House with 99 sheep's heads

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The house with 99 sheep's heads

The house with the 99 sheep's heads was a residential and commercial building at Alexanderstraße 45 on Alexanderplatz in Berlin . It was built in 1783 on behalf of Friedrich II as an immediate building according to plans by the architect Georg Christian Unger . It was demolished in 1927 for the subway construction at Alexanderplatz.

history

City view from 1784:
behind the colonnades on the right, the house with the 99 sheep's heads

The house with the striking facade decoration made of numerous sheep's heads made of stucco was built in 1783 according to plans by the architect Georg Christian Unger. It was one of the Berlin Immediatbauten, with which Friedrich II wanted to beautify the cityscape of Berlin after the end of the Seven Years' War . A total of around 300 buildings with representative, extensively decorated facades were built. The houses were paid for in whole or in part by Friedrich II, who bequeathed them to deserving citizens. In return, they had to take care of the maintenance and care of the houses. In addition to Alexanderplatz, the immediate buildings were mainly built on the east side of Gendarmenmarkt , on Unter den Linden and on Hackescher Markt .

The previous building, built in 1739, was demolished in 1782. The property was bought in 1739 by war commissioner Daniel Wersig for 3,770  thalers , who sold it to the innkeeper Bölke for 6,650 thalers in 1743. He built a house on the property in which he ran the Gasthof Zum Goldenen Hirschen . The tradition of an inn on this property goes back to the 16th century.

Finally the house was sold to the merchant Christian Homeyer for 6,710 thalers in 1760. His son decided in 1782 to tear down the now ailing building in order to have a new residential and commercial building with an inn built on the same site.

In the newly built house he first ran the Gasthof zum Hirschen before selling the property to the innkeeper Friedrich Hagen for 25,000 thalers in 1794. In 1813 the Hagen reindeer bought it for 30,000 thalers and divided it into plots. He sold part of it to master mason Krull for 50,000 thalers.

Battle for the great barricade, 1848, you can see the occupied house with 99 sheep's heads

During the barricade uprising as part of the March Revolution , a large street barricade was erected on May 18, 1848 on Neue Königsstrasse between the house with the 99 sheep's heads and the Stelzenkrug inn , which blocked off Alexanderplatz to the north. The barricade was particularly strongly fortified, among other things, it consisted of two overturned wagons. The owner of the hardware store in the house with the 99 sheep's heads, E. Legeler, supported the building of the barricades by handing out iron plates and pickaxes. The house with the 99 sheep's heads was occupied, and roof tiles were partially removed so that the barricade could be defended from the roof. The barricade at the house with the 99 sheep's heads was the only one of the numerous barricades erected in Berlin's streets to withstand the attacks of the army and is therefore often referred to as the great barricade or, because of its location in the Neue Königsstrasse, as the king's barricade .

Anton Claus captured the battle for the great barricade on a lithograph that also shows the house with the 99 sheep's heads. However, by exaggerating the floor heights, it is shown much higher than it actually was.

In 1856, Hagen sold the building at Alexanderstraße 45 for 56,000 thalers to the medical councilor Dr. Hildebrandt. He finally sold the house in 1879 to Paul Juergens, the owner of the account book factory, printer and stationery shop L. Juergens, who had been renting business premises on the first two floors of the house since 1860. In 1889 Paul and Hans Juergens inherited the house with the 99 sheep's heads from their father. After the plans for the redesign of Alexanderplatz as part of the underground construction called for the house to be demolished, they finally sold it to Harmonie Häuserverwertungs-Gesellschaft GmbH, which had it demolished in 1927.

