Town hall (Memmingen)

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Memmingen town hall

The town hall in Memmingen in Upper Swabia is a multi-storey Renaissance building from the 16th century. It sets a strong urban accent and closes off the market square to the northeast. It is one of the most famous buildings in Memmingen.

location

The town hall stands at the back of the market square, framed to the west by the wheelhouse , to the east by two small houses and the large guild. Directly behind it is the oldest part of the city fortifications. In the Schlossergasse, which adjoins the town hall to the east, are the Welfenhaus, built in the 1970s, and the Hexenturm (parts from the 12th century). The Welfenhaus is connected to the town hall by a passage. A neo-baroque market fountain (rebuilt in 1994) stands in front of the town hall.

Building history

Ground floor, entrance hall
“War landmark” from 1918
Old meeting room on the 2nd floor

Around 800 a saint named Martin is said to have been slain on the square where the town hall stands. A council chamber was mentioned as early as the 14th century. In 1488 the old council seat was increased and then expanded several times (e.g. 1522). The town hall at that time was a half-timbered building with open arbors . The current magnificent building was probably planned in 1565, as two ribs of the wheelhouse were broken off in that year. But it was not until 1589 that the plan of the Stadtwerkmeister Johann Jakob Ehinger was implemented. The construction cost the then unimaginable sum of 30,000 guilders (the city budget was around 90,000 guilders). Even then, the town hall had its current shape with a high gable flanked by two small oriels. In the 18th century, when the nobles bought country castles, the city republic did not want to be inferior and also erected a magnificent building as a landmark of Memmingen. The town hall was redesigned in the Rococo style based on the designs of Johann Georg Knoll and Jakob Mitteregger. In 1764–1765 the gable was given its curved profile and the windows were framed with stucco decoration. The portal triad got carved door leaves. The skylights of the side entrances have since been decorated with the coat of arms of the city and the Secret Council. The large central gate even allowed freight wagons to enter the two-aisled vaulted hall. The old council chamber was in the basement of the town hall. It is so deep that it is always a cool 4 ° C. On May 12, 1918, a so-called war landmark was presented to the public as a glass picture in the town hall . It shows a victorious military unit entering the city. The garrison was moved from Neu-Ulm to Memmingen in 1914 . In the hope of a victorious return of the soldiers from the First World War, Memmingen citizens donated money for war widows and orphans. Money was collected for these foundations with a nail : a glass window with a soldier motif was installed in the stairwell of the town hall, around which the town's coat of arms could be “nailed” in exchange for a donation. The facade of the town hall was renovated in 1908 and most recently in 2007 for around 100,000 euros.

Building description

front

The front of the town hall has three entrances, a large gate flanked by two smaller entrance doors. Carts could drive through the gate directly into the great hall of the town hall. Above it is the year 1589 for the year of construction, above the two towers are the gold-plated coats of arms of the Privy Council and the imperial city. The lower part of the house is painted dark gray and has groove-like depressions.

Above the gate is a square bay window with a mechanical clock. Above the clock, the bay window turns into a round bay tower. The two other round oriel towers on the left and right are connected with curved walls. The oriel towers have copper-covered Welsche hoods with the city coat of arms as a weather vane. The numerous windows are decorated with stucco. The basic color of the upper part of the house is light gray with dark gray window frames.

back

The back of the town hall has numerous arched windows that, unlike those on the front, are not stuccoed. The different floors of the house are decorated with moldings. The shutters in the upper windows are a little darker than the dark gray facade color.

ground floor

On the ground floor you enter a large hall through the middle gate or the right door, which is equipped with a pointed arched ceiling and is used as a meeting room. In 1825 the north half was divided up for the city ​​archive ; today a glass wall has been inserted. The hall has three pillars and red clay belts . The western door leads to the so-called Stüble , a small multi-purpose room in which, for example, enrollment for citizens' petitions takes place.

First floor

The first floor can be reached via the large representative staircase on the ground floor. This is where administration rooms and the office of the mayor and his deputy are located. Oil paintings by the former mayors hang on the walls. The individual doors are richly carved and have intricate inlays . The mayor's office with paneled wooden walls is located in the left oriel tower.

Second floor

Administration rooms are also located on the second floor. The city council's meeting room is also located there. The doors are also decorated with inlays and carvings.

Important events in and around the town hall

In July 1524 the citizens of Memmingen demonstrated in front of the town hall for the introduction of the Reformation . This was ritually introduced on Nicholas Eve of the same year through the New Supper in St. Martin . On April 21, 1525, the citizens were called in armor in front of the town hall, as it was assumed that troops of the Swabian League would march on the city because of the Twelve Articles and the Peasant Constituent Assembly.

In 1534 a Memmingen citizen announced in front of the town hall that he had sent his son to the women's shelter so that he could learn something . This is mainly to be seen in connection with the fact that this year the preachers of the city railed against the women's shelter, but the citizens of Memmingen often stood protectively in front of the prostitutes of the women's shelter.

On October 8th in 1551 the imperial commissioners Abbot Gerwick and Heinrich Hase called the town council, the town man and the eleven to the town hall square to read them the imperial creditiv and to persuade them to implement it. This involved a streamlining of the municipal administration and the supremacy of the patricians in the so-called Hasenrat .

literature

  • Julius Miedel : Guide through Memmingen and the surrounding area . 3rd, revised edition. Publishing and Printing Cooperative Memmingen, Memmingen 1929, p. 91-93 .

Web links

Commons : Rathaus (Memmingen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Memminger Zeitung , August 28, 2008, p. 30.

Coordinates: 47 ° 59 '12 "  N , 10 ° 10' 53"  E