Bad Düben town hall
The Town Hall Bad Duben is a 1723 inaugurated office building and headquarters of the city council in Bad Duben .
history
building
Precursor (1656)
A forerunner of today's Düben town hall was founded by Dr. Manfred Wilde dated around 1656, it is not known whether there was a comparable building before that.
City fire (1716)
In a city fire on February 25, 1716, the town hall as well as 56 residential buildings and 18 barns were destroyed. At that time the city had 900 inhabitants and 182 buildings, so about 30% of the city was destroyed by the fire. In addition to city maps and files, the night of the fire also fell victim to the striking mechanism of the town hall clock with the gilded billy goats that clashed with their horns at every strike of the hour .
Reconstruction (1718–1723)
From 1718 to 1723 the town hall was rebuilt with the current facade in the Renaissance style and inaugurated in 1723. Documents found in the top of the tower showed that the city was very poor at the time and that the construction was financed by alms . During renovation work in 2002, it was found during the gutting that the regionally occurring heather was used as insulation material and that it is a "cheap construction". In the 19th century the town hall also housed a council cellar and the city savings bank.
Dispute over town hall inscription (1862)
In 1862, the Dübener MPs argued about which inscription should adorn the new town hall, some wanted to leave everything as before, others would have liked to see the inscription "Police Office" and lovers of a good drop were in favor of the inscription "Ratskeller". For reasons of cost, black was chosen as the color of the lettering instead of gold. On October 14, 1862, the majority of the deputies voted for the label "Ratskeller". The mayor still insisted on the designation "police office" and threatened to refer the matter to the royal government for decision if necessary . The MPs then postponed the matter and it was not until January 1863 that the magistrate and the city council came to a common denominator. The inscription “Ratskeller” was placed outside the town hall and inside, above the office door in question, the inscription “Police Office”. Today the inscription “Rathaus” adorns the building.
Modernizations (1996-2003)
In 1996 the rear half-timbered extension at the town hall , the "Alte Post", was extensively reconstructed. An intermediate building was demolished and a staircase was built to connect the two parts of the building. The interior was gutted and modern office space was created. The construction work cost 828,000 euros and was completed in 1999.
From 2001 the main building was renovated and included work in the cellar vault , load-bearing false ceilings, walls and the roof structure . A glass elevator suitable for the handicapped was also installed . The roof truss could be preserved to a considerable extent, although some beams from 1718 were heavily infested with wood pests . The tower lantern was also renewed, the weather vane was clad with double ducat gold and a radio-controlled clock connected to the town hall bell was installed. The historical clock game with colliding billy goats was also installed. The idea of installing a Ratsschänke in the basement of the town hall could not be implemented for structural reasons. From then on, the cellar was used as an archive. The construction work cost around 2.5 million euros and was completed on October 31, 2003. Structural changes and renovations have not had a significant impact on the overall appearance since the reconstruction.
Town hall tower
In September 2002, as part of the restoration of the town hall, the reconstructed roof hood of the bell tower was put back on. The gold-plated sphere, which contains documents relating to the history of the city, has a diameter of 400 millimeters. The weather vane is clad in double ducat gold, and the tower has a tower lantern .
Town hall clock
In 2003 the master watchmaker Peter Schnabel from Klinga near Grimma installed a radio-controlled clockwork on the town hall clock, which is connected to the town hall bell. Since March 13, 2003, the town hall bell has been ringing every half and full hour, and during the day the billy goats appear below the town hall clock.
Watch game of billy goats
Every hour between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., the billy goats appear below the clock on the town hall tower on the side in the direction of the market square and collide with their heads. This historical clock game existed before the city fire in 1716 and was only put back into operation 286 years later on May 25, 2002 at 12 noon. The two billy goats were bought by the market pharmacist Dr. Adelberger presented to the city as a gift on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Markt-Apotheke.
"May no bullshit be made in this house"
The two billy goats appear from two doors under the town hall clock to strike the hour and meet in the middle and bang their heads together at the sound of the bell. The background is that good decisions should be made in the town hall and that no “bullshit” should be poured out. This is also evidenced by the inscription on the back of the billy goats.
Town hall bell
The bell hanging in the town hall tower was cast in Leipzig in 1718 and inaugurated in 1723 with the town hall, which was rebuilt after the town fire . Its sound can be heard over the city ever since.
"Glory to the god of heaven"
Local historian Wolfgang Apitzsch translated the inscription on the bell, according to which the text reads "Destroyed by fire in the year of salvation in 1716, renewed from ruins in the year of salvation in 1718. Martin Heinze from Leipzig poured me into glory for the god of heaven."
Ratskeller
First mentioned (1546)
The history of the Ratskeller in the Düben town hall dates back to 1546. The tenant in 1663 was Thomas Harrweil, who later became mayor. About a hundred years later, Johann Richter, who called himself an art cook, was the tenant. Later led Carl August Ulric the Ratskeller to re-tender in 1810 for 145 dollars rent a year, in 1805 the Council's approval for bad times only 125 dollars annually.
Tendering lease contract (1810)
After the invitation of the Ratskeller in 1810 (the districts superintendent) Friedrich Böhme received for consideration by the Council to Duben and the quarter master chosen as the new tenant for an initial period of 3 years and operated the Ratskeller from 1 May 1810 for 160 dollars rent per year . The lease agreement was signed by the tenant Friedrich Böhme and the mayor Johann Heinrich Wolle on November 30, 1810 only after a trial period had passed. Boehme was allowed beer and wine ausschänken, a food stall run. He was also allowed to measure grain as a source of income, for every bushel of grain (at that time equivalent to 103.985 liters) he received three pfennigs . Böhme was also allowed to run the salt bar , a privilege that only a few had. Salt was heavily taxed at that time, Böhme was allowed to trade in salt , but in return had to conscientiously keep records and keep "correct measure and weight" according to valid market prices in the salt trade. Böhme also had to watch out for the fire and light in the town hall, was not allowed to serve guests beyond the police time and had to prevent forbidden games and immorality.
Use today
A council cellar has not been operated in the town hall for a long time . In the course of the modernization work from 1996 to 2003, the idea came up to build a Ratsschänke again in the basement of the town hall, but this could not be implemented for structural reasons. The cellar has been used as an archive ever since .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Dübener Wochenspiegel from June 5, 2003: 280-year-old town hall shines in new splendor. Retrieved September 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Dübener Wochenspiegel from January 17, 2002: History, present and future of the Düben town hall. Retrieved September 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Dübener Wochenspiegel from May 10, 2002: The billy goats of the Bad Düben town hall clock are returning. Retrieved September 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Leipziger Volkszeitung from September 4, 2017: Lutz Fritzsche - 1863: Ratskeller instead of police office
- ↑ a b Dübener Wochenspiegel of March 14, 2002: Town hall clock strikes again. Retrieved September 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Leipziger Volkszeitung from September 4, 2017: Lutz Fritzsche - 1810: Dübener Schenkwirt is only allowed to sell domestic beer
Coordinates: 51 ° 35 ′ 27.9 ″ N , 12 ° 35 ′ 8.9 ″ E