Red townhall

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Red townhall
View of the Red City Hall from the park at the television tower

View of the Red City Hall from the park at the television tower

Data
place Berlin center
builder Hermann Friedrich Waesemann
Client Magistrate of Berlin
Architectural style Round arch style
Construction year 1861-1869
height 27 m, tower 74 m
Floor space 8720 m²
Coordinates 52 ° 31 '7 "  N , 13 ° 24' 30"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '7 "  N , 13 ° 24' 30"  E
particularities
Bronze sculptures of Frederick I and William I removed from the main entrance around 1950

The Red Town Hall is the seat of the Governing Mayor , the Senate Chancellery and the conference venue of the Senate of Berlin . It is located at Rathausstrasse 15 in the Mitte district . It was built from 1861 to 1871 according to plans by Hermann Friedrich Waesemann in the arched style as the seat of the mayor , the city ​​council and the city ​​council of Berlin. Its name goes back to the red brick facade .

Location and surroundings

Location of the town hall and the old town hall in the old town of Berlin (buildings marked in red)
View of the town hall from the Berlin TV tower
Thorn town hall as a possible source of architectural inspiration
Bricklayer building the Red City Hall ,
Theodor Hosemann , 1861

The Red Town Hall is surrounded by Rathausstrasse (northwest), Jüdenstrasse (northeast), Gustav-Böß-Strasse (southeast) and Spandauer Strasse (southwest). The generous clearing of old Berlin during the GDR era around 1950 led to large open spaces around the Red Town Hall. From the late 1960s onwards, the areas were partially filled by the park at the television tower , the Rathauspassagen and in the 1980s by the Marx-Engels-Forum and the Nikolaiviertel . Since the beginning of the 21st century , the urban development administration of Berlin has referred to the Marx-Engels-Forum and the park at the television tower collectively as the Rathausforum , but the facility has no official name. The majority of the area has theoretical protection until 2030 in this form. The intersection of the main axes of the television tower and the town hall has been marked by the Neptune Fountain, which originally stood in front of the city ​​palace , since 1969 .

Immediately in front of the Rotes Rathaus, the Rotes Rathaus underground station has been under construction since 2013 . This is part of the extension of the underground line 5 from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate , the construction of which began in 2010 and which is to be opened in 2020 [obsolete] . The construction work was preceded by archaeological excavations which uncovered the unexpectedly well-preserved remains of the medieval Berlin town hall , the town hall tower and the court arbor. Large parts of it are to be preserved and presented in the future in the form of an archaeological window .

history

Before today's council building was built, Karl Friedrich Schinkel presented a series of renovation plans for the old town hall around 1817. These presumably did not meet the requirements of the municipal building deputation, because in 1857/1858 they announced a competition for a completely new town hall building, “a monument worthy of the importance of the city” was to be created. Well-known architects had submitted designs, including Friedrich von Schmidt (who planned the Vienna City Hall ), Eduard Knoblauch and Ernst Klingenberg as well as Friedrich Adler , Hermann Nicolai and Robert Cremer . The builders mentioned received prizes for their designs, but no construction took place afterwards. In 1859 , the Prussian Royal Building Councilor Hermann Friedrich Waesemann received the order for the building based on his own designs. In line with the ideas of the council, he incorporated some of the competition's ideas.

The construction was carried out in two stages from 1860 to 1865 and from 1865 to 1871. First, the builders erected the base made of Silesian granite , which was faced with red clinker bricks, for the two parts of the building along Jüdenstrasse and Königstrasse. After the old town hall had been carefully demolished, the remaining parts of the building followed. The source of inspiration for the architectural design of the facade could have been the medieval town hall of the city of Thorn in West Prussia with its blind arches and the massive tower made of brick. Other sources name influences of the Northern Italian Renaissance on the facades. The architecture of the tower was based on the towers of the cathedral of Laon in France . The first council meeting in the new building took place on June 30, 1865, and the city council met here for the first time on January 6, 1870. At that time, however, the artistic furnishings of the rooms and corridors had not yet been completed. With the inauguration of the festive rooms at the reception for the members of the first German Reichstag on the occasion of the adoption of the Imperial Constitution , the town hall was considered completed on April 17, 1871.

The building replaced a building that was partly from the Middle Ages and took up an almost square street block formed by acquisitions. The medieval court arbor , part of the old town hall , was only demolished in 1871. Heinrich Strack used original parts for an identical copy erected in Park Babelsberg . The final construction costs for the new council building amounted to more than ten million marks, as a target only three million had been planned. In 1882 a telephone system was installed in the building. Between 1902 and 1911 the town hall, which had become too small for the myriad of administrative tasks, was relieved by the construction of the town hall on Molkenmarkt , for some time also known as the New Town Hall .

