Gutenbergplatz (Mainz)
The Gutenbergplatz is an important place in terms of building culture and urban planning in Mainz's old town . It was named after Johannes Gutenberg, who was born in Mainz . Gutenbergplatz is the largest and most important square in downtown Mainz . Due to its social and urban history, the square is designated as a monument zone .
history
Mainz and its inner city were badly destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century after the coalition wars and the siege of Mainz in 1793. During the occupation of Mainz from 1792 and its integration into the First French Republic from 1801, the French Mainz became the capital of the Département du Mont-Tonnerre . Mainz became a Bonne ville de l'Empire français on June 22, 1804 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte . On October 1st, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte decided in a decree to build a new parade street and a representative area in the heart of the city center of Mainz. The French architect Eustache de Saint-Far was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to plan the redesign of the district. Eustache de Saint-Far became in 1802 " Ingénieur en chef au corps Impérial des Ponts et Chaussées du Département Mont Tonnerre et de la Sarre".
Eustache de Saint-Far planned a street leading from Schillerplatz to the new square . The starting point of this street was the Bassenheimer Hof as a point de vue . In 1809 the construction of the street named "Grande Rue Napoléon" began, in 1814 the street was renamed "Neue Straße". The street was later renamed after Ludwig I of Hessen-Darmstadt . It still bears the name Ludwigsstrasse today. Because of the layout of the street and Gutenbergplatz, some buildings had to be demolished. Among other things, the church of the Agnetenkloster, the Sebastian Chapel , the Mainz cathedral provost building built by François Ignace Mangin on behalf of Cathedral Provost Count Damian Friedrich von der Leyen between 1781 and 1786 and the ruins of the Jesuit Church built between 1742 and 1746 on behalf of Balthasar Neumann were demolished . Due to the ongoing coalition wars and the associated shortage of money, the large-scale project of a new parade road and an associated square at the beginning of the construction had to be canceled.
The area of the planned Gutenbergplatz was heavily devastated by the war damage, and there were some ruins on the square. Brigade General Rudolf Eickemeyer therefore prepared an expert report dated March 20, 1801 “On the execution of the plan for the rebuilding of the part of the city of Mainz that was burned down in the area of the cathedral by the Prussian siege”. Until the project was canceled, only one building had been completed on the site. Most of the construction of the square was carried out under the supervision of the city architect Augustin Wetter in a new attempt from 1819. At this time, the architect and town planner Georg Moller also played a significant role . According to scientific research, the south side of the square was probably designed in a particularly monumental and uniform style under Moller's influence. In addition, according to his plans, belvedere towers were to be attached to buildings on Gutenbergplatz. However, this was only realized on Gutenbergplatz 2. At the end of the 19th century, Ludwigsstraße was finally completely built on. Construction on Gutenbergplatz lasted until the 1870s. Most of the details in the construction plans of Eustache de Saint-Far were still adhered to, even though he had been dead for around 50 years. Exceptions were the closed arcades and the missing balconies on Gutenbergplatz. In 1873, a representative building was erected opposite today's Mainz State Theater . His neo-Renaissance styles created an architectural interplay with the State Theater on the other side of the square.
Both Ludwigsstraße and Gutenbergplatz were damaged during the Second World War . In the History of Germany , the reconstruction began. Among other things, the State Theater and in 1950 the two-storey pavilion Gutenbergplatz 16 were rebuilt on the remains of the old cellar at the southeast end of the square . The architect of this building was Kurt Barth . Many other buildings on Gutenbergplatz were built in the following years based on the model of Gutenbergplatz 16. From 1961 Ludwigsstrasse was widened according to plans by Ernst May . The low ridge development on Ludwigsstrasse, designed by Richard Jörg and Adolf Bayer , created a line of sight to Mainz Cathedral . Numerous two-story pavilions were also built on Gutenbergplatz during this expansion. The effect of Ludwigsstrasse opposite Gutenbergplatz as an important street in Mainz was taken over in the 20th century and underlined by a number of construction projects. In a document of the working group on urban planning and monument preservation at the Art History Institute of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz , it is critically noted, “... that the inclusion of Gutenbergplatz degrades it to a part of Ludwigstrasse, hardly allows it to appear as a place of its own and thus to one Loss of identity of the place ”.
