Lichtenberg town hall
| Lichtenberg town hall | |
|---|---|
 State in 2005 |
|
| Data | |
| place | Berlin |
| builder | Franz Emil Knipping, (architect unknown) |
| Construction year | 1896-1898 |
| Floor space | (Circle sector with the tip cut off) approx. 1300 m² |
| Coordinates | 52 ° 30 '57 " N , 13 ° 28' 47" E |
The Rathaus Lichtenberg as a central administrative building ( City Hall ) of Lichtenberg of Berlin office of the district office and the district council and was from 1898 to 1907 the city hall of the town from 1907 to 1920 the city , from 1920 to 1952 of the Greater Berlin district and the 1952-1990 East Berlin district of Lichtenberg.
The neo-Gothic brick building from the end of the 19th century is located at Möllendorffstraße 6 not far from the S-Bahn and U-Bahn station Frankfurter Allee .
prehistory
Due to the steady population growth in the village of Lichtenberg (tenfold within around ten years) and the intensive construction activity at the time before the gates of Berlin, around 1890 the municipal administration needed to have its own representative town hall built. In 1892 a commission was formed that determined the location in what was then Dorfstrasse, developed ideas for the building, purchased building land and commissioned master mason Oscar Peucker to plan. On October 1, 1896, the local government decided to build. (In parallel to these construction activities, the municipality tried to obtain city rights, for which an appropriate administrative building was necessary.)
Design and construction of the town hall
After Peucker had received a fee of 3,000 marks for his preparatory work , the administration entrusted the specially hired local master builder Franz Emil Knipping with the execution, the actual architect is unknown. Specialists suspect the renowned architect Max Hasak to be the actual creator, but this cannot be proven with documents. (When the building was destroyed at the end of the Second World War, the archive in the attic was also completely destroyed. Usually, the most important information is also contained in the cassette when the foundation stone was laid - but it is currently not available.)
The building was completed by November 11, 1898 and inaugurated in a solemn act at the expense of the community treasury. The preparatory protocol reports on a "gala dinner with music that is to take place in the boardroom of the house (or, if there is a large number of participants, in the Schwarzschen establishment ), the issuing of invitations and the preparation of lists for the participants."
The total cost of building the town hall was 396,664.89 marks (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 2.4 million euros ). Already in the years 1907–1909 the first reconstruction work and a structural extension “on the Schulzenwiese on the Rathausstrasse” were carried out, which resulted mainly from the granting of city rights to Lichtenberg. In 1906 the municipal administration approved 300,000 marks for this work and in 1907 another million marks. At the same time, the "restoration rooms" of the Ratskeller were rebuilt for 4,000 marks, new furniture for the large conference room was purchased and electrical lighting and ventilation were installed (total costs another 10,000 marks).
Details on the town hall building
overview
The town hall building, which is now a listed building, is a three-story building with a hipped roof and four-story with a stepped gable in the main entrance area . On this ornamental gable sits a square turret, crowned with a copper-plated lantern with a pointed helmet . A metal eagle adorned the top of the lantern for many years, but it fell at some point and was exhibited in the Lichtenberg Local History Museum until the end of 2012 . In January 2013, the copper griffin returned to the town hall. For safety reasons, he was not put back on the top of the tower, but found a place in a showcase in front of the large council chamber.
Multiple modifications led to significant changes inside. As a result of the Second World War , the town hall building was badly destroyed, so that it was “out of the question as a site for the administration.” Soon, however, a partial use began again and by 1959 individual parts of the building were gradually renewed. Around 1963, 1981–1984 and 2006–2007 repairs or extensive renovations were carried out. 270,000 euros were spent on the listed works from 2006–2007.
Layout
The architect of the house planned an acute-angled building in Brandenburg brick construction with a sloping entrance area in the middle. The two side wings are connected at the rear by a quarter-circle wing and thus form a larger, quiet inner courtyard. When viewed from above, a circular sector with a cut-off tip is created for the building ensemble .
facade
The building stands out due to its well-distributed ornamental gables, risalits , arched windows, balconies, cornices, facing and accentuated ornaments. Towards Möllendorffstrasse, for example, the viewer will find a mosaic coat of arms with representations of the Brandenburg eagle and the Lichtenberg coat of arms, and on Rathausstrasse the Brandenburg and Prussian (black) eagle. The mosaic of the Brandenburg (Brandenburg) eagle was professionally restored in the autumn of 2012 after previous work on the roof found that individual stones were loose.
These national emblems as well as the colored dial of the town hall clock were made by the Puhl & Wagner company . For the color design, the red bricks in particular were used in contrast with green glazed shaped stones and with white or ocher-colored plaster fields.
Entrance area
The entrance portal is adorned with wrought iron grids designed by the blacksmith Erich Retzdorf in 1937. (A swastika built into the grille above the door was later (almost) made unrecognizable .) A ten-step granite staircase leads the visitor into the foyer . Groin vaults and belt arches vault the entrance area.
