Charlottenburg (Handschuhsheim)

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The building called Charlottenburg in the Heidelberg district of Handschuhsheim is one of the oldest buildings in the town. It probably once belonged to the extended Tiefburg complex . It got its name from Charlotte Apfel († 1895), who lived in the house in the 19th century.

location

The Charlottenburg is located at Mühltalstrasse 1, immediately east of the old walling of the Tiefburg, at the intersection of Dossenheimer and Handschuhsheimer Landstrasse, which used to be important as trunk roads.

history

The exact age and origin of the building are unknown. In the masonry of the building, a larger vault has been preserved on the inside, which indicates a gate entrance or a vaulted room. The stone basement and the location directly adjacent to the Tiefburg walling suggest that the building was originally part of the extended construction complex of the Tiefburg. Based on the location and size of the building, earlier use as a guardhouse or gatehouse is likely.

At Dossenheimer Landstrasse 2, a remnant of the old outer Tiefburg walling with a historic wall passage to the Charlottenburg has been preserved. In later times, the Charlottenburg was therefore also interpreted as the mistress house of the Handschuhsheimer knights, who are said to have used the wall passage to secretly get to their mistresses in the adjacent building.

The building was first mentioned in a document in the 17th century when it was owned by the mayor Hans Albert (in office 1658–1662). The reconstruction of the house after the destruction in the Palatinate War of Succession goes back to Albert, who died in 1692 . An old half-timbered beam was once dated 1690.

In the middle of the 19th century, the building belonged to Justus Heinrich Apfel. He married Charlotte Eichler in 1851, but died in 1857 after a short marriage without children. The widow Charlotte Apfel lived alone in the house for 38 years until her death in 1895. Since then, the building has been called Charlottenburg , but nothing is known about the context in which it was built.

In 1954 the half-timbered upper floors of the building were no longer habitable. The owner Adolf H. Ott, the city of Heidelberg and the State Monuments Office agreed to preserve parts of the half-timbered structure during renovation, but the entire half-timbered structure was demolished in 1955 and the facade of the new structure was only given a design based on the old half-timbered structure.

literature

  • Ludwig Haßlinger: The Charlottenburg , in: District Association Handschuhsheim e. V. Yearbook 2016 , Heidelberg 2016, pp. 40–41.