Munsterplatz (Ulm)
| Munsterplatz | |
|---|---|
 |
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 View from the central platform of the Ulm Minster in west direction down to part of the Münsterplatz. On the left the historic new building (reddish building). Practically all of the other buildings that can be seen here that border on Münsterplatz were built after the destruction of the Second World War. |
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| Basic data | |
| place | Ulm |
| Created | 19th century |
| Newly designed | 20th century |
| Confluent streets |
Hirschstraße (west), Platzgasse (north), connection to Neue Straße (southeast) |
| Buildings |
Ulm Minster , town house |
| use | |
| User groups | Pedestrians , cyclists |
| Technical specifications | |
| Square area | m² |
The Münsterplatz is located in the center of the southern German city of Ulm in front of the eponymous Münster . The square is lined with many commercial buildings, most of which were built after the Second World War . In addition, the square is dominated by the town house built between 1991 and 1993 , which with its white façade and modern architecture represents a clear contrast to the Ulm Minster.
description
At the east end of the Münsterplatz stands the Gothic cathedral with its 161.53 m high tower. Hirschstrasse, Ulm's main shopping street and pedestrian zone, flow into the square in the west, Platzgasse in the north and the connection to the newly designed Neue Strasse in the southeast corner.
Münsterplatz is car-free. In contrast to most of the other central squares in the city, there is no longer any public transport line running across the square.
The two streets along the minster also belong to the Münsterplatz in the broader sense and are accordingly called Northern and Southern Münsterplatz .
history
Prehistory and early history
The oldest settlement in the Ulm area dates from the early Neolithic , around 5000 BC. The oldest finds of archaeological excavations on the Münsterplatz itself date from the end of the Neolithic ; Bell-cup culture burials were found . In addition, Alemannic burial grounds from the Merovingian era were discovered in the area of the city of Ulm .
middle Ages
First mentioned, original development unclear
Ulm was first mentioned by name in AD 854.
The development of the area of today's Münsterplatz at this time has not been clearly clarified. The city center of the young Ulm seems to have been closer to today's Adlerbastei, later in the area of the Weinhof, both closer to the Danube , so that today's Münsterplatz was probably more on the outskirts.
The Ulm Collection
The Ulm Collection , a free women's community that professed the teachings of Francis of Assisi , was founded in 1330 on the (then not yet existing) Münsterplatz and was located there until 1387 on the property of an Ulmer woman . It was later housed in Frauenstrasse.
The barefoot monastery
For many centuries there was a monastery on the area of today's Münsterplatz. Construction began before 1250 (the foundation stone for the Ulm Minster was laid in 1377) and has been expanded again and again later. This barefoot monastery , adjoining the cathedral to the west, housed the city's highest educational institution after the Reformation with the Latin school (later grammar school or grammar school academicum).
The Valentine's Chapel
On the southeastern Münsterplatz, by the south tower of the Münsterchor, stands the Valentine's Chapel, which the Ulm patrician Heinrich Rembold had built in 1458 on the east side of the former Münsterfriedhof as a burial place for himself and his family. The builder is believed to be Matthäus Ensinger , son of the cathedral builder Ulrich Ensinger . During the Reformation , the chapel was secularized in 1531 and then used as a warehouse. During the Thirty Years War it served as the town's lard store, which led to the name "Schmalzhäusle", which is still used today. Between 1862 and 1864, the master builder Ferdinand Thrän had the portal renewed, the sacristy on the north side replaced by two brick pillars and the originally simple chapel decorated in neo-Gothic style. In 1894 the chapel was transferred to the Protestant parish. During the Second World War, the crypt of Rembold's burial place served as an air raid shelter. Plans to route the Neue Straße, the main artery to be developed in the course of the reconstruction, directly past the cathedral and to demolish the Valentine's Chapel for this purpose, were not implemented. Today, the Valentine's Chapel is used by the Russian Orthodox religious community for services.
1878
In 1878, shortly before the completion of the cathedral tower, the barefoot monastery was demolished and the cathedral square "exposed". The aim of the romantics was to achieve a clear view of the cathedral as the highest church tower in the world. The now exposed square should immediately be built with a sophisticated architecture. This process was to take more than 100 years, and the place was generally experienced as empty.