- Symbolic medallions on the stairs
Business
justice
trade
traffic
unity
Agriculture
In the arched fields to the left and right of the stairs, painted medallions set in brick and glazed stone show symbolic representations of trade , commerce , agriculture and transport as well as allegories of unity and justice - this was supposed to symbolize the economic foundations and civic virtues in the new city of Lichtenberg.
The wooden handrail of the stairs ends in a large carved lion head. There are three side entrances on the courtyard side. Until the first renovation, there was still an entrance on both sides of the street, which led to the ground floor and thus enabled both escape options and independent access to individual service areas. The entrances are walled up from the outside, inside they can still be recognized by the wall arches above the room doors.
Foyer, stairs and corridors
The vestibule welcomes visitors with a stucco ceiling in wood grain and on the entry post of the main staircase with a wooden seated lion bearing the Lichtenberg coat of arms.
Three staircases connect the floors with each other: a main staircase decorated with carved balusters and designed with colored glass windows in the Baroque style and two simpler staircases with wooden or metal railings, each worked into the inner building corners. On the first paragraph, the colored glass windows show the old Lichtenberg coat of arms, designed in 1914, with a grain sheaf, cogwheel and a village idyll with a mountain . On the second paragraph is the colored glass window designed in the GDR era with symbolic representations for the new Lichtenberg ( dove of peace , flags, factories, houses). The main staircase ends in a coffered ceiling , which, in the opinion of art experts, does not necessarily match the baroque railing and neo-Gothic style of the house.
The corridors, which face the courtyard of the building are supported by arches and with colored combined designed network ribs. The doors are incorporated into arched niches with relief-like Art Nouveau decorations. Fantasy coats of arms adorn the aisle corners. The floors are tiled like a chessboard. On the second floor, the floor tiles are arranged in such a way that the former gallery of the large conference room can still be seen.
In 2005 the building was extended with an elevator from the courtyard side, so access is now convenient and barrier-free .
Premises and their use
As in every town hall, a large conference room is one of the most important features. It is located on the first floor and is entered through a sandstone portal with the historic Lichtenberg coat of arms. During the restoration work in the 1950s, the council chamber, which initially spanned two floors, was divided by a false ceiling. On the outer facade, the hall can be recognized through the large window arches with the medallion-like skylights. Originally the room had high paneling, gallery-like loggias on the upper floor and a colored star vault.
The work rooms for the mayor are next to the conference room on Möllendorffstraße. A large, dark-tinted, multi-door cabinet with beautiful oak carvings and a matching desk, which the first mayor Oskar Ziethen had made and which were used for a long time, have been in the reading room of the local archive since the Lichtenberg Museum of Local History was set up .
The room previously used as a wedding hall was on the first floor next to the conference room. Since the last renovation, the town hall has had the normal work rooms for handling all civil status matters and the marriage room with stucco elements and wooden wall paneling on the ground floor. From May 11, 1986 to April 12, 2006, the registry office was housed in an old manufacturer's villa in Fennpfuhlpark . Weddings can be held in this renovated villa or directly in the town hall since February 2008.
The Ratskeller previously planned in town hall buildings almost always housed an inn. The vaulted cellar of the Lichtenberg town hall also served this purpose from 1986 to around 2004, after which it was advertised for new uses. After complete renovation and partial suspension of the ceiling, the town hall gallery moved in and is used as a center for art and culture, especially for exhibitions. Except for one column, nothing can be seen of the former vaulted atmosphere.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the town hall housed office and cash rooms, service rooms, service apartments for members of the community board, gendarmerie posts, fire brigade, registry office and the royal cadastral office. After 1920, the following (selected) types of use for the building are specified: news office, district assembly office, personnel administration, market office, tax office, park and cemetery administration. The school administration, the public education office, the housing office, the district tax and electoral office have already been outsourced . The offices that are no longer listed were housed in other buildings.
Buddy Bear
A Buddy Bear has been standing in front of the town hall entrance since 2013 . It symbolizes the business location Lichtenberg, the achievements, the success and the commitment of all Lichtenberg companies. The body of the plastic figure adorns ten well-known business locations in the district. The figure was designed by students from the Hans-und-Hilde-Coppi-Gymnasium on behalf of the Lichtenberg Office for Economic Development.
