Eduard Müller crematorium

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Eduard Müller crematorium

The Eduard Müller crematorium is a listed secular building in Delstern , a district of Hagen in North Rhine-Westphalia .

History and architecture

In the 19th century, the idea of cremation was taken up again for reasons of hygiene. The Hagen crematorium was a pioneer nationwide in its function. The first draft from 1905 aroused the displeasure of the population of Hagen. It was believed that the picturesque, romanticizing design did not fit the modern, sober way of thinking associated with the cremation. As designed by Peter Behrens , a building that impressed by its modern and straightforward simplicity. The crematorium is named after the chairman of the Hagen cremation association, Eduard Müller. Although it was built in 1907, it could only be put into operation after cremation had been legalized in 1911.

The highly acclaimed early modern building on a mountain slope is the first crematorium building in Prussia . It was built from 1906 to 1908 according to plans by Peter Behrens as the upper end of the cemetery on the slope. The block-like closed building was built with a triangular gable and flat gable roof . The chimney tower at the side is in the manner of a campanile , in geometrical-abstract forms inspired by the Florentine Proto-Renaissance . The base, the rear part of the building and the base of the tower were bricked from bosses .

Even before it was commissioned in 1912, the crematorium could be viewed for an entrance fee. The original facade cladding made of white marble slabs and black-green limestone strips had already fallen off between 1910 and 1911. Behrens renewed the facade from 1911 to 1912 with the existing monochrome plaster structure. As a result of this measure, the ornamental effect of the facade with its stylized reproduction of classic structural elements was abandoned and the reference to the model building St. Miniato al Monte in Florence , which exists due to the hillside location, can only be perceived to a very limited extent. The room setting was renewed in 1984 according to old findings, an exterior renovation was carried out from 1989 to 1990.

A semicircular flight of stairs leads to the low portico on square columns made of polished black granite . The structure above is divided into a horizontal plaster strip and plaster squares, in which the round windows with alabaster panes are located on the long sides . The final, today undivided entablature zone, was originally decorated with an encrusted triglyph frieze. An oculus can be seen in the gable . The rear, cuboid-clad component is slightly higher and wider. The lateral ground floor rooms are narrow.

The interior presents itself as a hall with a three-sided gallery . The semicircular end is as wide as the middle part of the room. A coffered ceiling was drawn in. The apse and its elevation by two steps give the impression of a church interior. This is further enhanced by the semi-dome and black marble supports. Where the altar would stand in the church is the retractable catafalque with a canopy supported by pillars . The black and white room structure with ornamental geometric shapes is partly based on classic building decor. Marble and limestone were used for the floor. The allegorical apse mosaic by Emil Rudolf Weiß deals with the subject of death and resurrection.

The furnishings were made according to Behrens' designs. It is unique in its design and consciously sets itself apart from the historical architecture at the same time. At that time it was celebrated as the beginning of a new type of architecture. The building is one of the few remaining structures from the Düsseldorf years of Behrens.

The grave of the painter Christian Rohlfs is in the cemetery . It is adorned with a simple tombstone by Ewald Mataré and a bronze sculpture depicting the teaching Christ by Ernst Barlach .

A Columbarium planned by Behrens was not carried out. The extension building on the side dates from 1984. On the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the building was named Monument of the Month in Westphalia-Lippe in November 2007 by the Westphalian Office for Monument Preservation .

literature

Web links

Commons : Eduard-Müller-Krematorium  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dagmar Kaiser Strohmann On the restoration of the Hagen crematorium by Peter Behrens in Westphalia Hefte für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde, Volume 67, 1989 Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung Münster ISSN  0043-4337 page 263
  2. ↑ LWL names the Eduard Müller crematorium in Hagen-Delstern the monument of the month for November. In: LWL Newsroom. Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe , November 12, 2007, accessed on June 14, 2016 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 20 ′ 42.7 ″  N , 7 ° 30 ′ 40 ″  E