eisclub the reputation of having the best ice rink in West Germany.

Clubhouse

In 1906 the club's clubhouse was built. The commissioning board of the ice club at that time consisted of the chairman Oscar Simon, the deputy chairman Albrecht Brockhoff, the honorary chairman Robert Weber and the ordinary members George Böker, Leo von Diergardt, Clemens Gudden and Georg Kleprig. The architect of the building was Rudolf Zahn , who received 1st prize in the competition (800 marks ). 62 works were submitted. Further prizes went to the architects Philipp Kahm from Wiesbaden († 1918, 2nd prize: 500 marks) and Franz Brantzky from Cologne (3rd prize: 300 marks). The designs by the architects Böhm from Bonn and Josef Lang (1878–1927) from Munich were purchased.

Donation

In 1912, the Bonn ice club disbanded. The clubhouse and the sports grounds were handed over to the city of Bonn by the members under the last chairman of the club, Leo Freiherr von Diergardt (1881–1918) - with the stipulation that it should be used for youth development. A leasing contract was concluded; it is in the Bonn city archive. According to the contract, other use (maintenance of sports and games) is only permitted temporarily. In the event of a long-term conversion, the city must provide space that is financially equivalent. A corresponding bronze plaque on a memorial stone in the park indicates with the date April 1, 1912: "Bonn citizens gave these facilities to their city to promote sports and games."

The successor to the ice club as a tennis club was the Lawn Tennis Club in Bonn . Albert Brewer (1884-1943), who had built up the Bonn hockey sport after the First World War , united the Bonn Lawn Tennis Club and the Bonn Hockey Club to form the Bonn Tennis and Hockey Club (BTHV) in 1919.

Wars and Post War

The ice rink was also operated in winter during the First World War. The Bonner Zeitung reported under the heading “From the municipal news” that the production of the ice rink had started in November 1915 on the “Municipal Sports Field” (Bonner Ice Club).

After the war, occupation troops occupied the place. After these troops had withdrawn, the city rented the clubhouse and sports facility to clubs using it, including the Bonn football club (now Bonner SC ), which also played tennis and hockey here. After the Second World War , American units destroyed the tennis courts with caterpillar tractors. From 1945 the facility was rebuilt. In the early 1970s, an air-borne tennis hall was briefly built on Reuterplatz . The clubs soon moved to the newly created Sportpark Wasserland .

Refugee shelters

At the beginning of 2016, the Bonn Municipal Building Management (SGB) presented the city council with planning for 20 locations for newly built, temporarily usable refugee accommodation , including Reuterpark . The proposal was initially rejected by the city council due to the short-term nature of the decision. After later acceptance and the granting of a three-year building permit, preparatory work began in Reuterpark in autumn . For this purpose, the ash covering of the sports field was removed from the northern half of the facilities in order to lay a foundation for three wooden containers for 80 residents each. The planned move into the approximately 4 million euro building at the beginning of 2017 could not take place due to construction defects.

House of Youth

Since 1972, the former clubhouse has been run under the name Haus der Jugend as a leisure facility of the city of Bonn for children and young people from 6 to 21 years of age. In the building there are table tennis tables, a computer room, a work room and a billiard room, girls and boys rooms as well as living and party rooms. In the park-like facility with large open space and trees, there are football fields, basketball hoops and facilities for other sports.

architecture

A description of the clubhouse was published in 1907 by Max Ruhland in the magazine Dekorative Kunst . At that time the building was given the overall character of a rural residential building. Structural adjustments were made later, particularly affecting the basement.

Exterior design

The main side of the building on a rectangular floor plan faces east towards the sports field. The central structure stands out on the facade with a slight relief. Four smooth pillar surfaces grow from the lower floor to the top floor and give the house a vertical structure. On the back, the wings also set back against the risalit building that has been shifted to the north . Bay window and stair tower structure the perspective of the side walls.

The hipped roof is two-tiered and has a central and dominant copper-plated viewing platform on the ridge . The roof is covered with slate , as is the dividing strip that divides the middle floor. In the attic of the central building there was a large loggia ; it was later replaced by a windowed wall. The sides have slightly curved or oval window eyes in the style of Biedermeier .

