Reichsbank (Leipzig)

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Johann Sebastian Bach Music School (2010), formerly the Reichsbank headquarters

The building of the former Reichsbank headquarters at Petersstrasse 43 in Leipzig was built for the Leipzig branch of the central bank of the German Reich , which was based in Berlin . After being used by other financial institutions, the house has been the home of the Leipzig "Johann Sebastian Bach" music school since 1999 . The building is a historical monument.

architecture

The main building is a three-story building in the neo-renaissance style . It has eleven window axes on its long side facing Schillerstrasse, and three on the narrow side facing Petersstrasse. The ground floor has richly decorated arched windows . The windows on the first floor are framed by columns with a horizontal lintel . A small balcony with a balustrade is indicated in front of the five middle windows . The windows on the second floor have a gable-like decoration on the lintel. An acanthus frieze with lions' heads extends under the cantilevered eaves , interrupted by small horizontal windows.

The facade of the neighboring two-story shop extension is adapted to that of the main building, but kept more simple. Behind this is a courtyard area accessible from Peterskirchhof street with an outbuilding.

history

The floor plan at the time of creation
Reichsbank headquarters around 1890

Until 1885 the old Peterskirche stood on the site of the Reichsbank . Due to the rapid increase in the city's population, the New Peterskirche was built on Schletterplatz from 1882 to 1885 and was consecrated on December 27, 1885. On January 2, 1886, the demolition of the old church began and immediately afterwards the construction of the Reichsbank building according to plans by the Berlin architect Max Hasak (1856–1934). The building was completed in 1887.

Although the main building along Schillerstraße would have been sufficient for the purposes of the Reichsbank, a one-story shop was built next to the narrow side on Petersstraße, as well as the courtyard area and another outbuilding behind it, because the city had only approved the sale of the property on the condition that the entire property is built on.

The main building had the functional units on the ground floor with the public area (bank room) in the middle, the cash desks on the left and the accounting department on the right. Four apartments were located on the upper floors, two for the board of directors and two with a separate entrance from Schillerstrasse for renting. The vault was in the rear annex . This had two floors about three meters high. Its walls, ceiling and floor were made of clinker masonry with cement mortar and were 64 cm thick. Flat irons were inserted into the joints of the wall to the neighboring property. Windows and doors were secured by bars or safe doors. Next door was the caretaker's apartment, in whose bedroom sound pipes led from the vault. The money was stored in sacks on wooden shelves protected with fire-proof paint.

The “Kaffee-Richter” coffee roastery was located in the shop from the very beginning and has developed into a Leipzig institution. Also Arko called after the acquisition of the business its subsidiary still Kaffee Richter . As early as 1900 the store was increased by one floor.

After a brief conversion of the Reichsbank main office into the Stadtbank Leipzig in July 1945, which was carried out by Soviet orders, this was handled from August by the Sächsische Landesbank , which set up its Leipzig branch in the building. From 1948 this was taken over by the German Central Bank , which in 1968 became the State Bank of the GDR . After the fall of the Wall, the building went to the Bundesbank via the Treuhandanstalt .

In 1999 the Leipzig Music School, which has been owned by the city since 1996 , moved into the former bank building as a tenant. Before moving in, the Bundesbank had the building converted for the new purpose. In 2007, the city of Leipzig bought the building from the Bundesbank, thereby securing long-term accommodation for the music school.

literature

  • Association of Leipzig Architects and Engineers (ed.): Leipzig and its buildings 1842–1892. JM Gebhardt's Verlag, Leipzig 1892. Reprint: saxoniabuch Dresden 2014, pp. 140–142
  • Peter Schwarz: Millennial Leipzig . From the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century. 1st edition. tape 2 . Pro Leipzig, Leipzig 2014, ISBN 978-3-945027-05-9 , pp. 483 .

Web links

Commons : Reichsbank / Music School  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ List of cultural monuments in the center of Leipzig
  2. ↑ Branch overview. In: arko website. Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
  3. ^ Reichsbank main office in Leipzig with branches. In: Archives Saxony. Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b Chronicle of the Leipzig Music School "Johann Sebastian Bach". Retrieved February 24, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Horst Riedel, Thomas Nabert (ed.): Stadtlexikon Leipzig from A to Z . 1st edition. Pro Leipzig, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-936508-03-8 , pp. 422 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 20 ′ 12.8 "  N , 12 ° 22 ′ 31.1"  E