1944
During the devastating air raid on Ulm on December 17, 1944, the minster was hardly damaged, but almost all the other buildings on Münsterplatz were badly hit, as was the entire old town west of the minster to the train station and north of the minster to the outskirts.
After the Second World War
Until the 1980s, before the redesign, Münsterplatz was a car park . In addition, the barrack-like tourist information office was located at the point where the town house is today .
Redesign in the 1980s and 1990s
It always seemed clear that the Münsterplatz was too large, despite the high church tower. Nevertheless, there was a long struggle to redesign the Münsterplatz. A total of 17 competitions are documented, the first in 1924 with 467 submitted designs. Ultimately, in 1986, the majority rejected a new building in a referendum; however, this did not reach the quorum and was therefore not binding for the city. Accordingly, the city council decided to build on Münsterplatz.
Instead of the tourist information office, the townhouse was built according to plans by the New York architect Richard Meier . It should be a “walk-in sculpture”, space for exhibitions, concerts, conferences, lectures, etc., but it should also contain the tourist information center and gastronomy.
The town house was opened in 1993, but remained controversial among the population for a long time after that date, as in the eyes of many it did not fit in architecturally with the Gothic cathedral. Today the town house fits into the architectural redesign of the entire area between Ulm City Hall and Münsterplatz, where a four-lane street has been replaced by numerous new buildings. As a result, a street layout was achieved that was at least approximately comparable to that before the almost complete destruction of the old town in World War II .
In addition, the entire square was paved, and trees were planted along the north and west sides at a distance of the width of a street from the house front.
The northern and southern Münsterplatz along the long sides of the cathedral were included in the redesign. The historic Münsterbauhütte , in which the minster's restorers work, was renovated, and the row of shops along the northern Münsterplatz was renewed to the same extent as the medieval row of shops that existed until 1944. The row of shops on the southern Münsterplatz was torn down.
exhibition
A permanent presentation on the history of Münsterplatz will be shown in the Ulm town hall.
Todays use
Today the Münsterplatz is used in a variety of ways, as it represents the center of the city of Ulm:
- Weekly market , Saturdays and Wednesdays
- Christmas market : The Ulm Christmas market is one of the largest and most popular Christmas markets in southern Germany and takes place annually. It usually begins on the first weekend in Advent and goes until two days before Christmas Eve. For this purpose, the market square in front of the main portal of the minster will be transformed into a hut village (with its own street name). Sales huts in particular dominate the market. The offer ranges from everyday items to Christmas accessories (cribs, candles, smoking utensils) to handmade items. Culinary huts round off the market.
- Württemberg State Trombone Day: Every two years, on a weekend in May or June, the State Trombone Day of the "Evangelical Youth Organization in Württemberg" takes place, at the closing ceremony of which up to 9,000 participating brass players form the largest trombone choir in the world.
- Pop and rock concerts: in recent years there have been performances by Joe Cocker (2005), The Who (2006), Pink (2007) and Liza Minnelli (2008).
