Graefrath town hall

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Graefrath town hall
Graefrath town hall

Graefrath town hall

Data
place Solingen - Graefrath
builder Walter Heipertz
architect Arno Eugen Fritsche
Client City of Graefrath
Architectural style Neuberg style
Construction year 1907-1908
particularities
Re-use: German Blade Museum (1954–1990), Art Museum Solingen (since 1996)

The town hall Gräfrath is the former town hall of the once independent town of Gräfrath , which is now a district of Solingen . The listed building was built from 1907 to 1908 according to plans by Arno Eugen Fritsche in the Neuberg style , whereby he designed the traditional elements in the sense of contemporary Art Nouveau . Today the Solingen Art Museum is located in the building .

prehistory

In the freedom Gräfrath there was no town hall long. The house of the respective mayor served as an office and community archive. When ten houses burned on March 3, 1698, including that of the mayor who had traveled to Cologne. With this, the acts of freedom before 1698 were destroyed. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a building for the Protestant school was built on Gerberstrasse, which also served as the town hall. On July 22, 1876, the city of Gräfrath and the new mayor Friedrich Kürten (term of office 1876 to 1900) rented three rooms and a storage room in the private house Täppken 149, which belonged to Friedrich Wilhelm Wester, who lived in Cologne, for six years. But just two years later, the population, which had risen to 5,600, made it necessary to respond to the additional space requirements. A property on today's street "In der Freiheit" was bought by its owner, Dr. Wahn from Cologne acquired for 4,350 marks . The city then built Graefrath's first town hall according to plans by Ohligs town builder Otto Franz, which was moved into in 1881 at Graefrath 21 (later Kaiserstraße 17). For the first time, the offices, the city council chamber and the mayor's apartment were all under one roof. The city ​​treasury and the savings bank remained in the old school building. The town hall was a two-story slate building in the Altbergian style with three-part window frames and green shutters , which did not differ from residential buildings in Graefrath. As more officials were hired, more and more rooms, including the boardroom, were converted into offices. On June 13, 1900, the East Prussian Bernhard Bartlau took up the post of Mayor of Gräfrath (term of office 1900 to 1924). He had previously worked in the administration of the Solingen district . On April 15, 1903, he married into the JAHenckels family of entrepreneurs in Solingen . The foreseeable lack of space in the town hall meant that a private house at Bergerbrühl 12 was rented for the mayor's apartment and the municipal coffers. The mayor moved into this specially built house with his wife and three-month-old daughter in April 1905. After that, there were only offices on the ground floor of the town hall, while the city council chamber, the office of the mayor and offices for the newly appointed construction officer were on the upper floor . The police sergeant Schlingensiepen and his family moved into the living rooms on the top floor. Graefrath meanwhile had 9,025 inhabitants.

Construction of the town hall

Town hall Gräfrath (west side)

With Bernhard Bartlau as the new mayor, a new town hall was considered from 1902. In 1899 his predecessor, Kürten, suggested that the comparatively small town of Gräfrath should merge with Höhscheid , Ohligs, Solingen and Wald to form one town. Bartlau, on the other hand, set accents for an independent further development of Gräfrath, such as the introduction of electricity (1901) and the water supply with the water tower at the parade ground (1905) as well as the design of the market square from 1906 or the introduction of its own coat of arms in 1907. The discussion about the The location of the new town hall was very controversial. After it had been decided to move the town hall to the Central district as the center and most sustainable part of the city, there was fierce resistance from the residents of the old town center.The reorganization of the municipal boundaries in 1807 during the Napoleonic Grand Duchy of Berg had the municipality of Gräfrath far south as far as Schlagbaum and Stöckerberg increased, whereby in the course of the 19th century an industrial focus with the drop forge FW Rauh and the steel goods factory Gottlieb Hammesfahr as well as the steam chocolates & sugar goods factory Gebr. Hillers had formed.

In view of the looming split among the citizens, Bartlau postponed the topic for the time being and took it up again in 1906. As a compromise for the building site, he proposed a plot of land at the level of Provinzialstraße (Wuppertaler Straße) next to the bridge over the corkscrew railway , so that the building on the hill would be easily visible and accessible. On November 12, 1906, the city council decided to build the town hall. The cost estimate provided for the property 26,000 marks and the construction about 134,000 marks, which was to be financed by a loan of 160,000 marks with a 1 percent repayment. The well-known Elberfeld architect Arno Eugen Fritsche, who had already designed the Solingen Luther Church , was commissioned with the planning. The construction management lay with city architect Walter Heipertz. Only bricks made in Gräfrath were allowed to be used. Construction began on July 28, 1907. The foundation stone was laid on August 12, 1907 . The new town hall was inaugurated on October 24, 1908. Mayor Bartlau moved into his new official apartment at Kaiserstraße 1a (the neighboring station building was number 1) on October 26, 1908. The police station and the savings bank were now located under the roof of the new town hall . With the billed 163,978 marks, the planned costs were only slightly exceeded.