Tell us about the creation of the facade decoration

Due to the eye-catching facade ornaments, a legend arose around the house in Berlin that explains the name of the house with 99 sheep's heads :

“In Berlin, Alexanderstraße No. 45, there is a house to which a number of ram's heads are attached; the reason for this badge is said to have been as follows. Frederick the Great had a beautiful house built and decorated with several statues for a citizen living on what is now Alexanderplatz for several services to the city. A neighbor of his, who lived on the corner of the new Koenigsstrasse, naturally envied him the distinction he had received, and wondered how he himself could receive an equal one. So he offered the king to make some rich endowments for the poor, and the king, who accepted them, could not help but honor the supplicant with a similar gift, that is, by building a house. He did this all the more because it gave him the opportunity to fulfill his favorite wish, to decorate his residence with as many beautiful new houses as possible. The house was built and handed over to the new owner, but when the king later visited it to see that his building plan was being carried out, the inflated bourgeois showed so little joy about the royal gift that the king himself noticed it and asked him whether the new house is not to his taste. The latter, however, replied that this was indeed the case, but that he had hoped that the king, just as he adorned his neighbor's house with beautiful statues, would also adorn his house with such a sign of his grace. The king resolved to punish the insolent man severely and also promised him to comply with his request. The very next day an artist appeared at the burgher's house who, according to an order from the king, had to decorate the new house with a badge, namely 99 rams or sheep heads. 'Hopefully he will be satisfied with the nine and ninety badges', the king wrote to him, 'but he will take care of the hundredth sheep's head himself'. However, the number of those heads has become incomplete over the years. "

- The house with the rams' heads.

The truth of this legend is uncertain. According to the history of the house, the ungrateful citizen must have been the son of the merchant Homeyer, who received the house in 1783 as an immediate building from Friedrich II. In fact, many of the citizens who received the gifts were dissatisfied with the buildings, as they were not designed for the commercial use they were intended for and the often elaborate facades with which Frederick II wanted to beautify the cityscape caused high maintenance and care costs.

In some craft guilds , the house with the 99 sheep's heads was the secret symbol for the city of Berlin. Particularly conspicuous buildings or works of art often served as such marks in the guilds. The guild members of this city only told wanderers what hallmark a city stood if they had worked there for a time as craftsmen. The knowledge of the secret hallmark of a city was therefore considered evidence of having done work there and not just wandering through it.

location

Location of the house with the 99 sheep's heads on Alexanderplatz

The house with number 45 was in a prominent location on the acute-angled corner of Alexanderstraße 45 between Landsberger and Bernauer Straße, which was renamed Neue Königstraße in 1810 and has been called Otto-Braun-Straße since 1995 . When the house was built, the square was named Auf der Contre-Escarpe or Ochsenplatz , as a weekly cattle market was held here. After Tsar Alexander's visit to Berlin in 1805, it was renamed Alexanderplatz in his honor .

The house was integrated into a block. On the side of Landsberger Strasse there was a house also designed by Unger and, in turn, the Friedrich Hahn textile department store. After the L. Juergens account book factory and paper shop housed in the house with 99 sheep's heads, the building complex was also known as the Hahn-Jürgens block .

After the building block was demolished in 1927 for the subway construction at Alexanderplatz, a new development of the property was initially planned. However , the construction project was delayed due to the global economic crisis . Finally, the Minolhaus was built on the site , which was set back a little compared to the house with 99 sheep's heads and formed the northern end of Alexanderplatz. The Minolhaus was demolished in 1968 and the House of Travel was built in its place .

In the meantime, at the point where the facade of the house with the 99 sheep's heads ran, is the monument to the great barricade from 1848 in the form of a paving stone mark on Alexanderplatz. The actual location of the barricade was roughly where the tram tracks run today.

architecture

Facade design by CG Unger for the house with the 99 sheep's heads

The house with 99 sheep's heads was planned as a three-storey building. It had a clearly protruding risalit on five open round arches, which covered the main entrance of the house behind a three-axis arcade. The facade was made of sandstone blocks and richly decorated with ornaments. The first floor had arched windows with profiled bezels , keystone cartouches and parapet decoration. On the second floor, on the other hand, there were rectangular window openings with cloth hangings, consoles and teardrop panels. The central projection ended in a gable triangle, which was decorated with a gilded deer, the house sign that gave the inn its name, and the inscription "Built in 1783".

Stucco rams' heads designed as sacrificial animal skulls were attached under the main cornice, from which the name of the house in popular parlance as a house with 99 sheep's heads can be traced back. Due to structural changes to the structure, the number of sheep's heads was gradually reduced. The exact number of the original ornaments is not known, it was probably never actually around 99 animal heads. In a file from 1895 the number of sheep's heads is given as 30, in a newspaper article from 1908 there is talk of 25 sheep's heads.