The formation of Greater Berlin in 1921 resulted in a careful renovation of the city council hall for 225 city councilors by Ludwig Hoffmann . According to Hoffmann, Waesemann had created the town hall, one of the “most beautiful and proudest buildings in Berlin, a work of a piece”. During the time of National Socialism, city ​​councilors no longer met in the Rotes Rathaus; the last meeting took place on March 12, 1933. In their hall there were now 45 councilors who were only allowed to exercise advisory functions. From 1934 a state commissioner was assigned to the mayor . Both offices were passed on to the mayor in 1936 . From 1934 to 1938 the building was renovated again. The city fathers announced that it would be "adapted to the spirit of the Third Reich". The architect was Richard Ermisch . By removing massive parapets and a new color scheme, the staircase was given a lighter design, Max Esser created a fountain for the vestibule at the end of the staircase and the bronze "Olympic Fountain " by Hanna Cauer came in front of the town hall in 1936 for the Olympics .

The first loss in the Second World War was in 1940 when the bronze fountain was given up for the “ metal donation of the German people ”. In November 1943, an air raid destroyed the ballroom. This was followed by damage from further air raids in autumn 1944 and on February 3, 1945. On April 22, Soviet artillery fire hit the house, which had been one-third damaged by then. Substance damages the tower and the wing on the road behind the town hall had suffered. The library room burned down on May 12, 1945. As early as the end of May, employees began repairs to the house, which was now about 50 percent destroyed. The councilor's hall and the ballroom had suffered particularly severe damage. The Berlin magistrate, the city council and the mayor therefore had their seat in the new town hall on Parochialstrasse . In 1947 he arranged for the undamaged bronze statues of King Frederick I and Kaiser Wilhelm I to be removed from the main entrance.

Reconstruction is in full swing, 1953

From 1951 to 1956 the Red Town Hall was restored for the East Berlin City Council according to plans by the architect Fritz Meinhardt . The exterior was largely true to the original. Roof surfaces, destroyed parts of the facade as well as parts of the tower and the “Stone Chronicle” were replaced. Inside the town hall, Meinhardt only left the main staircase, which had remained largely undamaged, unchanged. Administration and representative rooms were completely redesigned, especially on the first floor. The construction work was under the responsibility of the design office for structural engineering I. 500,000 hard-fired bricks in 920 different formats were used, manufactured in the VEB brickworks Großräschen for the strongly structured fronts. The sculptor Richard Schnauder made the models for the renewal of the balcony parapets . The building was officially re-inaugurated on November 30, 1955. When the keys were handed over to the Lord Mayor Friedrich Ebert , the contracted construction worker Max Körper announced: “One day all of Berlin will be administered from here”.

The first meeting of the city council at its new seat took place on November 30, 1956 in the rebuilt Red City Hall. As a result of the division of Germany and the associated division of the city, the city hall housed the magistrate, the city council and the mayor of East Berlin. The West Berlin Senate was located in Schöneberg Town Hall until 1991 . On October 1, 1991, as predicted by Max Körper, the administration of the reunified Berlin returned to the Red City Hall. Since then it has served as the seat of the Berlin Senate and the Governing Mayor. The Berlin House of Representatives meets in the building of the former Prussian House of Representatives .

From 2005 to 2006 the structure of the tower was renewed. During the one-year renovation , the clock faces of the tower clock were given a new gold plating.

Since June 2010, a photovoltaic system with 160 solar modules (centrosolar) installed by the Berlin Energy Agency has been generating around 36,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year on the flat roof of the building  .

Architecture and architectural decorations

General structure and facades

The building consists of four wings over a square floor plan with side lengths of 99 m × 99 m. They enclose three open courtyards. One of the courtyards was given a glass roof in the 2000s and is often used for larger receptions. The facades of the four facades are with narrow sides projections and the more structured a wide Mittelrisaliten. At the corners of Jüdenstrasse and Spandauer Strasse, the risalites are completed with polygonal corner towers. The entire building is crowned with a surrounding main cornice with an attic . The height of the building up to this point is 27 meters. The fronts to Rathausstrasse and Gustav-Böß-Strasse have arched window niches that encompass the first and second floors. A large portal niche forms the main entrance to the council building. There were originally bronze sculptures in the niches to the side of the main portal. The left sculpture by the sculptor Erdmann Encke represented King Friedrich I , the right one King Wilhelm I from the workshop of Karl Keil . The niches have been empty since 1947.

Some parts of the facade are decorated with allegorical figures, ornaments and also a Berlin coat of arms, which were modeled by Ferdinand August Fischer .