Architecture and architectural decorations

Main entrance of the town hall
Inner courtyard of the town hall

The architect Fritsche designed a building that was clearly different from the town halls in neighboring cities. The town halls in Dorp , Höhscheid, Ohligs and Wald (now all of Solingen's districts), which were built at the end of the 19th century, are evidence of the neo-renaissance style that was predominant at the time . The town halls in Elberfeld, Remscheid and Vohwinkel, which were built around the same time, embody a picturesque, castle-like claim and group varied components, already represented a progressive building approach.

Fritsche took up this newer style and combined it with the newly emerging Neo-Berg style . From 1903 local history researchers had drawn attention to the architecture of the Bergisches Land that was created between 1750 and 1830 and recommended it to regional architects. Instigated by the provincial curator Paul Clemen , the Upper President of the Rhine Province Freiherr von Schorlemer issued a decree in 1907 that the Bergische style was generally permitted for single houses and with special permission for row houses. The book Der Kaiser und die Kunst , edited by Paul Seidel, the head of the art collections in the royal Prussian palaces, was also published in 1907 . In it, the demand of the Emperor Wilhelm II was published that state buildings should also express the character of the city in question, which is reflected in the style that predominates in it. While residential houses in the Neuberg style are more common in the region, an elaborately designed building in this style, such as the town hall of Gräfrath, is rare.

Fritsche designed two building wings converging at an obtuse angle, which were smoothed together by a semicircular bay window with a conical roof , whereby the main facade with the town hall and clock tower was clearly oriented towards the old town center of Gräfrath.

In the city skyline, the mighty, slated clock tower with a curved tower dome set a special accent for the secular power opposite the small ridge turrets on the former monastery church and the Protestant church on the market square. The architect established the relationship to the citizen by firstly making the town hall hall recognizable to the citizens coming across the forecourt through a risalit with the large arched window. Second, set the designed as a triumphal arch main entrance, which stood out as an independent component, the authority of the administration is. Based on the ancient triumphal arches of the arch was on the inside of the cassette and the front pilasters . The side facades to the west and south got smaller gables and side entrances.

Numerous different doors and windows, material changes from slate , clay bricks , plastered surfaces and wood shaped the appearance of the building. The design of the windows showed a particular variability. The risalit of the main facade was dominated by arched windows, while Fritsche provided small rectangular windows grouped in groups of three for the gable facing the street. A ribbon of windows on the clock tower and bay window linked the two facades. The dormers had from one to three windows. There were also several bay windows with windows .

City arms comprised of Art Nouveau ornament form

The Bergisch triad of slate, white window frames and green shutters creates the connection to the town center of Gräfrath . The mansard roof and the curved gables refer to the monastery church and some houses on the market and on today's street "In der Freiheit". In the first half of the 19th century, citizens of Graefrath added attic rooms to their houses in order to be able to offer accommodation to the numerous patients of the ophthalmologist Friedrich Hermann de Leuw who had traveled there. However, Fritsche redesigned the local motifs in the spirit of Art Nouveau. The curve of the gable got a restless wavy band . The tower hood became a corrugated pyramid. The Gräfrath coat of arms created in 1907 was framed by symmetrically arranged, ornamental leaves and flowers at the main entrance. References to Art Nouveau are also the wavy ribbon under the eaves and around the council chamber window as well as the ornaments on the pilasters at the main entrance.

Interior design

Arched window of the town hall hall

The design of the town hall hall was carried out with particular care. The interior and the colorful panes of the large window were financed with donations from citizens of Graefrath. The hall had a round-arched , cross-shaped dome, parquet flooring , a wooden parapet, a gallery and a large chandelier . The armchairs with cowhide upholstery, one with the city coat of arms, were upholstered by Thonet . The walls at the town hall entrance bore the following sayings:

  • Work is the citizen's adornment, blessing is the price of toil
  • Honor the king's dignity, honor us of the diligence of the hands .

The saying was above the fountain in the waiting room:

A straight look in the right place
Do more than a hundred good words .

The elaborate interior architecture can only be seen today on the first floor of the west wing, in the area of ​​the former mayor's apartment. The room layout, doors and wall cupboards as well as the loggia have been preserved here. The two stairwells are also original: both the representative main staircase with handrail and the spiral staircase for the servants.

