Prussian government building (Koblenz)

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Former Prussian government building in Koblenz , today the seat of the BAAINBw
Copper sculptures on the front facade
The former service villa of the District President, today the seat of the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz
Aerial photograph (2016)

The Prussian government building in the Rheinanlagen von Koblenz was the seat of the Prussian government for the administrative district Koblenz in the Rhine province and the main tax office. The main building now houses the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Federal Armed Forces (BAAINBw), the former service villa of the District President houses departments of the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz . The former High Presidium of the Rhine Province is in the immediate vicinity . Together with the neighboring Koblenzer Hof, it forms an ensemble that characterizes the cityscape on the banks of the Rhine.

history

In front of the building there was a square tower of the Koblenz city wall and a previous building of the Prussian government. This was built from 1723 under Elector Franz Ludwig von der Pfalz according to plans by Johann Georg Judas and was intended as a seminary, hospital for old clergy and orphanage. Since the residence was relocated to the left bank of the Rhine under the last elector, Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony , it has housed the government of Kurtrier and, like its predecessor in Ehrenbreitstein , was called the Dicasterial Building. In Prussian times it was still used as an official seat and archive. Since this building, which was already too small, burned down in 1901, a new building was necessary; an expansion had been planned beforehand.

The Prussian government building was built from 1902 to 1905 in the neo-Romanesque style under the direction of the Berlin building councilor Paul Kieschke and the Koblenz building authority. Connected to this is the villa-like house of the district president with a festival hall on the south side. In 1902, Kaiser Wilhelm II made changes to the plans of the towers and roofs with his own hands, with which he wanted to establish a link to the Staufer era, which was regarded as a model of national greatness . On the north side there is an extension wing built between 1904 and 1905, which accommodated the main tax office.

The building complex survived the Second World War almost undamaged. The Presidium of the Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (today: BAAINBw) has been located in the former government building since 1961 . In 1993 the extensive restoration of the main building was completed. The original state was restored as far as possible. The official villa of the District President has been used by the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz since 1978.

construction

The 158 m long neo-Romanesque building, which once housed the (district) government for the Koblenz administrative district and the main tax office, was built above a high basement. The monumental complex, which is four-story on the Rhine side and two-story on the back, stands on a symmetrical, rectangular floor plan. The building around two inner courtyards with side wings achieves a castle-like effect through large, asymmetrical corner towers and the embossed tufa cladding of the facades. The meeting room has been moved out as a separate hall and has a transition to the official residence of the district president. The main front on the banks of the Rhine with the massive gable-crowned central projection and reserves, however, is in the tradition of baroque palace facades. The entrance portal was supplemented in 1993 with a modern porch made of glass and steel. Above that there are sophisticated sculptures with head images of Charlemagne and Frederick I Barbarossa , behind which there is a monumental, richly decorated stairwell with vaulted halls. The front facade, which defines the cityscape, is adorned with three copper sculptures with St. George as well as allegories of viticulture (female figure) and shipping (male figure) by the brothers Hugo and Ludwig Cauer . In the garden in front of the government president's service villa there is a stele made of columnar basalt with an inscription reminding of the fire in the old government building in 1901 and the subsequent new building.

Monument protection

The Prussian government building is a protected cultural monument under the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and entered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is located on Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 8-12 .

The Prussian government building has been part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 . Furthermore, it is a protected cultural asset according to the Hague Convention and marked with the blue and white protection symbol.

literature

  • Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH (ed.): History of the city of Koblenz . Overall editing: Ingrid Bátori in conjunction with Dieter Kerber and Hans Josef Schmidt
    • Volume 1: From the beginning to the end of the electoral era . Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-0876-X .
    • Volume 2: From the French city to the present . Theiss, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8062-1036-5 .
  • Udo Liessem: Selected castles on the Rhine, Moselle and Lahn. Rhenania-Verlag, Koblenz 1980, ISBN 3-922755-04-6 .
  • Fritz Michel: The art monuments of the city of Koblenz. The mundane monuments and the suburbs. (= The art monuments of Rhineland-Palatinate, first volume). Munich / Berlin 1954, pp. 176-180.
  • Herbert Dellwing , Reinhard Kallenbach (edit.): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate Volume 3.2. City of Koblenz. Downtown. Speyer 2004, ISBN 3-88462-198-X , pp. 160ff.
  • Press and Tourism Office of the City of Koblenz: The Rheinanlagen Koblenz. From the beginnings till now. with contributions by Willi Hört, Franz-Josef Heyen, Katharina Richter, Detlef Wahl and others, self-published, Koblenz 1992.

Web links

Commons : Prussian government building  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the previous building in detail: Jens Fachbach: Johann Georg Judas (around 1655–1726), Regensburg 2013, 204–223.
  2. ^ Udo Liessem: Buildings and monuments between the castle and the German corner. In: Press and Tourism Office City of Koblenz: The Rheinanlagen Koblenz. 1992, p. 22.
  3. ^ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - district-free city of Koblenz. Mainz 2020, p. 11 (PDF; 6.5 MB).

Coordinates: 50 ° 21 ′ 29.5 ″  N , 7 ° 36 ′ 13.6 ″  E