Town Hall (Marktbreit)
The town hall (address Marktstraße 4 , formerly house number 175) of the Lower Franconian town of Marktbreit is the representative administrative seat and landmark of the community. It is located on Marktstrasse in the north of the village and was built by the master builder Hans Keesebrod .
history
Previous construction
The history of the town hall is closely linked to that of the town of Marktbreit. The settlement rose to an important trading post between Würzburg and Regensburg in the high and late Middle Ages . The core of today's city lay on the south side of the Breitbach on a cone of rubble that was not reached by the annual floods of the Main. The village settlement initially held its court days and meetings in an open space in the churchyard of the Nicolaikirche .
In the period that followed, however, "Niedernbreit" grew and a house for the administration was planned. The building was first mentioned in 1480. At that time, the village master Friedrich von Seinsheim issued drinking regulations for the town hall, which was "uff der brukken". The building was a meeting point for the population because wine was also sold here . The previous building of today's town hall was probably located at the site of the main gate, so it was only a few meters further north.
The old town hall was probably a single-storey building with a half-timbered attic. However, there are no representations of the house. A dance floor for the population was housed here and the graduates of the Marktbreiter Latin School were allowed to arrange plays in the premises. They got married in the town hall and the sevens or the master craftsmen met here.
The old town hall soon became too small for the growing community. Around 1550 the up-and-coming village of Niedernbreit was walled and in 1557 the landlord Georg Ludwig von Seinsheim granted his subjects market rights, so that from then on the place was called Marktbreit. Soon the thought was voiced to "expand the town hall". In order to implement this plan, the council began collecting materials at the local construction yard . On Epiphany in 1579, the council decided on a new building.
New building
In order to implement the plan, the city leaders needed the support of the landlord Georg Ludwig von Seinsheim, who had already sent a kind of building plan. Furthermore, funds from various donors were used, such as Count Johann Gerwigk von Schwarzenbach and the farmer Hans Dietrich, known as Gampert, who ran the Gampertsmühle in Marktbreit. Those responsible chose the stonemason Hans Keesebrod from Segnitz as the master builder for the new town hall . He was supported by the carpenter Leonhard Götz from Ermetzhofen .
The raw materials required for the new building were procured from the local area. The timber merchant Balthasar Keil from Zeil am Main was obliged to raft the timber on the Main to Marktbreit. The bricks came to the construction site from Obernbreit . The building material sandstone was available in sufficient numbers in the Marktbreiter district, only the green sandstone needed for details had to be bought from Gnodstadt or Obernbreit. The citizens of the community, who had to do labor, also took part in the construction .
The shell was already completed by 1580. However, it came to funding bottlenecks in the following period, so that one of the councilors had to advance a loan in 1581 . In the period that followed, the interior work progressed rapidly. The town hall was still completed in 1581, although no sources have survived in which there are reports of special celebrations on this occasion. The house was a multifunctional building with the council room on the first floor, the consistorial room on the second and a market hall on the ground floor.
Change of use
During the Thirty Years War , Marktbreit was plundered several times by soldiers passing through. Especially after the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634, Catholic imperial troops plundered the Protestant towns on the Main Triangle. The town hall was occupied and the commandant's office was set up here. In 1639 a grain store for war purposes was set up in the attic of the town hall. After the end of the war, a drink was initiated for the entire population in the town hall in 1650.
As early as 1643 the house was repaired after the looting. Throughout the early modern period, the dangers for the place and the building did not decrease. From 1659 to 1660, the von Seckendorff men occupied the town hall in order to underpin their claim to market width. In 1759, a Prussian department from Kitzingen occupied the town hall during the Seven Years' War . Only arson prevented the house from burning down.
On September 26, 1806, the Principality of Schwarzenberg, to which Marktbreit had belonged for centuries, was dissolved and the market came to Bavaria . After an interim period in the Grand Duchy of Würzburg , the place finally became Bavarian in 1814. In 1819 the market town rose to become a town, with the new status being announced to the population by the judge Elferich in the town hall. In the period that followed, Marktbreit lost its focus on trade and the city leaders repeatedly had problems maintaining the historic buildings.