When the house was demolished in 1927, most of the stucco sheep's head ornaments were destroyed. Seven sheep's heads could be preserved and were given to the Märkisches Museum . In addition, a foundation stone with the inscription “Sophie Tugendreich: Home eggs. drilled: Boelcken Berl: the 5th April 1783 ”found, which is also kept in the Märkisches Museum.

use

Weekly market on Alexanderplatz in 1887, in the background the house with the 99 sheep's heads

The house with the 99 sheep's heads was to replace the Stelzenkrug , an inn at Alexanderstraße 46, which had stood on the same property facing Prenzlauer Straße since the middle of the 17th century and served as a meeting point for the cattle traders. The wool and cattle exchange should be housed in the house. When the house was built, Alexanderplatz was primarily used as a marketplace for wool and cattle traders, which is also indicated by its name at the time, Am Ochsenmarkt .

Like the previous building, the house was initially primarily used as an inn, which was still called Zum Hirschen . It served the cattle and wool traders as a place to stay and a restaurant where trades were made. The house had a break for horses. Since 1770 the Gasthaus Zum Hirschen has had the privilege that the ox, pigs and mutton for sale could only be found and sold here, so that the weekly cattle markets took place in front of the house. The ram's heads attached to the facade as decorative elements indicate this use and the wool fair, which was originally intended to be housed in the house.

The often-cited claim that Heinrich von Kleist spent the night of November 18-19, 1811, before he committed suicide on November 21 at the Stolper Loch , in the Gasthof Zum Hirschen, has now been revised. It was based on a confusion of names. According to the New Berlin Intelligence Journal, on November 18, 1811, a Mr. v. Kleist, Particulier from Frankfurt ad Oder in Berlin, Contre escarpe 45, that is the Gasthof Zum Hirschen, stayed. It was not Heinrich von Kleist, who had come from Frankfurt an der Oder, but a Mr. von Kleist who lived in Frankfurt an der Oder.

In addition to the Gasthof Zum Hirschen and its use as a residential building, numerous different businesses and companies had their headquarters in the house with the 99 sheep's heads in the course of its history:

  • The master builder and painter Karl Friedrich Schinkel , at the time the head of the department for artistic questions and secret senior building assessor at the Berlin building deputation, lived briefly in the building around 1812, in which he also had a studio for the production of his famous dioramas and panoramas.
  • A Dr. A. Löwenstein ran an institute for Swedish therapeutic gymnastics in the house with the 99 sheep's heads . This form of physiotherapy was developed by the Swede Pehr Henrik Ling and introduced in Germany in 1853 by the Berlin doctor Albert C. Neumann.
Title page of the commemorative publication for the 75th anniversary of the L. Juergens paper shop
  • Bookbinder Ludwig Juergens founded the account book factory and stationery shop L. Juergens in 1844 and initially moved his company headquarters with shop, workshop and subsequent private apartment to the neighboring house at Landsberger Strasse 63. After expanding the business, in 1860 the company moved to business premises in the house with 99 sheep's heads, which the son of the company's founder, Paul Juergens, bought in 1879. On the title page of the commemorative publication for the 75th anniversary of the paper shop, the golden stag from the gable of the house with the 99 sheep's heads and a stylized ram's head are shown. Alfred Döblin discusses the closure of the traditional stationery shop in his book Berlin Alexanderplatz .
  • For a while, the P. Hahn & Co. hair shop and braid factory resided on the first floor of the house, which also dealt with hairdressing supplies and exported their products.
  • The renowned pianoforte and piano factory Julius Pfaffe also had its headquarters in the house at Alexanderstraße 45 for a long time. Phillip Friedrich Julius Pfaffe, whose father had already run a piano workshop, founded the company in 1860. Julius Pfaffe was appointed purveyor to the grand ducal and princely court in 1875; at that time he employed almost 50 assistants in his piano factory. Insolvency proceedings were opened in 1929 for the company, which later moved to Frankfurter Allee.
Postcard from the Albert Meyer studio, 1897
  • In 1883 the photographer Albert Meyer opened a photographic studio in the house with the 99 sheep's heads , in which up to 15 employees were employed. A short time later he opened two more branches in Berlin. He referred to himself as a court photographer in showcases, on an advertising trolley and in address books . But since he was court photographer of the King of Saxony and the Duke of Saxony-Meiningen , the police warned him several times to clearly indicate that this was not the imperial-royal court of Berlin. On the roof of the house Meyer had a large advertising sign for his studio installed and printed postcards depicting the house with the 99 sheep's heads. In 1901 he sold the studio to move to Hanover . The studio at Alexanderstraße 45 was taken over by the sculptor and photographer Arthur Schulz, who continued it under the name of Atelier Albert Meyer, owner Arthur Schulz .
  • The National Bank for Germany operated one of its Berlin branches in the house with 99 sheep's heads .
  • The Kersten and Loy ironmongery and the R. Helfft & Co. and J. Jossmann seed dealers were also located in the building. Jossmann was a member of the Acclimatization Association in Berlin, an association that campaigned for non-native plant and animal species to be established in Prussia, especially for agricultural and horticultural use.