Early conversions

The town hall was expanded as early as 1914. At a right angle, a flat roof wing was added on the southeast side, which was raised in the 1920s. At that time, the dormer window above the mayor's room was enlarged. Repair work was carried out for the first time in 1920: the Sparkasse received a new facility and the police carried out renovations.

Use after the city union in 1929

After Gräfrath was absorbed in the city ​​of Solingen in 1929 , the town hall became a branch of the city administration. It became the seat of the Housing Office and the non-profit society for the procurement of small apartments in Solingen-Ohlig . The police station and the city ​​library remained in the town hall. The last mayor, Theodor von der Thüsen, later director of the city railway, continued to live here. The savings bank soon moved into the newly constructed building at Gerberstrasse 4, which was built in 1930. After the seizure of power , various Nazi institutions were housed in the building. There were also several apartments.

Use after the Second World War

In the Second World War, the main wing with the council chamber in particular was destroyed, the roof structure of which burned out completely. The rooms to the east with the mayor's room and stairwell were also affected. In June 1945 the city library resumed its operations. The police also kept their rooms in the basement . In January 1951, the Association of the Central Technical School of the German Confectionery Industry (ZDS) was founded in Dortmund . Solingen was one of the twelve cities that were contacted regarding the possible location of the school. In Solingen the first idea was to use the former town hall Gräfrath for this. The decision was quickly made to offer a site with allotments on De-Leuw-Straße in Gräfrath for a new building. After the decision in favor of the school location in Solingen, the town hall of Gräfrath became the first seat of the ZDS association and the location of the school secretariat in 1951, until the new school building was opened in early 1954. Considerations in 1951 to expand the town hall with an extension for a gymnasium necessary in Gräfrath were not implemented.

Blade Museum

The heavily damaged building was rebuilt in 1953 according to plans by the Solingen architects Flabb, whereby the main wing and the stairwell axis were extended to the east by 3.60 m to a. to include a second stairwell. The reconstruction took place partly as a reconstruction, partly in the traditionalist manner typical of the region. While the west wing remained largely unchanged, the post-war reconstruction phase was characteristic for the east wing area with staircase and entrance as well as three correspondingly designed windows, which were provided with trademarks of the most famous Solingen cutlery companies and thus also made Solingen industrial history. On August 7, 1954, Solingen's Lord Mayor Eugen Maurer opened the German Blade Museum and the 8th Bergische Kunstausstellung in a ceremony. On August 8, 1954, 585 visitors came. A skylight room was set up for exhibitions in the new extension on the east wing . The former council chamber, which had a lattice window and a false ceiling, had been technically refurbished so that lectures and chamber music concerts could be held in it. The police station remained in the building, while the library was moved to the market square in 1969. In the 1970s, the building's former coal cellar became the exhibition and assembly room of the Solingen Artists' Association , the SK Gallery. After the museum staff had lounges there, the enlarged SK Gallery was inaugurated on February 18, 1979. In 1980 the Solinger Künstlerbund (SK) signed a lease for gallery space in the Blade Museum with the city of Solingen. The premises for the Artothek housed in it were rent-free because the SK looked after them. The former town hall was placed under monument protection on October 30, 1984. In 1990 the German Blade Museum moved to the Gräfrath Monastery, which was converted for this purpose . The town hall building, which was in a relatively satisfactory structural condition, was now largely used by the SK for art library, studios and exhibitions.

Museum Baden / Art Museum Solingen

new southeast wing of the art museum from 1996

In mid-1992, the Cologne architects Nasse, commissioned by Solingen patron Kurt Baden, drew up initial plans for converting the building into a museum for modern art or as an exhibition space for the Meistermann Collection . Afterwards, the wing of the building in the southeast, which had been rebuilt several times and which was last used for temporary exhibitions, was to be torn down. The main wing, which was rebuilt in the 1950s, was to be redesigned, especially in the facade and roof area. With the designed facade, the architects wanted to match the original facade by Fritsche with z. B. lean on a modern mayor's bay and on the other hand create urgently needed hanging and stand space. This concept for the main wing was rejected by the Rhenish Office for Monument Preservation after controversial discussions between architects and client representatives with the monument authorities . It saw the contemporary architecture for the Blade Museum as more relevant than a reconstruction of the facade from 1907. The architects were given the greatest possible leeway in the design of the new south-east wing, taking into account the materials and proportions of the old building. This applied both to the vestibule to the restaurant in the rear area and to the arrangement and design of the south-facing terrace, including the new external staircase. During the renovation of the building, due to various requirements of an art museum, both the filigree windows from the time it was built and the windows with the company emblems from the 1950s, which are interesting for the city's history, were lost. The old building received a new interior design, from which only the first floor of the west wing, and in parts also the attic floor and the stairwells, were excluded. The exterior of the old building was repaired by renewing slate surfaces, clay tile roofing and rain drainage . The facade was given a new coat of paint based on the color of the cement plaster. The railing and the covered walkway on the 1st floor were repaired. Finally, the city of Solingen redesigned the open spaces. The art museum of the city of Solingen, named “Museum Baden” in honor of the patron, was opened on October 27, 1996. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia had financially supported the renovation and expansion of the building. Prime Minister Johannes Rau was also present at the very well attended opening .