List of mayors of Lichtenberg
In the mayor's suite of the town hall, the following persons have determined the politics of the district over the years:
| Surname | Term of office | comment |
|---|---|---|
| Oskar Ziethen | 1896-1921 | before 1896 Mayor in Naugard then commune in Lichtenberg; from 1908 first mayor of the city of Lichtenberg , from 1911 mayor |
| Otto John | 1921-1925 | With the integration of Lichtenberg into Greater Berlin , the highest head of administration then carried the title of mayor . |
| Alfred Siggel | 1926-1933 | |
| Herbert Volz | 1933-1935 | From 1933 Volz ruled as "State Commissioner" in the town hall; numerous elected members of the district office now had to leave it; Volz only officially became district mayor on September 27, 1934 |
| Fritz Behaghel | 1935-1938 | |
| Karl Dorsch | 1938-1945 | |
| Franz Stimming | 1945-1945 | from May to June |
| Günter Riesebrodt | 1945-1946 | from July 1945 to October 1946 |
| Helmut Schwenn | 1946-1947 | until September 1947 |
| Wilhelm Pomezny | 1947-1948 | |
| Richard Schalkowski | 1949-1950 | |
| Horst Hilbert | 1951-1954 | |
| Wilhelm Jahnke | 1955-1959 | |
| Franz Bachmann | 1959-1962 | |
| Kurt Schumann | 1963-1965 | |
| Horst Hilbert | 1965-1967 | |
| Willy Betsch | 1967-1970 | |
| Heinz Müller | 1970-1976 | |
| Günter Milke | 1976-1990 | |
| Peter Hlavaty | 1990 | |
| Christian child | 1990-1992 | |
| Gottfried Mucha | 1992-1995 | |
| Wolfram Friedersdorff | 1995-2001 | then worked in the Mecklenburg regional administration |
| Christina Emmrich | 2002-2011 | 2011 – May 2013 Deputy Mayor and responsible for youth work; then retired |
| Andreas Geisel | 2011-2014 | moved to the Berlin Senate as a building senator before the end of his term of office |
| Birgit Monteiro | 2015-2016 | took office in the BVV by-election |
| Michael Grunst | since December 2016 | According to the results of the BVV elections in September 2016, the party Die Linke received a majority of the votes and nominated Evrim Sommer as candidate for mayor . At the same time as the election for the office, inconsistencies about Ms. Sommer's degree became known. As a result, she did not receive the required number of votes and withdrew her candidacy as a consequence. |
Administrative units of the Lichtenberg district office
Because the town hall does not offer enough space for all administrative units in the district, some areas are housed elsewhere.
For a short time, the construction of a new town hall was considered or the expansion of the long-term investment ruin of the Landsberger Arkaden at the Landsberger Allee S-Bahn station in order to integrate all official areas under one roof, but this had to be discarded for financial reasons.
After extensive renovation work, large parts of the administration finally found space in a former Stasi building at 60 Alt-Friedrichsfelde .
literature
- Christine Hoh-Slodczyk: Lichtenberg town hall . Pitz & Hoh, Workshop for Architecture and Monument Preservation GmbH. Ed. District Office Lichtenberg von Berlin, Dept. Building and Housing, Building Department. Nicolai, 1994, ISBN 3-87584-532-3
- BVV Lichtenberg press releases 2006 and 2007
- Herbert Schwenk: Who built the town hall in Lichtenberg? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 11, 1998, ISSN 0944-5560 , p. 67 ( luise-berlin.de ).
Web links
- Website of the district office of Lichtenberg
- Lichtenberg local history museum in the town house
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List with further information
Individual evidence
- ^ Jan Feustel : Walks in Lichtenberg . Haude and Spener, 1996, ISBN 3-7759-0409-3 , p. 22 (Berlin reminiscences; 75)
- ↑ In search of the city of Lichtenberg , Ed. Heimatmuseum Lichtenberg 1998, District Office Lichtenberg (Lichtenberger Articles, Issue 4), p. 11
- ↑ Christine Hoh-Slodczyk: City Hall Lichtenberg , p. 12
- ↑ a b Flyer from January 8, 2011 on the occasion of a public tour of the town hall
- ↑ Adler in the town hall . In: Berliner Morgenpost , January 20, 2013; Retrieved January 24, 2013
- ↑ Christine Hoh-Slodczyk: Town Hall Lichtenberg . P. 32
- ↑ Bezirksblatt Lichtenberg-Hohenschönhausener , edition 9A / 2007, p. 12
- ↑ News. Lichtenberg . In: Berliner Zeitung , November 26, 2012, p. 19.
- ^ Company publication Mosaik im Profanbau of the German Glass Mosaic Society Puhl & Wagner, Neukölln 1912
- ↑ Christine Hoh-Slodczyk: Town Hall Lichtenberg . P. 28
- ^ Ratskeller in the Lichtenberg town hall
- ↑ The Lichtenberger Buddy Bear is celebrating its 6th birthday. Press release from the Lichtenberg District Office, October 29, 2019.
- ↑ Berlin's district mayor . In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 7, 1997, ISSN 0944-5560 , p. 126 ( luise-berlin.de ).
- ^ Jürgen Hofmann: Oskar Ziethen. Stations of a Prussian municipal official . Museum Lichtenberg im Stadthaus (publisher), Berlin 2016 ISBN 978-3-00-053843-8
- ^ Michael Laschke: The Oskar Ziethen Hospital Berlin-Lichtenberg . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, 2003, ISBN 3-935693-98-2 , p. 129.
- ^ Office building of the Lichtenberg district office