Café Spitz
The Café Spitz is a company house in the small Basel . It is located directly at the Mittlere Brücke and was built in 1838–40 according to plans by Amadeus Merian on behalf of the three honorary societies in Kleinbasels . It was given a golden turret on the roof, which initially gave it the name "zum golden Spitz". The later name "zur Harmonie" did not catch on. The name «Café National» was more successful. Even then, "Café Spitz" was used as an epithet, so that in 1896 it became official. The society “ zum Hären ” among the honorary societies was the only one to have its own house and swapped it for the Niklaus chapel right next to the Café National. Thus, the companies, which had long struggled with space problems, had the opportunity to expand the café, also according to Merian's plans in 1859 and 1860.
In 1962 the roof structure burned and was subsequently vacant. It was demolished in 1966 on official orders. In its place stands the Hotel Merian, which was burned down in 1969. The outer facade remained and the interior was reconstructed as true to the original as possible. On the ground floor, an arcade was broken open for pedestrian traffic, which was bricked up in 1990.
Café Spitz is now part of a hotel complex and houses a fish restaurant on the ground floor. It is still the place of honorary societies today.
literature
- Gustaf Adolf Wanner , Fritz Lauber: All about Café Spitz. From the old Kleinbasler Richthaus to the Hotel Merian am Rhein. Basel 1972.
- Thomas Lutz: The old town of Kleinbasel. Secular buildings. (= Society for Swiss Art History (ed.): Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Basel-Stadt , Vol. VI.) Basel 2004. pp. 280–291.
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '38.3 " N , 7 ° 35' 27.9" E ; CH1903: 611 475 / two hundred and sixty-seven thousand seven hundred eighty