Installation: Solingen lintel

Since spring 2004 there has been a two-storey installation leaning against the facade in the eastern area of ​​the main wing : the Solingen lintel by Rudolf Alfons Scholl . When designing his design, the artist was not aware that the mayor's room was located at this point until 1944. In March 2007, the SK Gallery and the Artothek moved into the freight halls at the former Solingen main station , which were redesigned as part of the Regionale 2006 , where artist studios were built. The plan to establish a “center for persecuted arts” in the building led, in discussions with the Rhineland Regional Council (LVR), which is relevant for the financing of the center, to the fact that the city council of Solingen approved the renaming of the Museum Baden in Kunstmuseum Solingen was right.

Forecourt

On July 4, 1909, Gräfrath inaugurated a war memorial in front of the town hall. The monument, also architecturally designed by Fritsche, consisted of a base with an inscription, on which three cannon barrels were grouped as a victory column, which were surmounted by an imperial crown . A commission for the erection of a war memorial had been elected as early as 1889, but its activities had ceased until it was reactivated in 1908 by Mayor Bartlau. The memorial was financed through donations from citizens and 600 marks approved by the city council. The three modern gun barrels made of steel had been purchased by the War Ministry for 18 marks each and were symbolic of the three wars of 1864, 1866 and 1870/71 that preceded the founding of the German Empire . The victory column is said to have been melted down in 1945. The 1954 monument can still be seen on the building views of the rebuilt building, whereas it had disappeared in 1955. The multi-level plinth was discovered in 2009, hidden in the bushes next to the forecourt, uncovered and the inscription made visible again by a stonemason . The well-known Bergisch poet Rudolf Herzog wrote the inscription:

Whoever loves his homeland reaches for the sword,
We love them and our steel gave news.
Who gives his duty to the homeland,
Immortality gives him the hour of death. ,

which in its martiality corresponded to the nationalistic zeitgeist of the time before the First World War .

The bronze sculpture “Mollige” by Max Kratz now stands on the forecourt in place of the war memorial . In 1994 Max Kratz donated 134 of his sculptures to the planned art museum as part of a foundation. Next to the “Molligen” is Max Kratz's “Resting Dancer” on the forecourt. In 2009 Gertrud Kortenbach's "Angel" was transferred there on permanent loan. A sundial has been located next to the entrance to the forecourt since the summer of 1986 . The Solingen sculptor Henryk Dywan took on the task of depicting Solingen's industrial history, financed by the Solingen 600 community foundation established by the Baden couple in 1974 . For this he used a pan pan as a supporting element , which the shareholders of the (former) Jagenberg paper mill , Egon Linge and Kurt Jagenberg, had given the city of Solingen as a gift. In the spring of 2010, the access to the forecourt was blocked by bollards , as the no-parking signs were often ignored. In anticipation of the renaming of the museum to “Kunstmuseum Solingen”, the city of Solingen decided on February 14, 2011 to name the forecourt Georg-Meistermann-Platz . In April 2015, the Gräfrath district council was redesigning the forecourt so that the building could be fully recognized from the direction of Wuppertaler Straße and, in particular, outside visitors could find it more easily.

  • Works of art on the forecourt

  • Sundial
    by Henryk Dywan

  • Chubby
    from Max Kratz

  • Resting dancer
    by Max Kratz

  • Angel
    by Gertrud Kortenbach

literature

  • Beate Battenfeld : Town halls in Solingen, past-present-future. In: history (s) current. Volume 4, Ed .: Bergischer Geschichtsverein Abt. Solingen e. V., 2008.
  • Walter Geis: From the town hall to the blade museum. In: Preservation of monuments in the Rhineland. Volume 5, Issue 4, Klartext Verlag, Essen 1988, pp. 41–43.