reception

In Alfred Döblin's novel Berlin Alexanderplatz , published in 1929, the house with the 99 sheep's heads, which had already been demolished at the time of the novel, is mentioned:

“From the east, Weißensee, Lichtenberg, Friedrichshain, Frankfurter Allee, the yellow electrics tower onto the square through Landsberger Straße. The 65 comes from the Zentralviehhof, the Große Ring Weddingplatz, Luisenplatz, the 76 Hundekehle via Hubertusallee. On the corner of Landsberger Strasse, they sold out Friedrich Hahn, a former department store, emptied it and will bring it together with the fathers. There the electric and the bus stop at 19 Turmstrasse. Where Juergens was, the paper business, they tore down the house and put a fence around it. An old man is sitting there with a paper scale: check your weight, 5 pfennigs. O dear brothers and sisters, who are teeming with Alex, treat yourselves to this moment, look through the gap next to the doctor's scales at this rubble place, where Jürgens once flourished, and there is still the Hahn department store, emptied, cleared and gutted, just that the red scraps are still sticking to the shop windows. A heap of rubbish lies in front of us. You came from earth, you should return to earth, we have built a wonderful house, now nobody can go in or out here. "

- Alfred Döblin : Berlin Alexanderplatz

Web links

Commons : House with 99 sheep's heads  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c M. Hahn: Gasthaus Zum golden Hirschen . In: Virtual Berlin around 1800, Berlin Classic. A metropolitan culture around 1800 , Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences 2006.
  2. ^ A b c W. E. Meyer: The house with the 99 sheep's heads . In: Communications from the Association for the History of Berlin . 37th year, Verlag des Verein für die Geschichte Berlins, 1920, p. 43 f.
  3. ^ E. Fidicin: Berlin, represented historically and topographically: With a double map, Berlin in 1640 and 1842 . CH Jonas 1843, p. 99
  4. ↑ KL Kapp: KL Kapp's Berlin in the year 1869: New and complete guide with special regard to traffic, trade, industry, art and public life. With a new plan of Berlin . Verlag von KL Kapp, 1869, p. 7
  5. ↑ JG Zschaler: The eternally unforgettable year 1848 or a chronicle and a memorial book for every family and in memory of their descendants . Verlag Lohse, Dresden 1849, p. 166 ( limited preview in Google book search)
  6. ↑ D. Minkels: The historical significance of pictures using the example of the great barricade on Alexanderplatz in 1848 . In: Landesarchiv Berlin (Ed.): Berlin in Geschichte und Gegenwart , Gebr. Mann Verlag, 2001, pp. 37–72
  7. ^ Cover page of the facsimile reprint by H. Juergens, L. Juergens, P. Juergens: Festschrift 75 years paper dealership L. Juergens, paper house, business books factory, painting and drawing goods, book printing. 1844-1919. Archiv-Verlag, Braunschweig 1999
  8. ↑ The house with the rams' heads. In: JGT Grasse : Book of legends of the Prussian state . First volume. Verlag Carl Flemming, Glogau, 1868, p. 47 f.
  9. ^ F. Ebel, G. Thielmann: Legal history: from Roman antiquity to modern times. Hüthig Jehle Rehm, Heidelberg 2003, p. 148.
  10. ↑ V. Viergutz: The cock-Jürgens block on Alexanderplatz - For planning and construction history of the site from George Church Square . In: Berlin in the past and present. 2006, pp. 73-105.
  11. ↑ a b c d G. Jochheim: The inn "Zum Hirschen" . In: The Berlin Alexanderplatz . Ch.links Verlag, 2006, p. 44 ff