literature
Overall representations
- Max Stemshorn, Alexander Wetzig (Hrsg.): Münsterplatz, a European urban space in transition: Ulm Münsterplatz in the past and present . Ulm: Süddeutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 2nd edition 2005, ISBN 3-88294-358-0
- Andrea Brüning, Anke Burzler: Archeology and history of the Ulm Minster Square: a journey through four millennia . 1st edition: Ulm: Süddeutsche Verlagsgesellschaft 1998; 2nd edition: Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Ostfildern 2004, ISBN 978-3-7995-8017-5
To archeology
- Judith Oexle (author), Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg (Hrsg.): The Ulm Münsterplatz in the mirror of archaeological sources . Series: Archaeological Information from Baden-Württemberg, 21, Stuttgart: Society for Prehistory and Early History in Württemberg and Hohenzollern, 1991, ISBN 3-927714-13-5
- Sophie Stelzle-Hüglin: Completion of the investigations in the area of the former cemetery on the southern Münsterplatz in Ulm . In: Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg, State Archaeological Museum, Society for Prehistory and Early History in Württemberg and Hohenzollern, Archeology Funding Group in Baden (ed.): Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg , Stuttgart: Theiss, 2000, pp. 227–230
- Andrea Bräuning: At the end of the investigation on the Münsterplatz in Ulm . In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg , 1993, pp. 273–277
- T. Bader: A grave of the bell-cup culture on the Münsterplatz in Ulm . In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg , 1989, pp. 79–81
- Erhard Schmidt: Results of an exploratory excavation on the southern Münsterplatz in Ulm . In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg , 16th year 1987, issue 4, pp. 169–172. ( PDF )
For design
- Yngve Jan Holland, Jürgen Strassel: For the semantic analysis of newer public spaces in European cities: Trier, Konstantinplatz, Ulm, Münsterplatz, Milan, Monumento, Lyon, Place des Terreaux, Barcelona, Plaça dels Països Catalans . Series: Agis -tex, 12, Oldenburg: Agis, 1996
- Adolf Silberberger: Redesign of Ulm Minster Square . Ulm: Süddeutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1993, ISBN 3-88294-195-2
- Heinrich de Fries (ed.): The Münsterplatz in Ulm and its future design, an urban development task for the future . Series: Baussteine, 1, Berlin: O. Stollberg & Co., 1925
- Hubert Krins: The uncovering of the Ulm Minster and its consequences. On the history and shape of the Münsterplatz . In: Monument Preservation in Baden-Württemberg , 15th year 1986, issue 2, pp. 49–57. ( PDF )
- Hubert Krins: Richard Meier's proposal for the redesign of Ulm Minster Square . In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg , 16th year 1987, issue 4, pp. 161–164. ( PDF )
To individual events on the square
- Stadtarchiv Ulm (Ed.): StadtMenschen: 1150 years Ulm: the city and its people. An open-air exhibition on the southern Münsterplatz from July 9th. - 19.9.2004 . Ulm: Ebner, 2004, ISBN 3-87188-051-5
- City of Ulm, Central Office (Hrsg.): Knowledge creates the future: 20 Years of the Science City of Ulm 2006 Catalog for the exhibition “20 Years of the Science City of Ulm ”, July 20 to October 3, 2006, on the southern Münsterplatz. Ulm: Ebner, 2006, ISBN 3-87188-112-0
- Rolf Bodenseh : Sculptura Ulm '90: artist workshop on Münsterplatz; 14th to 25th May 1990 for the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Ulm Minster . Ulm: Art Foundation "Pro Arte", 1990
Web links
- Panorama of the Ulm Minster Square
- View from Pfauengasse to the southeast to the southern and western Münsterplatz, around 1954/55 (PDF; 107 kB) Ulm City Archives
- History (s) of Ulm: From the Staufer market square to the Neue Mitte , website of the city of Ulm on the history of Münsterplatz and Neuer Mitte
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ulm Collection ( Memento from May 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on ulm.de
- ↑ Barfüßerkloster on ulm.de ( Memento from June 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 181 kB).
- ↑ From the 15th century to the end of the imperial city period (1802) on ulm.de ( Memento from April 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ bad-bad.de
- ↑ stadthaus.ulm.de, information from 2005 ( Memento from April 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Ingrid Honold: The Ulmer Münsterplatz: Competitions and projects for its urban and architectural design . Dissertation Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Institute for Architecture, Tübingen, 1993
- ↑ Town house on Ulmer Münsterplatz. In: arch INFORM ; Retrieved December 14, 2009.
- ↑ Will Ulm stay Ulm? In: Die Zeit , No. 39/1987, p. 59, on the referendum
- ^ City of Ulm (Ed.): Münsterplatz - Citizens' decision on September 20, 1987 . Row: City of Ulm . Information, Ulm: Stadt, 1987
- ↑ Mirjam Roller: Discussions and acceptance of the redesign of the Ulm Münsterplatz . In: Blaubeurer geographical booklets 10. Denkhaus, Blaubeuren 1996, ISBN 3-930998-10-6
- ↑ stadthaus.ulm.de ( Memento from October 1, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 48 ° 23 '54.5 " N , 9 ° 59' 28.6" E