Hofgarten barracks
| Hofgarten barracks | |||
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Hofgarten barracks around 1870, left: northern Hofgarten arcades |
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| country | Germany | ||
| today | Bavarian Army Museum | ||
| local community | Munich | ||
| Coordinates : | 48 ° 9 ' N , 11 ° 35' E | ||
| Opened | 1801 to 1808 | ||
| Old barracks names | |||
| 1825-1899 | Max Joseph Barracks |
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Location of the Hofgarten barracks in Bavaria |
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The Hofgartenkaserne , also called Max-Joseph-Kaserne , was a barracks of the Bavarian Army in Munich . From the beginning of the 19th century it was located on the eastern edge of the Hofgarten at the place where the Bavarian State Chancellery stands today. After the barracks were demolished in 1899, the building of the Bavarian Army Museum was erected in its place , which, after its extensive destruction in the Second World War and the subsequent vacancy for decades, was finally integrated as a ruin with its remains in the new building of the State Chancellery.
Building history
Already in the late 18th century there were plans to build some new barracks for the Munich garrison . In 1801 the garrison proposed the building site at the Hofgarten and at the same time presented a plan from the War Economics Council to Joseph Frey , then Elector Max IV Joseph, later King Max I Joseph . The place seemed to offer good conditions for adequately accommodating the soldiers; At the same time, a worthy building should serve to beautify the city. Among other things, it was considered favorable that the Köglmühlbach flowed past here, it was originally intended to be built over with the barracks and to ensure the disposal of the toilets. Because the garrison could not come to an agreement with the owners of the Köglmühle and the Kainzmühle , who were on the planned building site, the creek was not built over and the barracks were built 15 meters further west. At the new location there was an ornamental pond from the 17th century, the mud of which was partially removed; the area was then filled in. The foundation stone for the barracks was laid in 1801, three years later the first parts were ready for occupancy, the last in 1808.
building
The Hofgarten barracks had roughly the same dimensions as the later Army Museum and today's State Chancellery and, like them, was designed as a uniform, bolt-like block. Previously there were several smaller buildings at this point. The tight closure of the courtyard garden to the east began with the construction of the barracks. With the ground floor and three upper floors, the barracks could accommodate between around 1,600 and 2,150 men, depending on the assessment of the appropriate occupancy density. The building was about 190 meters long, the central pavilion was one storey higher than the side wings. The accommodations for the troops were on the east side, they could be reached via corridors on the courtyard garden side. Joseph Frey designed the building in the classical style. Above the main gate was a marble bust of Max I Joseph by Roman Anton Boos , about 1.3 meters high , which, initially forgotten, found further use in the Turkish barracks long after the Hofgarten barracks were demolished .
On the western side of the barracks, facing the courtyard garden, there was a parade ground . The barracks were occupied by the royal body regiment , in keeping with the location near the Munich residence .
On September 6, 1835, Heinrich Adolph von Zwanziger , former commander of the 1st Bavarian Infantry Regiment "König" , drove past the Hofgarten barracks. There, as a result of a drum signal, his horse shied away and went through with the carriage. Zwanziger fell on the street, where he seriously injured his head and died on September 15.
The barracks as a health risk
From the 1850s it became clear that the soldiers housed in the Hofgarten barracks fell ill with typhus with an above-average frequency . As early as 1855, demolition and a new building elsewhere were considered. King Max II declared this question a matter of conscience in a letter to the Minister of War in 1856. Nevertheless, the barracks was only demolished in 1899, the decisive factor being the devastating typhus epidemic of 1893. The increased risk of typhus in the barracks was attributed to various causes. King Ludwig I had a large apartment set up for the court gardener on the second floor as early as 1826, which at times also served as a greenhouse . According to some doctors, the damage caused by moisture at the time favored typhoid. Max von Pettenkofer was of the opinion that the unfavorable low position of the barracks, especially on the muddy bottom of the former lake, caused unfavorable groundwater conditions and thus harmful moisture in the building, indicated that the soldiers housed on the ground floor were worst affected. Another theory made the groundwater itself responsible, which was used for washing up and so could have passed on the germs; The fact that in the Turkish barracks only members of the body regiment who were provided with food prepared centrally for this regiment in the Hofgarten barracks spoke in favor of this thesis.
Planning for the grounds of the Hofgarten barracks
As early as 1816 Leo von Klenze had made plans to separate the courtyard garden and barracks from the courtyard garden with arcades . With the planned demolition of the Hofgarten barracks, he proposed these arcades in 1861 together with a smaller new barracks. For the festival hall desired by King Ludwig II and planned by Gottfried Semper for the works of Richard Wagner , not only a location on the Isar slope but also that of the Hofgarten barracks, which was to be demolished, was considered at times. Finally, a third plan by Hermann Francke envisaged a new building for the Bavarian National Museum in neo-baroque style on the site. In any case, the space should not be available for factory buildings, since Max II feared that workers might bombard the residence. Since any other private use was not desired either, the building for the Army Museum founded in 1879 was erected there from 1900.
literature
- Christian Lankes: Munich as a garrison in the 19th century. Mittler, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-8132-0401-4 , pp. 90-101.
