Hirschengraben (Zurich)
The Hirschengraben was part of the medieval fortifications of the city of Zurich . The name comes from the deer that were housed in the moat from 1533 to 1784.
history
Today's Hirschengraben, formerly called Stadtgraben or Hirzengraben , originally consisted of a ditch that ran along the old city wall and surrounded the eastern part of the city. It began at the Niederdorftor at the beginning of Niederdorfstrasse at today's Central and ran in a large arc to the Oberdorftor (crossing Torgasse / Oberdorfstrasse). Its course can be clearly seen on the Murer map from 1576. The name Hirschengraben has only been used since the middle of the 16th century. The moat used to be named after the towers and adjacent alleys: Burggraben zu des Schettelis tower or Burggraben ze Niumargte .
The city moat was first mentioned in 1335 in connection with an expansion of the market square. Around 1450 rubble and rubbish were allowed to be deposited. In 1527 the cattle drive into the city moats was restricted and as early as 1529 an item about hunting game in the city moat appeared in the accounting books. A deer keeper fed the animals and cleaned the ditch. The zoo in the city moat developed into a visitor attraction.
On September 13, 1744 the deer house was set on fire by the young Beat Froschauer during the morning service during the wolf storm. As a punishment, the youngster was beheaded and the house was rebuilt. In 1774 the animals were abolished; There were plans to convert the area of the trench into a driveway. In 1780 the inner and lower part of the trench from the Niederdorf to the Neumarkt gate was leveled and given to the ropers ; hence the current name Seilergraben . The outer and higher part of the lower trench is still called Hirschengraben today. In 1790 it was expanded into a wide driveway and avenue for pedestrians. Fairs were held there between 1796 and 1878.
Between 1784 and 1790 work on the middle section was continued. In the winter of 1784/85 the curtain wall and the Wolf or Schrätteliturm were removed and their material was used to fill the trench. The section between the Kronentor at Neumarkt and the Lindentor at the entrance to Kirchgasse was converted into a promenade in 1784 and planted with trees. Sheds and magazines were built along the city wall in 1790.
The uppermost part of the Hirschengraben was the section between the fountain below Kirchgasse and the confluence with today's Rämistrasse . So that the deeply cut ditch could serve as a driveway from 1784 onwards, retaining walls were built on the sides. From 1955, the row of houses in this section gradually had to give way to the expansion of the Kunsthaus . The Landolt House stayed the longest . The entrance / exit ramp of the Hohe Promenade car park was built at the location of the footpath .
Eastern half of the city on the Murer map from 1576
South Hirschengraben around 1930. Landolt House on the right .
same place 2009
building
Rechberg and Kronentor
Probably the most striking building on Hirschengraben is Haus Rechberg , the former Haus zur Krone . Construction began in 1759 by David Morf instead of an inn of the same name and completed in 1770 by Conrad Bluntschli. The long construction period can be explained by the custom of only building in summer. Between 1798 and 1800 the house served as quarters for the commanders of foreign armies, after which it was the center of diplomatic life until 1830. The new owners Adolf Friedrich and Carl Gustav von Schulthess-Rechberg gave the building the name Rechberg in 1839 , which it still bears today. In 1899 the building was taken over by the Canton of Zurich. After 1937 an institute of the University of Zurich was housed there. Since the extensive renovation in 2012-2014, the building has been used for official receptions by the government council and as the seat of the parliamentary services of the cantonal council.
The Neumarkt or Kronentor opposite the Rechberghaus was first mentioned in 1257. It formed the passage towards Winterthur. The gate was named after the inn at the Krone , which used to stand opposite the Rechberghaus. In 1589 the gate was provided with a drawbridge as additional protection. The medieval tower is surrounded by the Vorwerk built in 1629, a makeshift reinforcement of the medieval city fortifications. The old house at the Kronentor was built onto the tower, which was demolished together with the tower and the outwork in 1827/28 and made way for today's house at the Kronentor .