The structure and color effect of the exterior of the building are kept simple. Gray-yellow sandstone blocks were used for the basement . The middle floor was originally painted lime white and is now presented in a beige sandstone color.

Interior design

The original design of the interior of the house was based on the use of the middle floor for club purposes on the one hand and the basement as a changing and lounge area for sports on the other. The lower floor had a three-tiered central hall for putting on and taking off ice skates. Next to it were men's and women's wardrobes. There was also a cafe, utility and workers' rooms here. The three gates and two other entrances on the side of the square were later walled up and provided with windows.

The clubhouse, which is not accessible to everyone, was on the upper floor. The staircase and entrance area had large, ornamentally stained glass windows. The club rooms were characterized by brownish-red woodwork, light green wall coverings and brownish vaulted ceilings. The restaurant had sliding windows adorned with (among other things) sporty and scenic stained glass depictions, which afforded a clear view of the ice rink and playing field. In the summer coffee was drunk in the large loggia in the attic; in winter the musicians played here for the ice festival.

See also

Web links

Commons : Haus der Jugend (Bonn)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • House of Youth , website of the Office for Children, Youth and Family of the Federal City of Bonn

literature

References and comments

  1. ↑ List of monuments of the city of Bonn (as of March 15, 2019), p. 48, number A 1160
  2. ↑ also called "Riesenpütz", pond of the upper mill at Poppelsdorfer Bach , after: Josef Ruland, The Poppelsdorfer Bach let fountains jump , from the series: Between Melb and Weiher , in the magazine Signal of the Catholic Church Community of St. Sebastian, 1982
  3. ↑ a b c d Karl Gutzmer and Max Braubach, Chronik der Stadt Bonn , Chronik Verlag, 1988, p. 140
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Richard Bongartz, model of the Bremer Sportgarten: Reuter Park should become more beautiful , June 3, 2015, Bonner General-Anzeiger
  5. ^ FA Schmidt, place for physical exercises in Bonn , in: Zeitschrift für Schulgesundheitspflege , Philipp L. Kotelmann (Ed.), Second Volume, Part X, 1889, p. 189
  6. ↑ Paul Metzger, Bonn am Rhein in old views , Volume 2, ISBN 978-90-288-1635-0 , European Library Verlag, photo signature no.66
  7. ↑ Ulrich Kaiser, Tennis in Germany: From the beginnings to 2002. On the 100th anniversary of the German Tennis Federation , Deutscher Tennis Bund (ed.), ISBN 978-3-42810-8-466 , Duncker & Humblot , 2002, p. 80
  8. ↑ According to other information, the track was only 360 meters long
  9. ↑ On the second Kessenich exploration: Local history as world history
  10. ↑ Development of athletics in the districts of Bonn and Rhein-Sieg , Bad Godesberg Athletics Association 1952 eV
  11. ↑ The art. Monthly booklets for fine and applied arts, year 8, part 2, F. Bruckmann , 1907, p. 388
  12. ↑ Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , Volume 26, 1906, No. 17 (from February 24, 1906), p. 116
  13. ↑ From the BTHV history - 1912 , BTHV newsletter, issue 2/2016, Der Bonner Tennis- und Hockey-Verein eV, p. 15
  14. ↑ a b Martin Wein, Wohncontainer in Kessenich: Dispute over refugee accommodation in Reuterpark , September 21, 2016, Bonner General-Anzeiger
  15. ^ Bonn in the First World War 1914 to 1918, Sunday, November 28, 1915 , website of the Bonner Geschichtswerkstatt eV
  16. ^ Andreas Baumann, Refugees in Bonn: SGB submission for refugee accommodation fails , March 5, 2016, Bonner General-Anzeiger
  17. ↑ Martin Wein, Refugee Accommodation: Containerdorf in Bonn has been under construction for a year , November 7, 2017, Bonner General-Anzeiger
  18. ^ A b Max Ruhland, Das Sporthaus des Bonner Eisklubs , in: Decorative art. Illustrated magazine for applied arts , 1907, Munich, F. Bruckmann

Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 12 "  N , 7 ° 6 ′ 19.1"  E