Moorish Colonnades
The Mohrenkolonnaden are a cultural monument in Mohrenstrasse , which was erected as a single structure in old Berlin in the 18th century . The colonnades adorned the bridge over the moat . In later redesigns of the entire area of Friedrichstadt (today: the district of Mitte of Berlin ), they were preserved because the builders used the rows of columns as a facade for new business buildings. After war damage, the colonnades were restored in the 1950s and redeveloped in the 1990s .
history
The colonnades were completed by 1787 on behalf of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Based on a design by Carl Gotthard Langhans under the direction of the master builder Christian Friedrich Becherer . They stood on the bridge that led over the moat of Fortress Berlin . Originally, Berlin had five similar representative bridge structures, of which only the Moorish colonnades have been preserved at the original location. The royal colonnades were moved to Kleistpark in 1911 and part of the Spittel colonnades has also been preserved, but is located in a different location than the original. The colonnades on the Mühlendammbrücke and those on the Jägerbrücke, which led Jägerstrasse over the moat, have not been preserved .
With the filling of the fortress moat and the brisk construction activity, the two longitudinal parts of the Moorish Colonnades (named after their location in the corresponding street) were added as porches in two opposite buildings. You are now on the south and north of Mohrenstrasse, in front of houses number 37 and number 40/41. The colonnades protrude somewhat into the footpath, the driveways narrow at this point.
At the beginning of the 19th century shops ( popularly known as "Krambuden") were set up in the back walls of the arches . They bore the address Unter den Kolonnaden and were numbered. Some of these shops have survived after the large buildings were erected. The entrances to the buildings are now in their place.
The building behind the Mohrenkolonnade Süd had the Lichterfeld trade judge and reindeer Oswald Prause built in 1912–1914 according to plans by Ludwig Otte. The building with two inner courtyards, named after its owner Prausesches Haus (also: Prausenhof), is a testament to the typical Berlin commercial architecture from the beginning of the 20th century. However, Prause stayed in his villa in Lichterfelde.
In the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s the following facilities were to be found behind the colonnade entrances:
Number 37, the Graumann & Stern textile company (ladies' coats), next to it the Prausesche Haus with a laundry facility; The administrator W. Prause is named, number 37a several clothing shops and number 40 sales offices, number 41 was the 10th elementary school in the city of Berlin, but also housed a commercial school and other tenants or users. In 1943, the Berlinische Bodengesellschaft was the owner of the house at Mohrenstrasse 37a, in which clothing shops were still located, house 40 was owned by Viktoria-Versicherung, and there were other clothing factories and shipping companies here. House number 41 now housed a vocational school for industrial clerks II (= female apprentices) of the Reich capital Berlin and other users.
During the GDR era, the International Press Center was located at Mohrenstrasse 36–37, where Günter Schabowski announced new travel regulations for GDR citizens at a press conference on November 9, 1989 . His remarks led to the mass rush to the border with West Berlin and ultimately to the fall of the Berlin Wall .
The building complex Mohrenstrasse 37 was rebuilt after the decision to move the German government to Berlin ( Bonn-Berlin Law ) and is now the seat of the Federal Ministry of Justice and consumer protection . The renovation of the complex and the construction of new buildings on the site were carried out by the Düsseldorf architects Eller und Eller (E + E), which also built the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Cologne Chocolate Museum .
The Institute for European Ethnology of the Humboldt University of Berlin is located in the building Mohrenstrasse 40/41 (as of autumn 2015).
architecture
The architectural style of the colonnades is attributed to the transition period between baroque and classicism . They are made of sandstone and designed like a temple: double columns in the Tuscan style are closed off by a construction field that simulates the ancient triglyphs of Greek temples. The middle part forms a risalite and is crowned by a portico . A strong roof cornice closes the seven open round arches , and women's heads are incorporated into the apices. The decorative details of the colonnades were made according to designs by Christian Bernhard Rode in the royal sculptor's workshop of Antoine Tassaert and Johann Gottfried Schadow . The gods Mercury / Pluto and Mercury / Neptune and figures lying on the gables as symbols of the river gods of four continents are shown in the triangular gable fields and on the side panels . Rosettes decorate the fields between the round arches. The last two round arches swing back to the front of the building and connect directly to the house walls.
literature
- The Moorish Colonnades in Berlin and their architect . In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , vol. 53 (1933), p. 628.
- Georg Krecker: The Moor Colonnades in Berlin . In: Deutsch Kunst- und Denkmalpflege , Vol. 36 (1934), pp. 30–31.
Web links and sources
- Architectural monument Mohrenkolonnaden
- Institute for Monument Preservation (Ed.): The architectural and art monuments of the GDR. Capital Berlin-I . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1984, p. 232 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Architects' Association of Berlin (ed.): Berlin and its buildings. Ernst and Son, Berlin 1877.
- ^ Mohrenstrasse 37> O. Nageler Honighlassung> Shop 1, Unter den Kolonnaden . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1920, IV, p. 584.
- ↑ Mohrenkolonnaden at www.luise-berlin.de
- ^ Mohrenstrasse 37, Mohrenstrasse 40, Mohrenstrasse 41 . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1930, T. IV, p. 686 (The house number 37b is not shown.).
- ^ Mohrenstrasse 37a, Mohrenstrasse 40, Mohrenstrasse 41 . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1943, T. IV, p. 587.
- ↑ BMJV website, imprint
- ^ Website of the HU Institute for European Ethnology
- ^ Georg Dehio : Handbook of German Art Monuments: Berlin. Third edition, Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2006, p. 147.
Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 45 " N , 13 ° 23 ′ 43" E