architecture
Gutenbergplatz is located in the heart of downtown Mainz. In the east, the square optically introduces the row of squares in front of the Mainz Cathedral. Initially, it was planned to combine the courtyards and market squares into an oval square. This should visually highlight small radial roads . However, these plans did not materialize. According to the plans of Eustache de Saint-Far, the square should end in its southern part on a new street leading to a judicial building to be built. On the opposite side of the State Theater Mainz put down the 1833 built in four years of construction building the place is final. The center of the square formed from 1837 by Bertel Thorvaldsen built Gutenberg monument . In the west, Ludwigsstrasse leads to Schillerplatz with the Carnival Fountain and the Bassenheimer Hof.
When designing Gutenbergplatz, Eustache de Saint-Far took an example from the buildings by Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand . His colleague François-Auguste Cheussey had studied with Durand. According to his plans, the square should have a square floor plan, its center should be made clear by a memorial. The monument should be enclosed by colonnades , Eustache de Saint-Far called it "pour les temps de foire". The edges of the square should highlight the arcades architecturally. Durand's influence on Eustache de Saint-Far's construction plans can be seen in a cippus on a fountain monument. Mainz Cathedral can be seen from Gutenbergplatz. The current appearance of Gutenbergplatz and Ludwigsstraße was decisively shaped by Ernst May. He once noticed the following about Ludwigsstrasse and Gutenbergplatz:
"Ludwigstrasse itself (will), following an earlier planning proposal, be given a characteristic character by a rhythmic line-up of two-story pavilions in modern forms."
Trivia
Near the square runs the 50th degree north latitude , which runs right through the city center of Mainz. It is claimed that several buildings and Gutenbergplatz itself are directly crossed from the 50th parallel. In fact, only the Mainz State Theater is affected a few meters away. An optical course of the latitude is marked in the planum of the square for tourist purposes by two parallel metal rails, between which the following inscription is written with iron letters : 50th DEGREE NORTHERN WIDTH . A stylized globe also embedded marks the course of the latitude on the globe.
See also
literature
- Ewald Wegner (editor) with the participation of Hans Caspary, Paul-Georg Custodis, Ludwig Falck and Gerd Rupprecht: Kulturdenkmäler in Rheinland-Pfalz. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 2.2: City of Mainz. Old town. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1988, pp. 202-203, ISBN 3-491-31036-9
Web links
- Directory of cultural monuments District-Free City of Mainz (PDF; 1.6 MB) on denkmallisten.gdke-rlp.de
- New chance for St. Far - citizens want a renaissance of the ideas of urban planner Napoleons by Bernd Funke on Allgemeine-zeitung.de on August 10, 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Directory of cultural monuments District-Free City of Mainz (PDF file; 1.6 MB) on denkmallisten.gdke-rlp.de
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Ewald Wegner (editor) with the participation of Hans Caspary, Paul-Georg Custodis, Ludwig Falck and Gerd Rupprecht: Kulturdenkmäler in Rheinland-Pfalz. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 2.2: City of Mainz. Old town. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1988, ISBN 3-491-31036-9 , pp. 202-203.
- ^ A b Andrew MacNeille: Between Tradition and Innovation - Historic Places in the Federal Republic of Germany after 1945. Dissertation, University of Cologne, 2004, pp. 233-234
- ↑ Zeitschrift für Bauwesen , 76th year, 10. – 12. Issue, 1926
- ^ Richard Jörg, Adolf Bayer: Urban planning and construction of Mainz. In: Otto Ernst Schweizer and his school. The students on the sixtieth birthday of their master. Ravensburg 1950, p. 22.
- ^ Maria Wenzel and Henrik Karge: The city center. The new face of the old Mainz - plan or coincidence? In: Urban Planning and Monument Preservation Working Group at the Art History Institute of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz: Mainz remains Mainz? Reflections on the cityscape. Mainz 1984. p. 38
- ↑ Bernd Funke: New Opportunity for St. Far - Gutenbergplatz Citizens want a renaissance of the ideas of the urban planner Napoleon . General newspaper Mainz . August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
Coordinates: 49 ° 59 ′ 56.1 ″ N , 8 ° 16 ′ 17.4 ″ E