Pavement mosaics in Freiburg

Pavement of Mozartstrasse in Freiburg

Pavement from 1905 in Günterstalstrasse in Freiburg

The paving mosaics are decorations of paved surfaces in several districts of Freiburg im Breisgau .

history

The beginnings of the paving mosaics are ascribed to the master paver Alois Krems, who lived in Konviktstrasse 760 in 1858. He was stimulated by the river pebbles in southern France, which he had seen there during his apprenticeship and traveling years. In addition, the streets in Freiburg were renewed at the end of the 19th century and the brooks were moved from the middle of the carriageway to the edge. Many sidewalks in the Holbeinviertel of the Wiehre , in Herdern and the Neuburg (e.g. Mozartstraße) were paved with basalt stones , interspersed with patterns of white marble and sometimes marked with the year of origin.

In the Wiehre, the sidewalks in Reichsgrafenstraße ⊙ and Dreikönigstraße ⊙ as well as in 1905 the sidewalks in Günterstalstraße ⊙ and 1907 in the adjacent Schwaighofstraße ⊙ were paved, in Herdern in 1906 at Ludwig-Aschoff-Platz ⊙ and in 1916 in Jacobistraße ⊙ . In 1914, Hermann-Herder-Strasse in front of the St. Josef Hospital ⊙ was paved in Neuburg . In 1911 the town hall square ⊙ was paved in the old town . All the paving can still be seen today. The paving work was interrupted by the Second World War and not only houses, but also 38 km of streets and sidewalks were destroyed in the bombing raid on November 27, 1944 . 47.987416 7.85799847.987857 7.85729547.982425 7.84769347.982238 7.84732848.00483 7.85987648.004625 7.862391 48.002342 7.85288347.996032 7.849571

When the old town was converted into a pedestrian zone in the 1970s , the paving tradition was given new impetus. The sidewalks on Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse , for example, were designed with red porphyry , decorated with ribbons of Rhine pebbles and white marble. The Münsterplatz was completely paved with Rheinwacken . The daily cleaning after the market by sweeping machines hollowed out the joints, so that from time to time these had to be filled with new quartz sand. That is why the machine cleaning takes place only four times a year and the store suppliers have to take their rubbish with them. As a pilot project for a barrier-free city, a strip leading to the main portal of the minster was specially smoothed in 2012 in order to enable more comfortable access for people with wheelchairs and walking frames. In the meantime, paths with smoothed stones have also been laid out on the Rathausplatz and a white line has been paved for the visually impaired on the edge of the brook.

At the beginning of Habsburgerstrasse ⊙ , a paving mosaic marks the course of the 48th parallel . 48.000031 7.853519

Origin of the stones

The round mosaics and the decorative ribbons, sometimes entire streets in the old town, are mainly covered with colorful Rhine pebbles. They used to be extracted when the water was low in the Rhine floodplains near Breisach . Today it has become more difficult because their numbers have decreased. Occasionally new pebbles are acquired from the gravel pits in the Rhine Valley. Since some pavement has been replaced by an asphalt surface, these stones are stored in the building yard and used again. The other stones such as porphyry, granite , basalt and marble were previously obtained from Europe, today, for cost reasons, from all over the world. Artificial stones are occasionally used for details.

Machining

round pebble pavement in Rye (southern England)

Haus zum Besetzhammer in Turmstrasse

The flat, elliptical pebbles are either sawed by machine and moved in a drum mixer to round the edges, or they are split by hand and straightened at the bottom to improve stability. This gives them a length of 6 to 12 cm and a width of 2 to 3 cm. The depth must be at least 2/3 of the respective total length. They are placed in the ground with the smooth side up. This creates a smoother surface than if they were installed without being hewn, as in Rye (see photo). The large Rheinwacken are machined. The stones are mostly laid in the sand, sometimes, as on Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, also in mortar. The stones are pressed down with a filling hammer , the surface is "occupied". The Besetzhammer house on Turmstrasse is evidence of this tool.

Since the mid-1970s, the round mosaics or coats of arms are no longer set directly in the sand using a template, but with mortar in steel pans. In this way, they can be prepared in the building yard and no longer have to be destroyed during road construction work. Such a pan weighs around 400 kg completely. The Freiburg twin cities also received such pans with the mosaic of the Freiburg coat of arms as gifts. There are also commissioned work such. B. for municipalities in the surrounding area. Some are mostly commissioned by business owners from the city. In 2018 they cost 3,000 euros in a single version.