Web links

Commons : Rathaus Gräfrath  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinz Rosenthal : Solingen. History of a city. Volume 1, Walter Braun Verlag, Duisburg, 2nd edition 1973, DNB 457973358 .
  2. ^ A b c Heinz Rosenthal: Solingen. History of a city. Volume 2, Walter Braun Verlag. Duisburg 1972, ISBN 3-87096-103-1 .
  3. ↑ Solingen mayor on zeitspurensuche.de , accessed on November 14, 2015.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Helmut Meya: Gräfrath. Chronicle of the Heimatverein Solingen-Gräfrath e. V. 1950-2000. Ed .: Heimatverein Solingen-Gräfrath e. V., 2000
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Beate Battenfeld : Town halls in Solingen past-present-future. In: history (s) current. Volume 4, Ed .: Bergischer Geschichtsverein Abt. Solingen e. V., 2008.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f Lutz Peters: Gräfrath - as it used to be. Wartberg Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen, 1st edition 2001, ISBN 3-8313-1162-5 .
  7. ↑ family Bartlau - Henckels (inventory in the city archives Solingen)  in the German Digital Library , accessed November 14, 2015.
  8. ^ A b Heinz Rosenthal: Solingen. History of a city. Volume 3, Walter Braun Verlag. Duisburg 1975, ISBN 3-87096-126-0 .
  9. ^ A b c d e Walter Geis: From the town hall to the blade museum. In: Preservation of monuments in the Rhineland. Volume 5, Issue 4, Klartext Verlag, Essen 1988, pp. 41–43.
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h Kunstmuseum Solingen - historical facts on kunstmuseum-solingen.de , accessed on November 14, 2015.
  11. ↑ Old schools and school buildings in Solingen - Gräfrath (1) on zeitspurensuche.de , accessed on November 14, 2015
  12. ↑ On the history of the ZDS. Accessed December 1, 2019 . on zds-solingen.de
  13. ↑ Solingen: 60 sweet years in Gräfrath Report of the Solinger Morgenpost from August 10, 2011, accessed on November 14, 2015
  14. ↑ Many wishes and gifts - Ceremonial opening of the blade museum and the Bergische art exhibition, report of the Solinger Tageblatt of August 9, 1954
  15. ↑ a b Solingen artist e. V. - The history of the SK ( Memento from September 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on solingerkuenstler.de , accessed on November 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ Solingen lintel on www.kunstmuseum-solingen.de queried on November 14, 2015.
  17. ↑ City of Solingen - INFORMATION TEMPLATE of March 24, 2011, renaming of the Museum Baden ( Memento of November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) on www2.solingen.de , accessed on November 14, 2015
  18. ↑ Solingen Council: In the Debt Trap report of the Solinger Bote from July 15, 2011, accessed on November 14, 2015.
  19. ↑ a b c Those who love their home reach for the sword ... Entry from August 25, 2009 on blog.tetti.de , requested on November 14, 2015.
  20. ↑ Gräfrath (Solingen) - Lost and Found Victory Column on zeitspurensuche.de , accessed on November 14, 2015.
  21. ^ "Chubby" by Max Kratz. Accessed December 1, 2019 . , on solingen.de
  22. ↑ "Resting Dancer" by Max Kratz. Accessed December 1, 2019 . , on solingen.de
  23. ↑ "Engel" by Gertrud Kortenbach. Accessed December 1, 2019 . , on solingen.de
  24. ↑ Solingen: Patron Ilse Baden dies Report of the Solinger Morgenpost of July 3, 2012, accessed on November 14, 2015.
  25. ↑ Who the hour is rolling Entry from October 24, 2008 on blog.tetti.de , requested on November 14, 2015.
  26. ↑ Solingen: Poller gegen Parker report of the Solinger Morgenpost from March 30, 2010, accessed on November 14, 2015.
  27. ↑ Solingen: Platz nach Meistermann report of the Solinger Morgenpost from February 5, 2011, accessed on November 14, 2015.
  28. ↑ OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE CITY OF SOLINGEN of November 10, 2011 p. 1 ( Memento of November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 884 kB) on www2.solingen.de , accessed on November 14, 2015.
  29. ↑ City of Solingen / District Representation Gräfrath - Application of the CDU parliamentary group of April 2, 2015 “Redesign of the forecourt of the art museum”  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 19 kB) at www2.solingen.de , accessed on November 14, 2015.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www2.solingen.de  
  30. ↑ City of Solingen - Minutes of the 7th meeting of the district representative Gräfrath on April 21, 2015, p. 5  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 51 kB) at www2.solingen.de , accessed on November 14, 2015.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www2.solingen.de  

Coordinates: 51 ° 12 ′ 12.6 ″  N , 7 ° 4 ′ 25.4 ″  E