Conversions
On August 19, 1883, the city council decided to restore the council chamber in its original form. The floor was then also renewed. In 1884, the renovation work carried out by Ferdinand Egerer, a building painter from Nuremberg , was appraised and the hall was inaugurated a short time later. The movables in the town hall, such as pictures and the green tiled stove , were also renovated in the 19th century.
Outside, the renovations began on the window front on the south side. In 1888, the statue of George on the east gable of the town hall was replaced by a work by the Würzburg sculptor Andreas Herbst. In 1901, after a storm, it was necessary to renew the statue of St. George on the south-east edge of the house. It was not until 1909 that the new figure by the sculptor Christoph Nüßlein from Munich could be erected. In the same year a letter was received from the General Conservatory in Munich calling for a local museum to be set up in the town hall.
Until 1913, however, the town hall was threatened in its entirety, so that it was not converted into a museum . In particular, the east gable of the building was dilapidated and the columns were badly weathered. After the erection of scaffolding, the outbreak of World War I prevented further work. In 1917, further damage to the entire building was revealed by a report by the Würzburg architect Fritz Fuchsenberger . It was not until 1918 that the urgently needed work progressed faster.
The Second World War then posed a more immediate danger to the market-wide town hall. In the last days of the war, the city was shelled by American artillery . The town hall also suffered several hits, with the interior meeting room being largely destroyed. After the traffic-related destruction had been removed, the town hall was also renovated in 1945. But it was not until 1953 that the boardroom could be renovated.
In 1965/1966, the town hall hall on the first floor was converted into a party room . In 1966 the roof had to be replaced, there was a risk of collapse. As a result, the interiors began to be restored. In the course of the municipal reform in which the Marktbreit administrative association with its seat in the town hall was formed, the city leaders completely redesigned the structure in the 1970s. The town hall is now a monument , underground remains of the previous buildings are listed as a ground monument . In addition, it forms an important element of the Altstadt Marktbreit ensemble.
Architecture and interior design
Building description
The market-wide town hall presents itself as a three-storey, unplastered quarry stone building from the Renaissance . The location of the building on the edge of the old town is remarkable, as many other Franconian town halls can be found in the center of the settlement. The building has a rectangular floor plan about 25 m long and around 14 m wide and ends with a gable roof . The east facade on the narrow Marktstrasse serves as the front side, which together with the Maintor, which is part of the Markt-wide fortification, forms an ensemble of buildings.
The arcades that were once attached here can still be seen on the ground floor . Many of the semicircular portals are bricked up today. An inscription panel near the northeast corner indicates the circumstances surrounding the building. The inscription reads: “When one started in 1579 jar / Schulthayß , Burgermeister u. / Rath alhie Baw / are Bawmeister / claus Beringer v. Matthes / Jhon. Werckmaister Hans / Kessebrot Steinmetzmeister, and Leonhardt Götz Zimmermann / God alone the honor ”.
A narrow cornice leads to the first floor. The town hall is dominated by several double-lane windows, the profiled walls of which were partly made from Gnodstädter sandstone . In the 19th century, most of the elements were reworked from shell limestone . On the far right, near the main gate, a so-called curtain wall has been preserved. Several other windows on the town hall have this shape of the garment.
The second floor is divided, next to the windows, which are similarly unevenly designed as the ones below, by a coat of arms. Here the landlord of Marktbreit, Georg Ludwig d. Ä. immortalized by Seinsheim. The coats of arms of the Schwarzenberg , Eyb and Rieneck families frame the split shield on the left and right . The tablet thus also represents a kind of ancestral test that can often be found on epitaphs in the early modern period.
