Nikolaisaal
| Nikolaisaal Potsdam | ||
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 Nikolaisaal front building |
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| Data | ||
| place | Potsdam | |
| Architectural style | Mix | |
| Construction year | 1909, 1934, 2000 | |
| Floor space | 1536 m² | |
| Coordinates | 52 ° 23 '53.3 " N , 13 ° 3' 19.5" E | |
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The Nikolaisaal is a concert and event house in the city center of the Brandenburg state capital Potsdam , Wilhelm-Staab-Straße 10/11. There is a café in the front building.
prehistory
The current building is already the third structure at this point. In the 18th century, the manufacturer Glogger had his first house built on the corner of Kleine Jägerstrasse on the city canal . After Glogger's death, Friedrich II gave the property to the master shoemaker Joachim Friedrich Spring. For him, the architect Georg Christian Unger built a new representative house in the Baroque style right on the street . As a result, there were always new financially strong users, including a tobacco merchant who had factories built on the courtyard side.
New building as a Protestant community center
The Evangelical Nikolaigemeinde bought the property in 1904 in order to have a community hall built in the courtyard . The architect Richard Herzner provided the building plans . After the previous factory buildings had been demolished, the new building could begin, which was completed in 1909 with the inauguration in the presence of Empress Auguste Viktoria of Prussia and high church dignitaries. The parish hall was named Nikolaisaal after the name of the parish. In the zeitgeist of the time, it was equipped with thick curtains and was closed by a barrel vault . After the enormous increase in population in Potsdam, the hall soon became too small for the many congregation members who had moved in. The parish raised money for renovations and extensions. The planning was entrusted to the architect Hanns Dustmann , who also led the renovation. The modified building included essential elements of the previous building, but was almost twice as long and received an apse in which an organ by Alexander Schuke could be found. The barrel vault was replaced by a flat ceiling with ten large skylights. The inauguration of the reconstructed Nikolaisaal took place on September 16, 1934.
Destruction and rebuilding
Air raids during World War II caused severe damage to the building on April 14, 1945. Soon after the end of the war, the first repairs could be carried out with the support and in the interest of the Potsdam broadcasting company . In 1946 the hall was usable again and was re-inaugurated with a church service. The broadcasting corporation used the community hall outside of the service times as a large broadcasting hall because it had excellent acoustics. Up until around 1958 it was an important concert venue in downtown Potsdam, which had been badly destroyed by the war. In the chronicle of the house, performances by well-known soloists such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Elly Ney or Wilhelm Kempff are recorded as well as guest appearances by large music associations such as the 1949 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler . The hall also served as a rehearsal site for Potsdam singers' associations (Madrigal Circle Potsdam, Potsdam Men's Choir). The church community and the broadcasting company finally ensured that the Nikolaisaal received a new Schuke organ in 1952 . The reconstruction of further cultural sites in Potsdam and Berlin led to a massive decline in use from the end of the 1950s. In 1958 there were no more concerts or performances by other artists, the hall fell into a wallflower existence and only served the parish. The city used several areas as storage and workshop rooms. The building deteriorated more and more. When the Nikolaikirche and its parish rooms were inaugurated again in 1981 , the Nikolaisaal lost its church function. All buildings including the property were transferred to the city of Potsdam in 1984. But it remained inactive because there was neither a usage concept nor money.
The Nikolaisaal becomes a municipal cultural facility
After the German reunification , a generous financial donation from the twin city Bonn contributed to the building's structural security. In 1993, for the 1000th anniversary of Potsdam, concerts were held on the construction site. Further funding could be tapped to convert the historic hall into a modern concert and event venue. The French architect Rudy Ricciotti presented convincing plans of how the interior can be adapted or redesigned to meet the requirements of cultural use while retaining the original facade. Around 20 million euros were built. The solemn reopening of the Nikolaisaal took place on August 27, 2000. The mix of styles from preserved original components and the reserved but very modern interior is seen as a successful synthesis. Since its new use as a cultural site, events such as concerts, readings, cabaret performances or discussion evenings have taken place regularly - a wide selection for people of all ages interested in culture. In addition to regular cultural use, the Nikolaisaal can also be rented for private or commercial events.
The organ was evidently expanded during the renovation work, because it can neither be seen behind the stage nor has a concert with an organ ever been held here in the 21st century.
architecture
After the war damage was rebuilt, the front building was largely given back its baroque appearance.
The Nikolaisaal in the courtyard area consists of a remnant of the nave with a separate entrance area on the east side, which is also used for ticket sales. You enter the building through the former church portal , to which a four-step flight of stairs leads up. This is followed by the foyer surrounded by columns, into which the visitor's cloakroom and small catering facilities are integrated for taking care of the breaks. The walls are completely covered by dark wood panels clad. Like the Great Hall, the foyer is used as a concert and event venue.
The auditorium offers space for 685 visitors and is designed in such a way that the rows of seats are generously spaced and the sloping system offers a good view from almost every seat. About a third of the seats are on the tier. The wave-shaped ceiling and the gently curved, bulged walls of the concert hall are remarkable. Sound diffusers made of plaster ensure brilliant acoustics . The architect Rudy Riciotti describes his renovation work as an “expression of freedom in a city with liberal traditions”.
The ten skylights in the ceiling of the hall have been preserved. The technology for air conditioning and ventilation was located directly on the flat roof of the building.
The external dimensions of the Nikolaisaal are around 64 meters in the main west-east axis and around 24 meters in width. The auditorium has a slightly conical floor plan from 8 meters to 17.5 meters, and around 35 meters long. The stage to the west takes up an area of 112 square meters.
Above and next to the event hall, a rehearsal room and a studio room were built directly under the roof, facing south on Yorckstrasse. These rooms receive full daylight by means of a two-row connected window area. The tuning rooms and artist's dressing rooms below are hidden behind a facade with a modern design language. It falls through almost white facade elements made of artificial stone and narrow high windows with differently angled window sills out of the ordinary. The design and arrangement create intentional associations with musical instruments , as well as some details inside.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Astrid Weidauer: The "three lives" of the Nikolaisaal Potsdam. A historical synopsis , accessed February 17, 2013
- ^ Website Nikolaisaal with "Profile" ; Retrieved February 17, 2013
- ↑ Overview of the 53 events in the Nikolaisaal in 2013 ; Retrieved February 17, 2013
- ↑ Press information about a performance by the vocal concertists in the Nikolaisaal with the note “The large organ that was present on some recordings was missing here…”. ( Memento from February 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Quoted in the Potsdamer Neuesten Nachrichten of November 23, 2003.
- ^ Website Nikolaisaal with information about the architect
- ↑ Floor plan of the large event hall (PDF; 257 kB)
- ^ Website Nikolaisaal with “Streiflichtern” ; Retrieved February 17, 2013