Town Hall (Basel)
| town hall | |
|---|---|
 Basel town hall, facade, exterior view |
|
| Data | |
| place | Basel |
| Construction year | 1504 to 1514 |
| Coordinates | 611268 / 267 524 |
The town hall is a representative building in Basel . The building, located directly on Basel's market square , stands out with its red sandstone and striking tower. The political center of Basel was established in the same place in 1290.
history
The so-called Richthaus was destroyed by the Basel earthquake in 1356. All files and documents were lost. The so-called "Palace of the Lords" was built as a replacement. In 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation . The Grand Council , which spared no expense at the time, decided in 1503 to build a new building with a connection to the “Palace of the Lords”. The construction work ran from 1504 to 1514. During this time, the coats of arms of the places ( cantons ) were created on the battlements. The original “Palace of the Lords”, which has been in the background since then, was expanded between 1517 and 1521 and the then Grand Council Chamber was furnished.
Hans Holbein the Younger was commissioned to paint this hall in 1521 and Hans Bock the Elder to restore it. In 1608/1609 Bock also created the painting Josaphat admonishes the judges and Herod of Hyrcanus on the side walls under the arcades of the inner courtyard and the Last Judgment above the stairs on the right. Furthermore, until 1611 he painted the Basel coat of arms on the facade , depictions of goddesses of victory with palm branches and a children's pageant.
The remains of the palace built after the Basel earthquake are the oldest parts of the town hall, followed by the late Gothic central building with the three arched entrances and the golden turret from 1507. The clock was created by Master Wilhelm in 1511.
Between 1606 and 1608 the "Vordere Kanzlei " (front office ) to the north was built . In order to make the building as uniform as possible, it was decided to use a pseudo-architecture : although the late Gothic era was over, elements from this era were used.
The iron bars in front of the entrance hall date from 1611, the bronze plaque from 1537 on the right pillar reminds of the earlier floods of the Birsig, which now flows underground .
From 1898 to 1904, in connection with the redesign of the market square, the growth of the city and the new cantonal constitution, the tower was added on the right and the wing with the bay window on the left . Conversions followed in neo -Gothic and neo-Renaissance styles . The previous Grossratssaal was demolished at the same time and replaced by a new hall with side rooms between 1901 and 1904.
The painting on the tower was created in 1901 by Wilhelm Balmer , it shows the standard bearer Hans Bär, who died in the Battle of Marignano in September 1515. The facade facing the market square contains reliefs of child warriors on the left and of angels of victory decorating the Basel shields with laurels above the arcade arches as well as a Justitia at the level of the front council chamber, which is attached to the judicial function of the small council, as the executive was formerly called. remind. Another restoration of the town hall was completed in 1982.
Nowadays, the Basel Town Hall is mainly used as a meeting place for the Grand Council ( legislature ) and the government council ( executive ). The town hall also houses offices of the state chancellery, the parliamentary service and parts of the presidential department. The front council chamber, today the council chamber, is furnished with late Gothic paneling and a splendid Renaissance door court by Franz Pergo .
On Saturday, August 23, 2014, the 500th anniversary of the completion of the oldest part of the town hall was celebrated with a folk festival.
literature
- Albert Burckhardt , Rudolf Wackernagel : History and description of the town hall of Basel. Basel 1886.
- Martin Möhle: The town hall in Basel. (= Swiss Art Guide, No. 947, series 95). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 2014, ISBN 978-3-03797-133-8 .
- Martin Möhle: The Basel town hall. Expectation of salvation and praise of reason. In art + architecture in Switzerland. Society for Swiss Art History GSK, No. 4, Bern 2014, pp. 52–59.
Web links
- Information and pictures about the Basel town hall on the website of the city of Basel
Individual evidence
- ↑ Swiss engineer and architect, 1984: History and restorations of the Basel town hall. Retrieved October 6, 2019 .
- ^ Dieter Pfister : Franz Pergo. On furniture art in northwestern Switzerland around 1600. Basel 1984, pp. 42ff., 70ff. u. 115; Stefan Hess , Wolfgang Loescher : Furniture in Basel. Art and craft of carpenters until 1798. Basel 2012, p. 280f.