Obermarkt (Freiberg)

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The Obermarkt in Freiberg

The Obermarkt is a historic square in the city of Freiberg in Saxony . Today it measures 110 meters by 72 meters and lies at an altitude of around 402  m above sea level. NN .

history

The Freiberg upper town with the Petrikirche and the Obermarkt was laid out according to plan and according to a rectangular pattern in the second half of the 80s of the 12th century. Already at this point in time, or only a few years later, and thus not after the city fire of 1484, as previously assumed, the first construction was also carried out on the west side of the Obermarkt towards the Petrikirche. The Obermarkt in Freiberg was never renamed for almost 800 years in the course of history and therefore still bears his "birth name". The historic square is kept closed.

In the 15th century, the upper market was the place of execution for Kunz von Kauffungen , the robber of princes who spent his last two days in the dungeon of the town hall. According to tradition, parts of the rope ladder used for the Altenburg prince robbery hang in the entrance hall of the town hall. According to tradition, a bluish shimmering paving stone made of basalt (so-called spitting stone ) testifies to the place where Kunzen's head is said to have rolled. This is where the so-called gaff head , now marked by weathering, looks down from the bay of the town hall.

Many of the houses are equipped with dormers , some of which are multi-storey . The numbering of the houses starts at the eastern corner with number 1, follows clockwise and ends at the town hall with the number Obermarkt 24.

Buildings on the Obermarkt

The Obermarkt with its northwest and northeast side from house numbers 11 to 19 and 21 to 24 (town hall)

town hall

The dominant building on the square - Obermarkt 24 - is the broad town hall standing on the northeast side of the market square , which was built between 1410 and 1474 and into which parts of a previous building were incorporated. It is a typical Renaissance building. In later centuries a number of alterations were made, e.g. B. Replacement of the late Gothic pitched roof with the now preserved gable roof and the gable was redesigned in a historicizing manner in 1857 . The tower presented houses a tower clock that points to all four sides. At the northeast corner of the building there is an extension from 1912 on the site of the former town front festival (Stockhaus). On the first floor is located Lawrence Chapel (1514) and since 1986 one of Meissen porcelain -made chimes twelve bells, which daily at 11:15 and 16:15 respectively the Steigerlied "Good luck, luck, the Steiger is" intoned. Other melodies can also be played, also using a keyboard. The facade is varied with different walls . The oriel decorated with coats of arms from 1578, to which the above-mentioned gaff head is attached, sets a special architectural accent.

The ensemble is a listed building because, according to the expert report, “it is one of the most valuable secular buildings in the historic Freiberg old town. It is artistically, historically important in terms of building and urban development and [...] is also particularly valuable in terms of urban planning. "

Ratskeller

The Ratskeller restaurant has been located in Obermarkt 16, which has a representative Renaissance portal, since 1880 . The house on the northwestern front of the square was built in 1545/1546 by Sebastian Lorenz the Elder. Ä. built as a municipal department store . The baker's and butcher's stalls and the Ratsweinschank were housed on the ground floor, and the so-called “box room”, a “drinking room for special people”, was located on the upper floor alongside stalls for cloth makers, cobblers and furriers. Also in this building is the municipal ballroom , which was established in 1687 and decorated in the Baroque style at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1727 the actress Friederike Caroline Neuber (the "Neuberin") played here , in 1834 and 1836 Clara Schumann gave concerts here. In the dining room the visitor will find the humpback mine of the Freiberg original Alfred Mende , called Schlamende or Kalmus, with which he made his living. A dish in this restaurant is called Schlamende-Schnitzel after him .

More buildings

The Obermarkt 1 house - a representative town house - is characterized by its richly decorated entrance portal and the richly profiled window frames. This house was the home of the Freiberg mayor Jonas Schönlebe .

The house at Obermarkt 17 is named Lißkirchner-Haus . At 32 m it is the highest building on the Obermarkt. The Renaissance portal from 1530 shows motifs from Freiberg mining .

The Freiberg Mint was located in the late Gothic Alnpeckhaus on the southern corner of the market until it was moved to Dresden in 1556 . The mint was also the home of the last Freiberg mint master, Andreas Alnpeck.

All other houses are town houses (also called patrician houses in various ways ), most of which date from the 16th century . These houses are characterized by high saddle roofs , some of which are provided with dormers , reliefs , round arches - and other portals and bar- decorated window frames , because of the - as experience has shown - large snow loads in winter .

Fountain monument

Otto the Rich on the fountain monument on the Freiberg Obermarkt

In the middle of the market is the bronze fountain monument from 1897, which shows the Wettin city ​​founder, Margrave Otto the Rich, and four heraldic lions. An old tradition of Freiberg students is “lion riding” after completing their studies, which used to be carried out until the police came and asked the young people to pay. The parking ticket attesting that they had caused public nuisance by riding lions was proudly shown around their home.

Events

Weekly markets are held regularly on the Obermarkt . The Freiberg Bergparaden usually include all four sides of the market in their parade route . The very popular Freiberg Christmas market takes place during Advent .

See also:

Web links

Commons : Obermarkt (Freiberg, Saxony)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 55 ′ 1.6 ″  N , 13 ° 20 ′ 32.8 ″  E