Kröpcke clock

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Meeting point, landmark, exhibition showcase; the Kröpcke clock in March 2009

The Kröpcke clock in Hanover is one of the traditional meeting places in the city. As one of the landmarks of the Lower Saxony state capital, the clock now also serves as a showcase for changing art exhibitions and presentations. The location is the Kröpcke as a "square-like extension" in the pedestrian zone in front of the Café Kröpcke at the intersection of Georgstrasse with Bahnhofstrasse and Karmarschstrasse and Rathenaustrasse in the Mitte district .

history

From the origins to the inauguration - 1871 to 1885

After the Swiss confectioner Georg Robby moved his café from Leinstrasse to the central square next to the court theater in a new building made of cast iron and glass by the architect Otto Goetze in 1871 , the “Café Robby” with its coffee garden quickly developed into one of the most famous and well-known most popular attractions and meeting points in Hanover, especially for artists . The later tenant and namesake of Café Kröpcke , Wilhelm Kröpcke , is said to have had the weather pillar erected in front of the café in 1885 , according to Dieter Brosius . In fact, the erection of the weather pillar was based on an initiative of the city's citizens' association . The association had specially formed a committee from within its own ranks , which had already addressed its fellow citizens on February 21, 1883 with a public appeal to collect donations :

"To disseminate science [... the building should contain meteorological instruments that ...] locals and strangers alike daily weather reports and forecasts , as well as important geographic and other information [...] for observation."

The “ weather pillar ” in front of Café Robby ;
" Snapshot " in cabinet format by Karl F. Wunder , 1887
Close-up of the clock in front of the Kröpcke café ;
Postcard of the North German paper industry , around 1900
Colored postcard, around 1900

Only later did the thought of other information options, such as a clock, appear. In addition, the "should street furniture " then a map of the city of Hanover get daily news, a schedule of the railway and - for the purpose of comparison - the time comparisons between different European capitals. The citizens' association finally awarded the building construction contract to the architect Conrad Oertel . This created an architectural “ symbiosis ”, primarily through a helmet-like attachment above the clockwork, which was adapted to the cupola of the café. But the substructure with a steel profile frame, driven sheet metal and glazed side parts also adapted to the architecture of the café. By keeping the clock at a certain distance from the café pavilion , Conrad Oertel also created the urban planning conditions so that the two buildings could be perceived as one unit.

After two years of planning and the urban construction committee approved planning application , the Civic Association Committee had finally required 2,800 Mark from donations together of citizens - and so the designated Hannoversche Courier November 8, 1885, the inauguration of the multifunctional Wettersäule as "important enrichment of the public facilities at one of the most frequented places on the [Georgstrasse] Promenade ”. Since then, the technical structure has been referred to as the " normal clock " in almost all old city maps .

Propaganda, war, dismantling and replacement - the 1930s to 1955

In the 1930s, the formerly multifunctional weather pillar was initially more and more used for advertising purposes , and then also for propaganda during the National Socialist era . At the beginning of the air war , the Gau command post gave the order to put all meteorological equipment out of operation - “for reasons important to the war effort”. Despite orders to the contrary, there was apparently still a temperature indicator in the Kröpcke watch: This became clear after the air raid alarm, after the heaviest air raids of all on Hanover on the night of October 8-9, 1943 Downtown was almost destroyed. Numerous preserved photographs show how in the inferno around the Kröpcke clock "the outlines of the glowing remains of the facade falling onto the street ate their way into the asphalt ." Days after the firestorm , the fire brigade had to cool the debris with water - but the Kröpcke clock had "survived". The journalist and photo reporter Reinhold Leszmann wrote about her temperature indicator in a letter to Gaupressamtsleiter Dittmann in the Nazi command post at Schützenplatz :

1945: One result of the bombing of Hannover , here is the view from the Bahnhofstrasse near the Kröpcke clock to building on George Street corner Andreaestraße , with survivors between piles of rubble . The cross marking on the right edge of the picture stands for the message "Searched for corpses ";
Documentary photography by Edmund Lill

“On the night of October 8th to 9th [1943] the temperature indicator did its duty in full. Shortly after 1.30 a.m., the temperature recorder recorded a rapid rise to the maximum limit of 35 degrees , and stayed there until around 7 a.m. The normal temperature is only reached again after about 2 days (according to the temperature recorder). "

Photo reporter Leszmann also asked in writing to be allowed to evaluate this "strip of paper [as] a valuable document for the history of the Gau capital [...] in the press". Of course he wasn't allowed to; a photo of the upright Kröpcke clock as a sign of “unshakable endurance” on Adolf-Hitler-Platz, which has been so named since 1933 , was more likely to fit into the desired picture. A labor service hastily erected on the foundations of the destroyed Café Kröpcke - the barrack finally burned down completely in another attack on March 25, 1945 - and the Kröpcke clock still “survived”.