Terracotta fries

Detail of the facade with terracotta relief number 29: Recirculation of the Quadriga of the Brandenburg Gate

The sculptural decoration on the surrounding balcony at the level of the first floor is unusual. The terracotta frieze (also known as the Stone Chronicle ) made up of 36 relief panels each 4 x 6 meters with events in the history of Berlin and Brandenburg from the 12th century to the founding of the Empire in 1871 was created between 1876 and 1879 by Ludwig Brodwolf , Alexander Calandrelli , Otto Geyer and designed by Rudolf Schweinitz .

tower

The height of the tower chosen by the architect (measuring 74 meters to the parapet and 94 meters to the top) is considered by historians to be a "sign of the bourgeois pride of the Berliners in the 19th century" because it was higher than the dome of the Berlin City Palace .

With its canopy-like appearance and loosened corners, the town hall tower also determines the city's silhouette. It has a floor plan of around 12 meters by 13 meters, and 375 steps lead up to the plateau. The tower is emphasized horizontally by sandstone columns and pilasters . On each side of the tower there are heraldic animals made of colored glazed clay in small oriels, a total of eight bears , which were created according to designs by Friedrich Wilhelm Wolff .

The large round tower clock was supplied by Johann Mannhardt from Mannheim . The original tower clock, which was renewed after the war, has four dials, each 4.75 meters in diameter, with a forward blacksmithing and a two-meter-long minute hand and a 1.30-meter long hour hand. For this purpose, a tower bell was installed, which  sounds every quarter of an hour with the chime C, the hour chime is coordinated with the tone D. In 1894 allegorical figures were placed in the four corner niches of the tower . They show fishing (sculptor Adolf Brütt ), shipping (sculptor Ernst Herter ), trade (sculptor Peter Breuer ) and agriculture (sculptor Otto Geyer ).

The tower is not used, so that peregrine falcons could settle here . Otherwise it would be conceivable to open it up as a lookout tower.

Interior

Stairs, representative rooms and more

Entrance hall from Rathausstrasse

On the ground floor and on the first floor there is the entrance hall with staircase, the vestibule, the foyer, cloakrooms, the city council meeting room (today the Wappensaal , which shows the coats of arms of all 20 Berlin city districts in the 1950s), the dining room, the columned hall with the Gallery, the vestibule in front of the mayor's rooms.

In the foyer there is a glass showcase in which the current Golden Book is openly presented. Since the honorary guest book was introduced in 1918, numerous prominent visitors have entered it, including many politicians, scientists, artists and athletes. Currently (as of 2018) the ninth such book is already in use, the previous ones are either stored in archives or directly in the town hall. A calligrapher prepares the relevant text before the guests sign . Further showcases contain selected honorary gifts from high state guests.

The stairs are made of black syenite . Some of the inner pillars of the building are made of cast iron , many pillars and pillars are made of sandstone , often covered with stucco marble ( stucco lustro ). The new radiators received ornate wrought iron grilles from the workshop of Fritz Kühn , who also made the window grilles on Rathausstrasse from scratch.

Ballroom with the painting “Berlin Congress” by Anton von Werner , until 1990 without painting a conference room of the East Berlin city ​​council with the name Great Hall

Numerous well-known artists were involved in the design of the representation rooms in an advisory or practical role, including Hugo Vogel and Georg Bleibtreu . The last brushstrokes were not made until the 1890s. They had painted historical scenes on the walls that have not existed since the reconstruction in the 1950s. The murals in the magistrate's meeting room showed larger-than-life painted Prussian regents in appropriate robes and decorated with imperial insignia. After the city of Berlin to also be the opening of the ballroom imaginary reception at the end of the Berlin Congress had to because of an assassination attempt on Kaiser Wilhelm I cancel, mayor gave Hermann Duncker the history painter Anton von Werner commissioned congress participants at their last meeting in the Palais Schulenburg to to paint. The large oil painting adorned the ballroom in a specially made display frame until it was moved to a room without public traffic during the Nazi era. After 1945 initially Soviet looted art , it was stored after being returned to the GDR. In the course of the redesign, it will be shown again at the old place. Today's columned hall originally housed the council library.

Workrooms

Office of the Governing Mayor

Up until the 20th century, the town hall also contained the mayor's official apartment , for the completion of which additional financing was necessary.

There are 38 offices on the second and third floors. There is a conference room on the second floor and finally two conference rooms on the third floor, the cabinet of representatives, a dining room and a number of office rooms. The dining room offers 170 seats and has been operated by the non-profit Union of Social Institutions (USE) since 2004 .

The town hall has a total of 252 offices and 15 meeting and event rooms.

basement, cellar

In all town halls built earlier, there was a restaurant in the basement, mostly called a council cellar . The Council Drinking Room or the Bernauer Keller were often meeting places for councilors in a party mood. The name after the city of Bernau came about because of the Bernauer beer served here . The new Ratskeller extended parallel to Königstrasse the full width of the building. He opened his rooms and ancillary rooms on October 5, 1869. The artists involved in the design also met here. The restaurant , a wine and beer bar, was also open to all Berliners and was well attended. After the damage in the Second World War, the Ratskeller was restored and reopened in 1964 with five dining rooms. Its centerpiece, the octagonal pub, lay directly under the town hall tower with the massive support pillar in the middle that supports the town hall tower. The foundation stone for the building was laid here in 1861. In 1991 the Ratskeller was closed. It is now a canteen that is also regularly open to the public. It is also supplied by USE and primarily offers down-to-earth German cuisine. Frequent users are seniors from the neighboring facilities and houses as well as tourists.

