Marketplace (Bensheim)

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The market square with the 2007 Christmas market
The market fountain from 1895
The market square around 1904
The market square with the old town hall in 1900.

The Bensheim market square is the central square in the city center of Bensheim an der Bergstrasse .

Location, history and description

The market square has always been the center of the city of Bensheim. It is located almost 100 meters west of St. George's Church . When digging the foundation pit for the construction of the “Haus am Markt”, two-meter-thick walls were found under the foundations of the Old Town Hall - which was completely destroyed in World War II - which probably belonged to a medieval, castle-like building about which nothing is known .

The processions began and ended in the market square . Until the 20th century, the square was a place for speakers from all parties. In the revolution of 1848/49 military units were brought from Darmstadt to put down the unrest on the market square.

The Roman mountain road Strata montana once ran in a north-south direction near today's market fountain . The marketplace was also used for public punishment in the past centuries. The ordered beating was often performed here. The rotating house and the donkey were in the market square.

Around the market there is a variety of half-timbered houses , as cultural monuments under preservation are. In the middle of the square is the listed market fountain. As early as the 14th century there was a running fountain a few meters northwest of today's fountain . The fountain, which was renewed several times over the centuries, was a few meters northwest of today's market fountain. In 1836 it was replaced by a new fountain at the current location. The round sandstone frame still existing today, the four-sided fountain shaft and the fountain column date from this time. The design came from the Mainz cathedral master builder Ignaz Opfermann (1799–1866). The fountain column ( candelabra ) was made by the Darmstadt court sculptor Philipp Johann Scholl. A lantern, which presumably had the shape of a glass bell, served as a crown. It shattered in the earthquake of February 10, 1871. The fountain was redesigned in 1895. The column was replaced by an additional intermediate piece. A figure of St. George was placed on the column . The classicist candelabra is the main component of the vigilante fountain today .

In the run-up to Christmas, the market square is also regularly the venue for the Bensheim Christmas market. On Good Friday, the Bensheim Passion Play, founded by Italians in 1983, ends here with the crucifixion scene and the Descent from the Cross .

See also

literature

  • Diether Blüm : If stones could tell ... Publisher of the weekly newspaper "Der Bensemer"

Web links

Commons : Marktplatz Bensheim  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 40 ′ 51.6 ″  N , 8 ° 37 ′ 22.1 ″  E