The Kröpcke clock survived

  • the invasion of American combat troops on April 10, 1945
  • the first “Export Fair” held in Hanover in 1947 on the instructions of the British military government and the temporary tent that was connected to it instead of the destroyed Café Kröpcke
  • the currency reform of 1948
  • the beginning of the "time of reconstruction" with the construction of new commercial buildings such as - above all - the Europa-Haus
  • and on August 17, 1948 the opening of Café Kröpcke based on a design by Dieter Oesterlen
Cravatzo clock by Karl Cravatzo opposite the Anzeiger tower block (2006)

However, it was precisely this new building of Café Kröpcke that led to the demolition of the Kröpcke clock on October 25, 1954. Its dismantling was the aim of city building officer Rudolf Hillebrecht , who wanted to “ modernize ” Hanover , and also corresponded to the wishes of the architect Oesterlen, “who wanted to put“ his ”café [Kröpcke] in the right light”. Instead of the clock, only a compass rose was initially embedded in the pavement.

Almost a year later, on October 3, 1955, another clock was installed here based on a design by the city's building officer Karl Cravatzo , which, according to an inscription on a brass ring , was donated by the "Lister Möbellager" (formerly Alte Celler Heerstraße corner of Hallerstraße ). After this clock had been moved to Windmühlenstrasse at the corner of Georgstrasse due to the planned construction work for the new Hanover subway , it was so badly damaged there by a crane that repairs were not considered worthwhile.

New building and cultural stage: the years from 1977

The 2014 Kröpcke clock

In 1977, the then Lord Mayor Herbert Schmalstieg inaugurated today's replica of the first Kröpcke clock. In order to curb the later increasing vandalism of the clock, around 1995 the artist Joy Lohmann came up with the idea of using the clock , created by citizens for citizens, as a place of culture .

The clock has been looked after by the Kulturraum Region Hannover association since around 2005 and has since been used for changing exhibitions and art events by various artists.

On May 31, 2015, organized by the association Kulturraum Region Hannover, a big “birthday party” took place for the 130th anniversary of the erection of the former weather pillar.

See also

literature

  • Friedrich Lindau : Kröpcke clock. In: Hanover. Reconstruction and destruction. The city in dealing with its architectural identity. Schlütersche, Hannover 2001 (2nd edition), ISBN 3-87706-607-0 , pp. 35-38 and others; online through google books
  • NN : City center / first ascent of the Kröpcke-Uhr in the Neue Presse on September 8, 2012, last accessed on December 30, 2012
  • Kathrin Symens, Joy Lohmann: Festschrift for May 31, 2015 . The Kröpcke watch in Hanover celebrates its anniversary. 130 years of the Kröpcke watch. 20 years of Kröpcke culture. Ed .: Kulturraum Region Hannover eV, Hannover: Kulturraum Region Hannover, 2015

Web links

Commons : Kröpcke-Uhr  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c Klaus Mlynek: The air war. In: History of the City of Hanover ... , Vol. 2, pp. 553–558; here: p. 555; online ...
  2. ↑ Helmut Knocke , Hugo Thielen : Kröpcke. In: Hannover Art and Culture Lexicon , p. 162f.
  3. ^ Eva Benz-Rababah : Kröpcke. In: Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein (eds.) U. a .: City Lexicon Hanover . From the beginning to the present. Schlütersche, Hannover 2009, ISBN 978-3-89993-662-9 , p. 371f.
  4. ↑ Compare, for example, the maps offered by OpenStreetMap (OSM) at the top right above this article
  5. ↑ a b c Dieter Brosius: Private and urban building activity. In: History of the City of Hanover , ed. by Klaus Mlynek and Waldemar R. Röhrbein, Volume 2: From the beginning of the 19th century to the present ... , Hanover 1994: Schlütersche Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei GmbH & Co., ISBN 3-87706-364-0 , p. 360 -368; here: p. 366; online through google books
  6. ↑ Compare Karl's "momentary recording". F. Miracle from the year 1887 stamped with a blind stamp
  7. ↑ Waldemar R. Röhrbein : Kroepcke, Wilhelm. In: Hannoversches Biographisches Lexikon , p. 213; online through google books
  8. ↑ a b c d Friedrich Lindau: Kröpcke-Uhr (see literature), pp. 35–38
  9. ↑ a b c d e f Friedrich Lindau: Kröpcke-Uhr (see literature), pp. 43, 44f. (with illustrations of the war damage)
  10. ^ Klaus Mlynek : Second World War. In: Stadtlexikon Hannover , pp. 694f.
  11. ^ Klaus Mlynek: Hanover - H.-Messe. In: Stadtlexikon Hannover , pp. 255f.
  12. ↑ For illustration see Friedrich Lindau: Reconstruction and Destruction ... , p. 68
  13. ^ Klaus Mlynek: Finance. In: Stadtlexikon Hannover , p. 179f.
  14. ^ Helmut Knocke: Europe House. In: Stadtlexikon Hannover , p. 167
  15. ^ A b c Friedrich Lindau: Café Kröpcke - Expo Café. In: Reconstruction and Destruction ... , pp. 68–87, with numerous illustrations
  16. ↑ a b c Jan Sedelies : The Kröpcke clock: Art in the heart of the city has a dial , in: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung of May 27, 2015, p. 15
  17. ^ Andreas Schinkel: Birthday party for the Kröpcke clock , Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , May 31, 2015

Coordinates: 52 ° 22 ′ 27.8 "  N , 9 ° 44 ′ 19.9"  E