In the basement there is also a 500 square meter warehouse, which contains original building blocks, gemstones such as ornaments, rosettes and panels with the Berlin bear and the Brandenburg eagle, as well as casting templates. These valuable construction elements (estimated value two million euros ) serve to be able to quickly restore parts of the building after destruction by storms or simply by falling out due to the weather.

Works of art and structural changes from the 20th century

During the reconstruction, the planners removed or waived the statues, busts and giant paintings of the Hohenzollerns, they were "dusty relics of bygone eras". Other sculptures were given new locations, such as the depiction of The Spree (Sprea) by the sculptor Jeremias Christensen , which has been in the Berlin Zoo since 1955 .

At the same time, a false ceiling was put in over the former council chamber and the great vestibule. This is how new office rooms and the mayor's representative rooms were created with the window front facing Rathausstrasse. The magistrate's meeting room was moved to the first floor above the entrance on Jüdenstrasse. The previous room was not well received by the members of the magistrate. In a description of the city counsel Friedrich Lange in 1920 it was said: “An unfriendly, dark, musty room with antediluvian heating columns, without any ventilation, the burdensome impression of which is reinforced by the larger than life oil paintings of former Hohenzollern and Lord Mayors on the walls. Maintaining tradition does not need to be linked to false thrift and tasteless lack of culture. The whole thing fits in with the barracked stairs and hallways of the house. "

See also

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Red City Hall monument in the monument database
  2. ^ City Hall Forum . Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, accessed on December 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ Architecture of the GDR remains: The historical center is not coming - at least until 2030. In: Der Tagesspiegel , August 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ Closing the gap. BVG
  5. ↑ Printed matter 17/10598. (PDF; 38 kB) Berlin House of Representatives, July 11, 2012, accessed on January 23, 2012 .
  6. ^ Löschburg: Town Hall ... p. 10.
  7. ^ A b c Institute for the Preservation of Monuments (ed.): The architectural and art monuments of the GDR. Capital Berlin-I . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1984, p. 31 ff .
  8. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 10/11.
  9. ↑ Since then, a memorial plaque in the large courtyard reminds of this; Ingrid Bartmann-Kompa: The Berlin City Hall . Henschel Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-362-00611-6 , p. 77.
  10. ↑ a b c Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 12.
  11. ^ A b Horst Ulrich, Uwe Prell, Ernst Luuk: Berlin City Hall. In: Berlin Handbook. The lexicon of the federal capital. FAB-Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-927551-27-9 , p. 109.
  12. ↑ Quoted from Ingrid Bartmann-Kompa: Das Berliner Rathaus . Henschel Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-362-00611-6 , p. 86.
  13. ^ Ingrid Bartmann-Kompa: The Berlin City Hall . Henschel Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-362-00611-6 , p. 87.
  14. ↑ For the conversions see Ingrid Bartmann-Kompa: Das Berliner Rathaus . Henschel Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-362-00611-6 , pp. 86-89.
  15. ^ Ingrid Bartmann-Kompa: The Berlin City Hall . Henschel Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-362-00611-6 , p. 92.
  16. ↑ Red City Hall monument
  17. ↑ Masterfully restored. In: Neue Zeit , November 29, 1980, p. 6
  18. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 22/23.
  19. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... pp. 20, 27.
  20. ^ Horst Ulrich, Uwe Prell, Ernst Luuk: Berlin Handbook . 1992, p. 108.
  21. ↑ Tower renovation of the Berlin City Hall successfully completed . ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. BIM - Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH, February 24, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bim-berlin.de
  22. ↑ Zeitschrift für Bauwesen 1875 ; Atlas with pictures; Pp. 41/42 and 66. Verlag Ernst und Sohn; accessed on April 23, 2015.
  23. ↑ a b c Sights . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1883, part 4, p. 168.
  24. ↑ a b c d e f g h Stefan Strauss: Open house and closed society . In: Berliner Zeitung , 6./7. October 2018, p. 5 f. (Print edition).
  25. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 31.
  26. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 30/31
  27. ^ Heinrich Falkenberg: Guide through the Berlin Ratskeller . 1922.
  28. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 13/14.
  29. ↑ Bierstube im octagon . In: Berliner Zeitung , February 17, 1964, p. 6
  30. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 23.
  31. ^ Löschburg: Berlin City Hall ... p. 24.