Rechberg 1883
Rechberg 2009
Neumarkttor 1827. Watercolor by Wilhelm Scheuchzer
Same place in 2009. On the right the house to the Kronentor
Hirschengraben schoolhouse
In 1890, the city of Zurich acquired almost 6000 square meters of vineyards and garden land from the neighboring Stockergut above the Hirschengraben at a price of 52 francs per square meter in order to build a girls' school there. The London-based architect Alexander Koch was awarded the contract . The schoolhouse was built in 1893-1894. Today children and young people from the 1st to the 9th grade are taught there.
Hirschengraben Schoolhouse 1893
Beginning of the lower Hirschengraben
House Lindengarten
The Lindengarten house at Hirschengraben 18 is one of the few houses next to the neighboring Haus zum Kiel that has remained on this side of the upper Hirschengraben. It was portrayed by David Herrliberger in the 18th century . The building has served as the office of the Pro Helvetia cultural foundation since 1940 and was extensively renovated in 2019.
Haus zum Lindengarten based on a depiction by David Herrliberger , looking east into Florhofgasse
House to the Lindengarten 2009
House to the keel
The Haus zum Kiel at Hirschengraben 20 was built in the first quarter of the 18th century. In the last few decades it was inhabited by Johannes Bürkli , who had a music salon set up by the sculptor Valentin Sonnenschein and held numerous literary and musical events there. His widow married the theologian and writer Jakob Heinrich (Henry) Meister (1744–1826), who spent the last years of his life in the Haus zum Kiel . Today the house houses, among other things, rooms for exhibitions and music lectures.
House to the keel
Depiction by David Herrliberger
Casino
In 1806 the Assemblee-Gesellschaft bought a part of the building of the former Barfüsserkloster , the Trottkeller, northeast of the old cloister from the state . According to plans by Hans Caspar Escher , a new building in a strictly classical style was built for 40,000 francs , which was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. In 1874 the state bought back the casino and converted it into a higher court .
The casino at Hirschengraben. Drawing by Franz Schmid , 1839
Archives for contemporary history
Hirschgraben 62 Archive for Contemporary History at ETH
local residents
The house where Alfred Escher was born is located at Hirschengraben 56 . The house where Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was born at Hirschengraben 8 no longer stands today; it fell victim to an expansion of the Kunsthaus . From 1855 to 1868, the writer Johanna Spyri lived for three years at Hirschengraben 10, and then until 1868 at Hirschengraben 6.
literature
- Thomas Germann: Zurich in Time Lapse , Volume II, Werd-Verlag, Zurich 2000
- Christine Barraud Wiener, Peter Jezler: Art monuments of the Canton of Zurich; The city of Zurich I. City in front of the wall, medieval fortifications and the Limmatraum . Wiese Verlag, Basel 1999, pp. 98/99
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Chronicle of the fire brigade of Zurich, on berufsfeuerwehr.ch.
- ^ Canton of Zurich, Building Department, Building Department: Haus zum Rechberg. Establishment of authority and conversion. Inauguration. March 29, 2014.
- ^ Boris Schibler: School buildings. (PDF) National Information Center on Cultural Heritage, February 26, 2010, p. 25 , accessed on September 19, 2014 : “This can be clearly seen at the Hirschengraben schoolhouse in Zurich. Erected 1891–1893 by Semper pupil Alexander Koch (1848–1911), ... "
- ↑ School building ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Pro Helvetia shows refurbished headquarters. Züriberg, November 27, 2019.
- ↑ Dieter Nievergelt: House "Zum Kiel" Zurich, Hirschengraben 20. (Swiss Art Guide, No. 209). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1977.
- ^ Regine Schindler: Johanna Spyri: Spurensuche Pendo Verlag, Zurich 1997
Coordinates: 47 ° 22 ′ 29 " N , 8 ° 32 ′ 45" E ; CH1903: six hundred and eighty-three thousand six hundred and twenty / 247688