Government building (Aarau)
The government building in Aarau is the seat of the Aargau cantonal government . It is located south of the old town on the Upper Suburb, which leads past the building to the east. The government building was built between 1811 and 1834 as a result of the renovation and expansion of the previously existing Löwen inn, but people moved into it as early as 1819. Aargauerplatz is located in front of the main front on the north side. Facing the rear south facade is erected 1826/28 Grossrat building , the seat of Canton Parliament . The Aargauer Kunsthaus is to the west of the government building, the Aargauer Cantonal Library to the southwest and the Obere Mühle to the north on the opposite side of the street .
history
When the Canton of Aargau was founded in 1803, it faced the problem that it did not own suitable buildings for its government. The city of Aarau offered the government its town hall as a temporary seat, while the city administration temporarily settled in the Haus zum Schlossgarten and in 1804 moved into the building at Pelzgasse 19 (today's guild room ). Those in charge were aware that these were only temporary solutions until a permanent government building could be built and occupied. The government considered the Löwen inn in front of the city to be a suitable building site, as its owner, Christof Locher, had to pledge it to the cantonal finance commission on March 6, 1805. In 1807 the inn was finally owned by the state.
In January 1811, the cantonal government decided to build the government building. Both a conversion of the inn and a new building on the same property came into question. Cantonal master builder J. Schneider was commissioned to work out different variants, which were then submitted to the architects Hans Caspar Escher and Johann Daniel Osterrieth for assessment. The experts spoke out in favor of the variant that provided for the maintenance of the inn as a central section, supplemented by two transverse side wings.
Construction of the foundations of the west wing could still begin in 1811 and the west wing was under roof in late autumn. The construction of the east wing turned out to be more difficult, on the one hand for political reasons, on the other hand because it was not possible to agree on the design of the large council hall. The problem was only solved in 1823 with the decision to build a separate building for the cantonal parliament.
The west wing, which houses the government rooms, was moved into in 1819. The roof structure of the east wing was erected in October 1824. All rooms in the east wing were ready for occupancy in 1826. In 1830 the balcony, previously supported by consoles , was placed on pillars in front of the central projection. Finally, in 1834, the fountain with the dolphin in the arched niche under the entrance stairs was completed. It took 23 years to complete the government building.
building
The middle part of the building is the former Gasthof Löwen, which was built in 1739 in place of a previous wooden building. It was a stately patrician house in the Louis XV style , the first of its kind in Aarau. A French ornamental garden had been laid out behind it . The original decoration on the outer walls of the old building was almost completely removed. Only part of the stucco ceiling in the stairwell made by Johann Ulrich Schnetzler in 1741 has been preserved from its interior . The former ground floor is now the first floor, as the terrace that originally surrounded the whole house has been removed.
A transverse side building was added to the old building on both sides so that the floor plan of the entire building resembles a double T. In front of the main entrance, which is still in the same place as the old building, stairs lead up from street level, which were built between the two side wings. Today's ground floor is visually clearly separated from the two upper floors. On the ground floor, the windows are inserted as round arch niches that reach down to the floor. The windows on the two upper floors, on the other hand, are rectangular, and there is a cornice crowning over the windows on the first floor of the new building . At the center risalit of the old building there is a balcony supported by four columns.
A vaulted bridge leads from the rear to the Grand Council building, as the rear has also been lowered and two low outbuildings have been added to the supporting walls.
literature
- Michael Stettler: The art monuments of the canton of Aargau . Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History . Volume I, districts of Aarau, Kulm, Zofingen. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1948, p. 68-75 .
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 23 '24.4 " N , 8 ° 2' 43.3" E ; CH1903: 645 811 / two hundred forty-eight thousand nine hundred eighty-six