Michaelsen country house
The Landhaus Michaelsen is a representative villa on Grotiusweg 79 in the Hamburg district of Blankenese, directly between the high banks of the Elbe and Sven-Simon-Park on the border with the Rissen district . The house was in 1922/23 according to the architect Karl Schneider built and stands together with the walls of the gardens since 1986 under monument protection . The building has been used as the Falkenstein doll museum since the mid-1980s .
architecture
The building is an early example of rationalist modernism, it is considered a pioneering structure of new building and construction of international standing. Shortly after the end of the construction phase, the house received wide attention in the literature on contemporary architecture.
The generous, wide-reaching L-shaped complex is a combination of house, tower and terrace structures with alternating relationships between indoor and outdoor space. The four-storey tower connects the main building with the retaining walls of a terraced embankment, the main house and terraces end in mirror image in rounded porches. The combination of hipped and flat roofs as well as straight and round walls gives the building part of its idiosyncratic character. Above all, the curved panorama window in the east wing was considered a sensation at the time it was built. The facade is completely white and shows no other ornamentation apart from the contrasting dark window frames . In order to achieve the special location on the banks of the Elbe and to integrate the building harmoniously into the surroundings, the site had to be redesigned on a large scale.
The interiors are not designed for representative use, but rather low and small for a building of this size, so that they convey a more familiar impression.
A north wing was added to the building in 1925, which was not by Schneider.
history
The construction was carried out on behalf of the couple Hermann and Elise "Ite" Michaelsen, who used it as a residential building. Elise Michaelsen also worked as a sculptor and tried to develop the house as a meeting place for artists. However, the Michaelsens only lived in the house for four years and then rented it out.
On March 17, 1955, Axel Springer bought the house together with a 2.8 hectare property. Springer lived in the house until the 1960s, but soon began to change the original state. As early as 1957 he had a former stable building belonging to the ensemble demolished, in 1970 he received a demolition permit for the complete construction, which he did not use, however, in 1973 he applied for the roof to be demolished, which was not implemented either. In the following years the house fell into disrepair, as it was no longer inhabited or otherwise used by Springer. In 1980 Springer donated the building together with Sven-Simon-Park to the city of Hamburg, in return he received annual donation receipts of 560,000 DM for over 10 years . The building was in a ruined condition when the gallery owner Elke Dröscher made the offer to the city of Hamburg to cover the costs for restoration and maintenance, as she was interested in using the building. Elke Dröscher received the usage permit for 75 years and had the house rebuilt from 1985 to 1986 by the architects Gerkan, Marg and Partners .
The Hermann Reemtsma Foundation also participated in the renovation and maintenance .
Today's use of the building
As planned, Elke Dröscher opened the Falkenstein Puppet Museum in the building , a museum for historical dolls that she has been running there since 1986 to this day.
Photographs and map
Coordinates: 53 ° 33 ′ 57.7 " N , 9 ° 45 ′ 50.5" E
North side
East side with panoramic window
Completion of the terraces
View over the Elbe
literature
- H. de Fries (ed.): Modern villas and country houses , 3rd edition, Berlin: Wasmuth 1925, pp. 89–92.
- Elke Dröscher (ed.): Karl Schneider - Landhaus Michaelsen . Kunstraum Falkenstein, Hamburg 1992.
- Georg Dehio (Greetings): Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein ( Handbook of German Art Monuments ) . 3. Edition. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 3-422-03033-6 , p. 70 f .
- Ralf Lange : Architecture in Hamburg . Junius Verlag, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-88506-586-9 , p. 285 f .
- Roland Jaeger: House Michaelsen by Karl Schneider. A pioneering modern building in development and reception , Hamburg: Schaff Verlag 2019, ISBN 978-3-944405-46-9 .
Web links
- Description of the building in the Karl Schneider Archive, here you can also find draft drawings and floor plans.
- Website of the Falkenstein Puppet Museum
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Description on the website of the Hamburg district of Altona. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ↑ Assessment see Ralf Lange: Architektur in Hamburg . Junius Verlag, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-88506-586-9 , p. 285 .
- ↑ a b c d e Ingeborg Wiensowski: Monument to modern architecture: drama about the white villa . Spiegel Online , 17. May, 2011; Retrieved August 25, 2016
- ↑ Article. In: Die Zeit , No. 39/1992; to an exhibition about Karl Schneider on September 18, 1992.
- ↑ a b c d e f Hans-Juergen Finck: Landhaus Michaelsen: Puppenstube with a difference . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . May 16, 2011 ( online [accessed August 29, 2016]).
- ^ Description on Elke Dröscher's website, which also shows two photos from the mid-1980s; accessed on August 24, 2016.