The triple stepped gable on the east side forms the most striking element of the building. Originally, the free-standing columns on chairs attached here were also made of sandstone. Today they are presented in shell limestone. The end of the gable is formed by a figure of St. George, which, as a sign on the right , made it clear to the boatmen on the Main, that a duty was to be paid in Marktbreit . A similar figure can be found on the chamfered southeast corner. Here the figure served as an expression of fairness in the market .
The remaining three sides of the building are far less representative. The southern long side with its arched portal originally took over the function of the main entrance, behind which there is the transition to the stairs inside. A dwelling rises up on the south side. The west facade, which was completely rebuilt from shell limestone in 1935, forms an ensemble with the adjoining so-called Black Tower as part of the market-wide city fortifications. Its gable was simply decorated with volutes .
inner space
The interior of the town hall has undergone major changes in the past few decades. A large hall, originally used as a market space, was built on the first floor. Today only several wooden pillars, which were delivered from the Haßberge in 1579, have survived here. The entire building can be reached via a staircase. The spiral staircase also comes from the 16th century, although the stone mason's marks that have been preserved can not be assigned to any known master builder. In 1917 a second staircase was built inside.
On the first floor, the building is still dominated by the 204 square meter hall of the town hall. This room was created in its current form in 1745 on the occasion of the homage to Prince Josef I Adam von Schwarzenberg . The passage beams are preserved, as are the two pairs of columns. Two more pillars were added for reinforcement. The seven picture panels made of spruce wood painted by Johann Derleth and Georg Christian Urlaub are particularly significant . At the time of completion, there were a total of 27 plaques praising the sovereign in allegorical images. A second stone tablet indicates the town hall's builders.
On the east side an artfully designed wooden portal with architectural elements of the Renaissance leads to today's wedding hall, the former council chamber. The entire room is paneled , the ceiling has been coffered . Inlaid work in three colors shows small columns with gable attachments and floral motifs. The two sculptural heads protruding from the wall on the right and left may refer to the unknown artists who created this room. In addition to a Renaissance wall cupboard, a tiled stove from the 19th century has been preserved. The paneling was not exposed again until 1883.
The expansion of the second floor goes back to the renovations by the architect Fritz Fuchsenberger between 1917 and 1919. The remains of a fireplace can still be seen in the large hall on the upper floor, which was probably originally decorated with the coat of arms of the Lords of Seinsheim. The old clockwork of the main gate was installed here. The former consistorial room with its wall paintings is now used as a conference room. Hunting scenes alternate with biblical motifs from the time of construction.
See also
literature
- Hans Bauer: District of Kitzingen. An art and culture guide . Market wide 1993.
- Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German art monuments. Bavaria I: Franconia . Munich and Berlin 1999.
- Hans Leicht: Historic town halls in Franconia . Wurzburg 1982.
- Otto Selzer: 400 years town hall Marktbreit (= contributions to the culture, history and economy of the town of Marktbreit and its neighborhood, issue 6) . Market wide 1979.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Selzer, Otto: 400 years town hall Marktbreit . P. 10.
- ^ Leicht, Hans: Historical town halls in Franconia . P. 82.
- ↑ Selzer, Otto: 400 years town hall Marktbreit . P. 11.
- ↑ Selzer, Otto: 400 years town hall Marktbreit . P. 72.
- ↑ Selzer, Otto: 400 years town hall Marktbreit . P. 29.
- ↑ Selzer, Otto: 400 years town hall Marktbreit . P. 67.
- ^ Leicht, Hans: Historical town halls in Franconia . P. 82.
- ^ Bauer, Hans: District of Kitzingen . P. 91.
- ↑ Selzer, Otto: 400 years town hall Marktbreit . P. 80.
- ^ Dehio, Georg: Handbook of German art monuments . P. 610.
- ↑ Selzer, Otto: 400 years town hall Marktbreit . P. 88.
Coordinates: 49 ° 40 ′ 4.3 ″ N , 10 ° 8 ′ 37 ″ E