Lukasklause

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Lukasklause, south view
View from the north
1907

The Lukasklause is in parts of the Middle Ages derived late Gothic former defense tower in Magdeburg . Today the building is used as a museum.

location

The Lukasklause is located on a slight elevation west of the Elbe in the northeast of Magdeburg's old town . The four-lane Schleinufer street runs immediately to the west of the building .

architecture

The actual tower is octagonal and has a height of 21.70 m. Originally the tower was higher. The tower has three usable floors and a basement. The diameter is 11.42 m, the wall thickness on the ground floor 1.42 m.

South of the old tower is a historicizing, picturesquely designed extension from the years 1902/03. This part of the building, which is also three-storey, partly with Gothic style elements, has a round stair tower made of bricks and half-timbered galleries. There are small Art Nouveau grimaces on the stair tower .

In the vicinity of the tower there are still old walls of former parts of Magdeburg's city fortifications. To the north and east of the tower, remains of the so-called New Plant have been preserved in the form of a roundel . Remains of a fortress railway gate from 1851 are also noteworthy.

history

Construction and first mention

In 1236 Archbishop Wilbrand von Käfernburg donated two acres of land to the city of Magdeburg so that the city wall in the northeast of the city could be completed. This could have been the area of ​​today's Lukasklause, but at least areas nearby. Possibly already in the course of the city expansion under Archbishop Albrecht I von Käfernburg (1205 to 1232), but at least in the following time the defense tower that secured the northeast corner of the city wall must have been built.

A first official mention of the tower as Vlašský tower dates as specified in the city's history literature from the year 1279. Other figures refer this mention on another tower and see the first mention until the year 1440. In the Schoepp Chronicle of Henry of Lamme Jump construction will mentioned of a ship mill near the Welschen Tower. The meaning of the term Welsch is unclear. It seems conceivable that the building was built by a Lombard or Italian master builder. Since the name Walsgetüm appears in 1312, the name may have been derived from the Middle Low German whale , which means fight and could indicate a connection between the building and fighting. The origin of vals with the meaning of forger , fraudster is also conceivable . This would give a vague reference to its use as a debt tower .

Military use

The tower was an important part of the city fortifications and has been modernized frequently. For the year 1450 are loopholes mentioned in the pointing to the Elbe east side and on the south side of the tower. In 1536 the fortifications in the area of ​​the tower were significantly expanded. There was the installation of a ski jump New plant in which the tower was built. During the siege of the city of Magdeburg in 1550/51 by Moritz von Sachsen , the complex had to prove itself in a lengthy armed conflict. Magdeburg was able to withstand this siege.

Although the new plant was expanded in 1625, Pappenheim's troops invaded the city on May 20, 1631 when Magdeburg was stormed and destroyed in this area . The new plant turned out to be militarily outdated. The tower was partially destroyed.

Already in 1633, Magdeburg was occupied by the Swedish , a makeshift reconstruction of the tower took place. In 1680 the new plant was converted into the Prussian Bastion . The tower was now called Tower Prussia , was integrated into the east side of the bastion and was part of the Magdeburg fortress . In 1717 a large provision house was built near the tower. In the years 1724/25 a wall, which is still preserved today, was built facing the Elbe, into which loopholes were incorporated in 1855. In 1851, a railway gate with a bascule bridge was created in the bastion for the newly emerging Magdeburg-Wittenberg railway to pass through the fortifications. Parts of the inner railroad gate have been preserved. The same applies to a crenellated wall built from rubble stone parallel to the Elbe .

Civil use from 1900

The military use of the fortifications ended at the end of the 19th century. In 1900 the Prussian tower was sold to the St. Lukas eV artists' association founded in 1892 . Extensive renovations were carried out in 1902/03. Under the direction of the professor and painter Adolf Rettelbusch , a rectangular extension was built on the south side in a historicizing style. The design for the renovation came from Albert Schütze . Rettelbusch designed the interior. The extension was given a round brick stair tower . A half- timbered gallery was also added to the new building. The roof has been renewed. Original wall openings were extended to windows or doors or closed. The building permit was granted on May 14, 1902. The approval by the building police took place on February 27, 1903.

