Kirchstrasse 17 (Freiburg im Breisgau)

Residential building on the corner of Kirchstrasse-Konradstrasse with graffiti by Tom Brane, 2016

The residential building at Kirchstrasse 17 in Freiburg im Breisgau is a former cultural monument that was built around 1870 in the style of historicism . The Wilhelminian-style house in the Wiehre district , a listed building from 1982 to October 2016, was known as a graffiti house .

history

previous state

The building was erected around 1870 in the course of the building boom that began in the Wiehre from 1868 in the style of historicism . In 1968 and 1979 the interior of the house was considerably rebuilt, with the historical structure in the building largely being lost. Because of its facade, the building was listed as a historical monument in 1982 . Nevertheless, the building fell into disrepair by 2016 and fell victim to illegal graffiti . The monument protection was lifted in 2016.

Renovation in 2016 as a graffiti house

Residential building on the corner of Kirchstrasse-Konradstrasse with graffiti by Tom Brane, 2016, detailed view

The graffiti artist Tom Brane was commissioned by the house owner in 2016 to redesign the facade of the listed building with a graffito. Tom Brane designed a perspective work for both sides of the street with various natural elements and mythical creatures. The project has been called "Children's Book Pictures on a Whole House". The stucco facade should be repainted and preserved in a uniform color. The work began in the summer of the same year, but had to be stopped after two weeks of work. A neighbor had lodged an anonymous objection and the responsible building authority forbade the continuation of the graffiti work: In this case, it is a listed building whose overall historical impression would be lost under the graffiti work of art. The half-finished graffito should therefore be painted over in a uniform, monument-friendly color. This requirement was explosive and incomprehensible for many Freiburg residents against the background that the house was previously in a poor external condition. Among other things, numerous graffiti on the building had attracted negative attention and there were fears that this form of vandalism would start again as soon as the house had been repainted in a uniform color.

During the protests the neighborhood was hung with posters for the continuation of the work of art.

The appreciation for the already created, unfinished work of art and the artist himself was so great and the preliminary decision of the authority for the proponents of the project so difficult to understand that a spontaneous citizens' initiative formed and the house attracted many onlookers. The SWR reported in a television program, numerous media took up the matter. As a result, the administrative department issued a public statement by the regional council. Those in charge shared the view of the building law office and also recommended the removal of the work of art, which again caused outrage. The discussion was carried to the Supreme Authority in Stuttgart . In the meantime, proceedings have been initiated against the house owner for failure to observe the monument protection. The defendant relied on an oral promise from the office, but the officials denied it. Within a few days, the citizens' initiative collected several thousand signatures for the continuation of Tom Brane's work. The media pressure on the authorities also increased.

On October 10, 2016, the building law office lifted the monument protection for the building. After the inspection, the officials argued that the interior of the graffiti house had been changed too much during the renovation work in the 1960s and 70s. The decision in favor of monument protection in 1982 was made solely on the basis of the impression made by the facade, a visit to the inside of the building was not carried out at that time for reasons of capacity.

After this official decision, the work of art could be completed. At the time, the supporters of graffito received the decision benevolently but with amazement. The office was accused of not acting close to the citizen, in other cases in the same year not voting against the demolition of listed buildings in Freiburg, which was understood as a clientele policy and now, surprised by the strong protests, would have turned in this way . The authority then justified its approach and found itself exposed to unjustified criticism. In November 2016, Tom Brane was able to complete the work on two sides of the graffiti house.