  12. ↑ J. Bousset: For the opening of the subway from Alexanderplatz through Frankfurter Allee to Friedrichsfelde (line E) and the extension of line C from Bergstrasse station via the Neukölln ring station to Grenzallee station . December 21, 1930
  13. ^ H. Kügler: The house with the 99 sheep's heads . In: Communications from the Association for the History of Berlin . 47th year, Verlag des Verein für die Geschichte Berlins, 1930, p. 116 f
  14. ↑ W. Stengel: Report on the acquisitions of 1928 . Series on the acquisitions of the Märkisches Museum. Berlin 1928, p. 34.
  15. ↑ KM Kertbeny: Berlin as it is: A painting of the life of this residential city and its inhabitants, presented in precise connection with history and topography . W. Nartoff & Comp., Berlin 1831, p. 77
  16. ^ P. Hoffmann: Two dates on the life story of Heinrich von Kleist . In: entertainment supplement to the Vossische Zeitung , August 3, 1930.
  17. ↑ Stranger list: Strangers who have arrived . In: Strangers who have arrived. Berlin Intelligence Journal for the Benefit and Best of the Publici , No. 277, p. 4640, November 19, 1811.
  18. ^ Cover page of the facsimile reprint by H. Juergens, L. Juergens, P. Juergens: Festschrift 75 years paper dealership L. Juergens, paper house, business books factory, painting and drawing goods, book printing. 1844-1919. Archiv-Verlag, Braunschweig 1999.
  19. ^ Department for Cult . In: Salomo Sachs : General street and apartment indicator for the residential city of Berlin , 1812, 11th issue, p. 207. “Geh. Senior Building Assessor Schinkel, Alexanderplatz 45 “.
  20. ↑ Report on the two-year effectiveness of the Institute for Swedish Remedial Gymnastics, given by its conductor Dr. A. Löwenstein in Berlin, Alexanderstraße 45. Journal for Childhood Diseases , Volume 26, Palm & Enke, 1856, p. 435.
  21. ↑ H. Juergens, L. Juergens, P. Juergens: Festschrift 75 years paper dealership L. Juergens, paper house, business books factory, painting and drawing goods, book printing . 1844-1919. Self-published by L. Juergens, Berlin 1919.
  22. ^ H. Heyde: Musical instrument making in Prussia . Verlag Hans Schneider, 1994, p. 272
  23. ↑ Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau , Volume 50, 1929, p. 222
  24. ↑ Quoted in: R. Hałabura: Albert Meyer on the homepage for information on photo studios in Szczecin , accessed on January 10, 2014.
  25. ↑ see this postcard donated by the Federal Archives : The photo studio is indicated on the photo at the bottom left.
  26. ↑ Alexanderstrasse 45 . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1906, III, p. 13. “National Bank for Germany; Depository ".
  27. ↑ D. Minkels: 1848 - Between the palace and Alexanderplatz. BoD - Books on Demand, 2008, p. 84 f.
  28. ^ Advertisement in: Agricultural newspaper for North and Central Germany: Organ for agricultural engineering , Verlag von Franz Duncker, Berlin 1857, p. 34
  29. ↑ Advertisement from the seed dealer J. Joßmann. In: Agricultural advertising paper. Supplement to the Annals of Agriculture in the Royal Prussian States . Berlin, July 8, 1863, p. 2
  30. ↑ L. Buvry (Ed.): Zeitschrift für Akklimatisation - Organ of the Acclimatization Association in Berlin , 4th volume, Verlag von Reinhold Kühn, Berlin 1866, p. 11
  31. ^ Alfred Döblin: Berlin Alexanderplatz . Verlag Olten, Freiburg im Breisgau 1980, p. 181 f.

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '22.6 "  N , 13 ° 24' 59.5"  E