Upon completion, the building was consecrated to Saint Luke as the patron saint of painters. Since then the tower has been called the Lukasturm or, more commonly, Lukasklause . From 1904 the association used the entire property. There were exhibition and studio rooms here. A part was used for residential purposes. The cultural history museum of Magdeburg organized lectures. A park was created around the tower. New paths and a pond with bridges were created. Trees were replanted.

In 1939 the club was banned with the beginning of World War II . The Lukasklause was used by an office of the NSDAP until 1945 . While the park was destroyed during the war, the Lukasklause survived the war events almost unaffected.

Use in the GDR

After the war, a kindergarten and a station for young technicians were set up in the tower . This usage continued until the end of the 1970s. In 1974 the Elbuferpromenade was redesigned, whereby the tower was included. Between 1981 and 1983 the building was renovated by VEB Denkmalpflege Magdeburg . The Lukasklause was now used as a museum sponsored by the Magdeburg Cultural History Museum, in which various exhibitions were shown. In addition, there was now a restaurant on the middle floor of the building. The painter Rudolf Pötsch depicted twelve Magdeburg sagas as well as the great destruction of the city in 1631 and 1945. The opening of the Lukasklause, which was converted in this way, took place on May 1, 1983.

Creation of the Otto von Guericke Museum

On the 300th anniversary of the death of the well-known scientist and Magdeburg Mayor Otto von Guericke , the exhibition Otto von Guericke - In his time for our time was shown in the building in 1986 . The exhibition organized by the Otto von Guericke Circle of Friends at the Kulturbund der GDR enjoyed great visitor interest. The stages of Guericke's life and replicas of his scientific equipment were shown on two floors. Due to the success, a permanent exhibition was shown in the cultural history museum from 1987.

In 1992 the restaurant was closed again. A conference room was created in its place. The Lukasklause was repaired again and opened on June 29, 1995 as the Otto von Guericke Museum . Since then, the management of the museum has been the responsibility of the Otto von Guericke Society, founded in 1991. The Lukasklause itself is owned by the city of Magdeburg.

The Otto von Guericke Museum

Lukasklause, east view, entrance to the Otto von Guericke Museum

The museum shows the permanent exhibition Life and Work of Otto von Guericke . The life of Otto von Guericke and his scientific work is presented over two floors . In addition to functional replicas of his equipment and experiments, there are also modern experimental arrangements. There are also demonstrations of experiments and guided tours of the permanent exhibition and smaller special exhibitions.

The Lukasklause is also available for cultural events on the subject of Guericke and regional history of the 17th century.

Extensions

In the course of the international building exhibition , extensive modern extensions were made from 2008. The winning design of a competition started at the end of 2007 envisaged additions in modern architecture to the south of the previous Lukasklause, opening towards the Elbe. The construction of another tower was also planned. The costs for the project should amount to a little more than one million euros and were mainly provided by public funds. The project also met with public criticism, as the need for the new exhibition space is doubted and the modern part of the building severely impaired the character of the historic tower. After the shell was largely completed in September 2009, there was sharp public criticism of the design of the extension and its visual impact on the old building.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. H. Menzel, Documentation Magdeburger Altstadttore , Part 5, 2007; Magdeburg Schöppenchronik, pages 164 and 383
  2. http://www.ovgg.ovgu.de/Erleben/Guericke_Zentrum/Lukasklause.html
  3. Olaf Meister Expansion of the Lukasklause is economic nonsense in Magdeburger Volksstimme from April 16, 2008.
  4. ^ Magdeburger Volksstimme of September 10, 2009.

Coordinates: 52 ° 8 '9.8 "  N , 11 ° 39' 2.9"  E