Town Hall (Kemnath)
The former town hall of Kemnath dates back to 1574 and was located in the middle of the market square of Kemnath ; it was built after a fire with a high hipped roof and an onion dome . According to available craftsmen's calculations, it was equipped with a clock, was decorated with three sundials, as well as with the electoral and city coats of arms and other larger-than-life figures.
First plans
Around 1813, plans came up for the first time to build a new town hall, as the demolition of the northern city gate and the servant's apartment had created a building site for a new town hall on the north side of the square. On July 27, 1814, a construction plan, drawn up by the royal agricultural inspector of Hohenhausen , was presented to the city council. The plan envisaged a three-storey classicist building approx. 21 × 12 m, in front of the building there should be an arbor with a column portico . The construction was approved by the municipal council and the builder Adam Weber of the communal administration was supposed to prepare a cost estimate. It was noteworthy that a fire extinguisher shed, the city scales, 14 meat banks and a bread shop were planned on the ground floor, the 1st floor was to contain the assembly hall, an arbor and various adjoining rooms, on the 2nd floor the apartment of the municipal servant and civic remains for citizens were planned.
Fierce criticism of the planned Greco-Roman style of the building was soon raised from various quarters and a revision and adaptation to the simpler buildings in the area called for. The plan maker from Hohenhausen responded with a seemingly arrogant statement in which he insulted the critics as uneducated. According to a letter from the regional court dated February 13, 1816, it emerges that the objections to the planned construction were accepted, but the lack of funds was the reason to refrain from the construction; meanwhile one should only make the most necessary repairs to the old town hall.
Construction of the new town hall
During the great fire of January 13, 1848, the town hall was also destroyed by flames. The fire ruins were only removed in 1855. As a temporary measure, the business premises for the magistrate were set up in the business premises of the white tanner Xaver Leypold . When planning the new building, it was assumed that the building would be integrated into the northern house front of the market square, for this purpose negotiations had to be started with the owners of houses No. 13, 14 and 16, which had become ruins, and these had to be acquired gradually by the previous owners.
On September 13, 1854, the city fathers agreed on a program to build a town hall, despite the tight financial situation. The cellars of the burned down houses were to be preserved; A guard room for the Landwehr was planned on the ground floor, a place for the city scales, a bread shop, a waiting room for the police officer, a place for the storage of 10 fathoms of wood and a place for the extinguisher. A meeting room and a conference room were to be accommodated on the first floor, an archive and cash register vault, a law firm with a registry, four rooms and a wooden bed. The second floor was intended for four rooms and a kitchen, two detention rooms (one “male” and one “female”) and a meeting room with a gallery. The master bricklayer Theodor Fiechtl submitted a cost estimate of 10,929 fl and 1 kr for the construction on January 19, 1855 . The city council also called for the existing clock and clock plate to be installed and for meat banks to be installed in the back of the city hall. This plan was not approved by the royal government in Regensburg.
Instead, a new construction plan for a representative building was drawn up by the district building inspector Zeitler from Weiden and this plan was approved by the royal government on April 3, 1856; the required meat banks were not taken into account, this should be housed in the old malt house. Estimated construction costs now amounted to 15,300 Fl, which was beyond the capabilities of the city; According to the mayor, the building should only be built as far as the 8096 fl. The timber should be felled from the community's own forest. The tender took place on October 4, 1856, whereby the city council decided to award the building to the local master mason Theodor Fiechtl and the master carpenter Adam Schatz . By the time it was completed, there were various “annoyances” (e.g. non-compliance with the construction period, additional costs), which the city council had to agree to by taking out an additional loan. On September 9, 1861, the city council also approved the installation of a so-called Manhard clock on the tower of the building. Originally the old clock of the parish church was supposed to be installed here, but the royal building inspector Zeitler said it would not be worth repairing and that the old clock should be sold, which was also done.
The city fathers resided in the new crenellated building for only 40 years, and in 1898 the building was sold to the state administration of justice. Then in 1899 house no.169 (today Rathausplatz 1) in Spitalgasse was acquired by the city chamber and used as the town hall until 1978. Today the town hall is housed in an extension to the Kemnath caste office .
literature
- Anton Reger: From the history of the city of Kemnath. Homeland book (edited by the city of Kemnath). Pp. 263-246. Verlag Laßleben , Kallmünz 1981, ISBN 3-7847-1134-0 .
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 52 ′ 13.6 " N , 11 ° 53 ′ 22.6" E