Town hall Witten
The Town Hall Witten is the seat of the City Council and a majority of the city council of the city of Witten . The town hall , completed in 1926, is registered as a monument in the city's list of monuments.
history
In 1862 the city of Witten bought a private house built in 1850 , which served as the first town hall and was redesigned several times over the years. The largest renovation work took place in 1893. An additional floor and a speaking balcony were added and the town hall was rebuilt.
In 1907 the magistrate decided to build a new building for the savings bank , council and administration. However, the plans for the savings bank and town hall were soon separated. After long discussions about the location of the new town hall, the magistrate decided in 1910 to build the building on Brinkmann'schen Platz . In 1912, the city held an architectural competition for which 73 entries were made. The first prize went to Otto Kuhlmann . The winner of the second prize, Heinrich Jennen , was commissioned with the execution . For the new building, Marktstrasse had to be relocated a street width. Shortly after construction began in 1914, the First World War broke out. Construction was stopped and the contract with Jennen ended.
During the war, the town hall construction plans were revised several times by city building officer Georg Bewig . In 1919, the Berlin city planning officer Ludwig Hoffmann assessed the revisions and proposed changes to make some simplifications and adjustments to reflect current tastes. City architect Püschel was commissioned with the execution .
Excavation work began in 1921 . The excavated earth was removed by the Westphalian tram . In 1922 the excavation work was finished. This was followed by the foundation - and concrete work. At the turn of the year 1922/23 the main building was in the shell . In 1923/24 the town hall was gradually occupied in order to prevent it from being confiscated by the French administration during the occupation of the Ruhr . The town hall cellar was leased for the first time as a restaurant in 1925 .
Excavation work for the town hall tower began in 1925. Prof. Langer from the Düsseldorf Art Academy was commissioned with the design . His proposal for a five-meter-high statue was, however, too expensive for the city in its economic situation at the time. Instead, the tower was closed with a temporary structure made of copper sheet , which has not yet been replaced. 1926 went Clock Tower of Mix & Genest in operation, the interior work has been completed and completed the wing with Mark Tower.
In 1938, the city again held an architectural competition for the extension of the town hall and the design of the surrounding area, including a new building for the Sparkasse. The planning was never carried out. In 1944 a bombardment destroyed almost the entire city center. The north wing of the town hall was also destroyed.
In the early 1950s, a town hall extension was built along the main street.
From 1955 to 1968 the city library was also housed in the town hall.
In 1978 there was again an architectural competition for an extension of the town hall.
literature
- Michael Zirbel: The town hall in Witten. History and moment . 1st edition. Märkische Druckerei und Verlagsanstalt Aug. Pott, Witten, ISBN 3-920611-17-9 .
- Michael Zirbel: The town hall in Witten . In: VOHM (Hrsg.): Year book of the association for local and local history in the county of Mark . tape 91 . Witten 1993, p. 99-130 .
- Friedrich Blome: New town hall . In: 40 years of the Witten city administration. April 1, 1899 to March 31, 1939 . Witten ( online ( memento of May 21, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on March 22, 2017]).
- Heinrich Schoppmeyer : Witten. History of the village, town and suburbs . tape 2 . VOHM , Witten 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-040266-1 .
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 26 '24.8 " N , 7 ° 20' 7.6" E