Neustädter Rathaus (Warburg)
The former Neustädter Rathaus of Warburg was a medieval building that existed from approx. 1250 to 1803 . Its foundation walls were uncovered and explored in 1984.
history
A city council of the Warburger Neustadt, consisting of 12 consules and a magister consulum , is already recorded for 1239. Between 1228 and 1247 the parish church of the new town, St. Johannes Baptista , was built directly on the market . Therefore the construction of the town hall can be assumed for this epoch.
The excavation in 1984 showed the foundation walls of a 31.80 m * 12.60 m building with 1.55 m thick outer walls made of limestone, which stood free on the north side of the Neustadt market square. The largest part of the excavated basement was occupied by a two-aisled hall. Its beam ceiling was supported by a longitudinal girder that rested on the transverse walls and four free-standing, round columns. All four bases of the columns and some of the column drums are still in situ , as well as an early Gothic cube capital . The hall was accessible via a ramp on the western end. To the east was a lower-lying cellar with a barrel vault . From this a spiral staircase made of red sandstone, still preserved in the lower steps, led to the main floor.
With its external dimensions of approx. 100 medieval feet , the town hall corresponded to those of other medium-sized cities in northern Germany, such as the medieval town halls in Warburg-Altstadt , Dortmund and Braunschweig . Like this, it was also used as a department store. The architectural forms confirmed a construction time around 1250.
In 1760, after the Battle of Warburg in the Seven Years' War , the building, which had previously been used as a school and as a "city cellar " for serving beer and wine, was " devastated and demolished " by British , Brunswick and Hessian soldiers . In 1803 the new Prussian government had the remaining ruins demolished and the stones used to build the guard house on the corner of Marktstrasse and Kalandstrasse and pave the market square.
Since the redesign of the Neustadt market square in 2013, the paving of two centimeter wide brass rails has indicated the outlines of the foundation walls of the former Neustädter town hall.
Sources and literature
- Elmar Nolte (1986): Warburg, Neustädter Rathaus. In: Trier, Bendix (Ed.): Excavations and finds in Ostwestfalen-Lippe. Vol. 4 (1986). Münster, pp. 380-392.
- Elmar Nolte (1986): On the secular building of the medieval city of Warburg . In: Mürmann, Franz (Ed.): The City of Warburg 1036-1986. Contributions to the history of a city. Volume 2. Warburg: Hermes, p. 165.
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 20.1 ″ N , 9 ° 8 ′ 52.9 ″ E