Iron House (Trier)
A building in Trier , Karl-Marx-Straße 43, is known as the Iron House . Since the 1990s, it is under monument protection .
Zeitgeist background
Around 1877 the Trier city wall along with four city gates was largely demolished and the city began to expand beyond its medieval borders. In a north-south direction, streets in the Wilhelminian style, such as Südalle and Kaiserstraße , were laid out. In Trier, too, the bourgeoisie wanted to go with the zeitgeist and express this in the architectural style, among other things.
history
In 1890, the locksmith Johannes Wehlen rebuilt an existing house, which, like almost all houses on the street, was built on a medieval cellar as a foundation, according to his ideas. He attached a cast iron facade made of prefabricated parts to the street front. Typical of the Wilhelminian era are the three floors of the house and the decorative elements made of steel on the facade. The building, which is now used as a residential and commercial building, is divided by three axes: two tall rectangular shop windows on the very high storefront are flanked by the entrance on the right-hand axis. An eye-catcher is the upper end of the house with a large roof terrace , which is surrounded by a strikingly decorated grille. The two balconies on the first and second floors were probably only added ten years later by the building contractor August Herresthal. Wehlen had his workshop in the back of the house. Nothing is left of her. At this point there is now a residential building from the post-war period. The use of metal as a new building material made it possible for Wehlen to bring in unusually large glass surfaces and skylights for the time . As of 2017, the house is in a very bad condition, which is mainly due to the long vacancy, especially that of the shop.
reception
The design of the facade was probably very daring for its time, as a contemporary review expresses:
“It is designed like an iron coffer and entirely with the fabric and to the taste of a locksmith. […] But such iron structures can be used very useful for brewers as a kiln, for fig coffee manufacturers or even as a crematorium "
In the 1990s, the house was placed under monument protection and extensively restored for the first time.
Local legend
There is a persistent rumor in Trier that the architect Gustave Eiffel has shown himself responsible for the house. In terms of style, the house is reminiscent of buildings such as the tower of the same name in neighboring Paris created by Eiffel in 1887 , but Wehlen built the house without the help of the famous architect as a reminiscence and homage to the material of his craftsmanship. An inspiration from Eiffel's buildings or other metal structures such as the Sayner Hütte can probably not be dismissed.
Web links
- Do you know the iron house? 16vor - news from Trier, July 28, 2010; accessed on September 21, 2017
- Lots of chapels and a nose . In: Rathaus Zeitung Trier, November 14, 2014; accessed on September 21, 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ About the use of iron in building. In: Wiener Bauindustrie-Zeitung , edition 8, Vienna 1890, pp. 199f.
Coordinates: 49 ° 45 ′ 9.3 " N , 6 ° 37 ′ 53.9" E