Hofchen (Mainz)
The courtyard in Mainz is the westernmost of the four squares around the Mainz Cathedral .
History and current buildings
The courtyard was first mentioned by name in the 14th century . The square got its name from the court of the Archbishop of Mainz at the cathedral. Originally, the square was protected by walls before the Martinsburg , located on the Rhine and built between 1478 and 1481, became the new archiepiscopal residence in the 15th century . The square surrounding the bishop's court was designed increasingly open, and a connection was created between the courtyard and the market square .
Under Napoleon Bonaparte , the area around the courtyard was extensively rebuilt. On October 1, 1804, Napoleon ordered the construction of a street between the former bishop's court and Schillerplatz by decree , which resulted in today's Ludwigsstraße and Gutenbergplatz to the west of the courtyard . The architect Eustache de Saint-Far submitted plans by 1808 that included the merging of the courtyard and market square. Ludwigsstraße and Gutenbergplatz were completed in 1824, but the merging of Höfchen and Marktplatz was not realized.
During the so-called Reichskristallnacht on November 9 and 10, 1938, a Jewish department store was looted and damaged at the Höfchen, and one of the perpetrators was sentenced to two years in prison in March 1948. During the air raids on Mainz , three high explosive bombs hit the courtyard on the evening of February 1, 1945. After the end of the Second World War in May 1945, the reconstruction of the large-scale destroyed city center began, whereby a development plan by Marcel Lods appointed by the French military administration was rejected by Mayor Emil Kraus . The architecture professor Karl Gruber attached great importance to maintaining the break between the courtyard and the market square. He saw the structural collision between Gutenbergplatz and Höfchen as a major problem in the reconstruction. Gruber recommended that the structural separation be retained and was of the opinion that the modern Gutenbergplatz was “clearly lower ranking” and that one did not have to show “the same respect” as the more historic cathedral squares. As suggested by Gruber, the turning point between the courtyard and the market square was finally restored by erecting two head buildings. These were designed so that the Gotthard Chapel adjoining the cathedral is freely visible. The southern peripheral development of the courtyard was downgraded by one storey each compared to the pre-war state, so that the cathedral is clearly visible from Ludwigsstrasse. For the millennium of the start of construction on the cathedral in 1975, the previously busy square was redesigned into a pedestrian zone. The idea that emerged at the beginning of the 1970s to work out the complete separation of courtyard and marketplace that existed in the Middle Ages by building a town house was not realized . By lowering the center of the square, paving and water features framed by raised beds and tree planting, the square or courtyard character of the courtyard was to be emphasized more strongly. However, water features and raised beds have been implemented together with a flagpole system.
In his dissertation in 2004, the art historian Andrew MacNeille stated that the courtyard “hardly acts as a transition area between Gutenbergplatz and Marktplatz” due to its simple development and the scarcely existing spatial separation from the neighboring squares.
Events and transport links
During Advent, the main entrance to the Mainz Christmas market is at the Höfchen . At the height of the Mainz Carnival , the Rose Monday procession crosses the square. Other regular events that take place at Höfchen, among others, include the intercultural festival as part of the intercultural week and the Mainz Midsummer Night .
The Höfchen / Listmann bus stop is located on the northern edge of the Höfchen and is served by most MVG bus routes. The stop takes its name from the Listmann retail store , which was founded in 1889 and has its headquarters immediately north of the square. There are direct connections from the Höfchen to all Mainz districts as well as to Wiesbaden , Ginsheim-Gustavsburg and Bischofsheim on the right bank of the Rhine and to the Rheinhessen municipalities of Klein-Winternheim , Ober-Olm and Nieder-Olm .
From 1883 to 1963, the courtyard was also part of the tram network of the city of Mainz .
Cultural monuments
The courtyard is part of the Mainz monument zone in the southeastern old town. The following individual monument can be found on the square:
- Courtyard 4: coat of arms stone of the Mainz City Court, 1611
- Schusterstraße 1: spiral staircase tower of the former courtyard "Zur Sewkiste", octagonal Renaissance tower, with a slate upper floor and hood, portal framed in Renaissance shapes, first half of the 17th century and niche figure of Saint Barbara, inscribed 1717
Picture gallery
Brunnen am Höfchen with a view of the weekly market, 2012
Historical view of the Mainz Cathedral with courtyard and market square
View of the courtyard with the cathedral in the background
Listmann store with the Höfchen / Listmann bus stop , 2018
dusk
literature
- Andrew MacNeille: Between Tradition and Innovation - Historic Places in the Federal Republic of Germany after 1945. Dissertation, University of Cologne, 2004, pp. 233–238
Web links
- Entry on Listmann, Höfchen on regionalgeschichte.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ Destruction and construction in Mainz on regionalgeschichte.net
- ^ Wilhelm Jung : Monument of a Millennium, in: Helmut Beichert (Hrsg.): Mainz - Portrait of a reborn city , Verlag Dr. Hanns Krach, Mainz 1984, page 93
- ↑ Jung, p. 99
- ↑ Andrew MacNeille: Between Tradition and Innovation - Historic Places in the Federal Republic of Germany after 1945. Dissertation, University of Cologne, 2004, p. 238
- ↑ Christmas market in Mainz on the website of the state capital Mainz
- ↑ Route of the Mainz Rose Monday procession on the website of the Mainz Carneval Association
- ↑ Statement by the city administration on the structural requirements for the Christmas market and Rose Monday procession
- ^ Intercultural week on the website of the state capital Mainz
- ↑ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments in the district-free city of Mainz (PDF; 1.3 MB). Mainz 2014.