Ruffini House
The Ruffinihaus , actually a group of three houses (also known as Ruffini houses) at Rindermarkt 10 in Munich's old town, was built by Gabriel von Seidl from 1903 to 1905 . The three-sided house, which borders on Sendlinger and Pettenbeckstraße, stands on the original slope edge of the historic city moat of the first medieval city fortification, as can still be seen today when looking from the southeast. The striking location refers to the transition between the oldest city center and the first city expansion in the 13th century, both in terms of terrain and history.
The name goes back to the family of Johann Baptista Ruffini , whereby the Ruffini tower, also named after the family and demolished in 1808, was the direct namesake. It formed the original Sendlinger Tor and was thus part of the first Munich city fortifications . It stood to the west of today's property and is depicted on a fresco on the facade.
The Munich monument topography describes the building as "romantic, homely atmospheric architecture of the highest level for the interpretation of a historicizing old town that is understood under the picturesque ideal and whose 'upgrading' was sought."
history
In the late Middle Ages, a small-scale development was initially built on the property, which from 1708 or 1721 came into the possession of only two families, Püttrich and Ruffini, which was a unified development with four floors in the Baroque style, which is documented around 1800 erected. There was a large number of small shops in it. As part of a renewed street expansion, the city bought the property in 1898 and announced an architectural competition . Gabriel von Seidl prevailed against the design of a large department store, who proposed a block development under the name “Three Houses”, which gives the impression of a small-scale substance and takes up the individual shops of the previous development.
Building description
The three individual houses with different characters are grouped around a central, triangular courtyard. The varied roof landscape is remarkable, the different designs of which contribute significantly to the structure of the structure and the impression of three independent buildings.
The head building is oriented to the north, the narrow side of which acts as the end of the Rosenstrasse coming from Marienplatz . In the west, the convex façade follows the routing of Sendlinger Strasse, while the wing in the east facing the Rindermarkt has a straight baseline. The two upper floors of the main building have four oriels with a polygonal floor plan on the north and east sides , which are the only elements protruding from the facade. The top floor of the west facade steps back and opens a terrace behind a small balustrade. Above the shop floor with its facade of limestone , a copper-roofed canopy full length protrudes out, under which a groove leaves room for store signs. The eaves of the main block also clearly protrudes and borrows from alpine architecture. The facade of the upper floors is richly decorated with stucco and bas-reliefs designed by Julius Seidler and Philipp Widmer. They show allegories of virtues and professions, as well as symbols for professions and classes, enclosed by cartouches and connected by garlands. Her style also takes up motifs from the rural building forms of the Alpine foothills and mixes them with aspects of old Munich town houses. A fresco by Karl Wahler depicting the historic Ruffini tower is integrated on the east facade . In this building, the entrance hall with groined vaults , the spiral staircase and its wrought-iron grille as well as some original former apartment doors are the only elements of the interior.
The corner house in the southwest is oriented towards the late baroque . The shop window front is structured by round-arched canopies that look like arcades . A bay window with a loggia in the south separates the building from the neighbor. The façades of the first and second floors are structured by pilasters with rich consoles and capitals , which each combine two windows, after a circumferential cornice , the pilasters continue on the third floor. Originally the corner building had two volute gables , which were not rebuilt after the Second World War.
In the southeast, another corner building closes the building complex as the smallest part. The corner itself is clearly emphasized. The ground floor is rounded, the first floor is emphasized by massive stone balconies in front of it, the second by a cornice. The third floor is set back on the respective outer sides to the neighboring buildings and looks so three-dimensional and powerful in the corner area. The steep mansard roof also contributes to this.
Recent history and usage
The Ruffinihaus was damaged in the Second World War in 1944, initially only poorly secured and rebuilt by Erwin Schleich with a few changes in 1954/55 . In 1973, Schleich himself managed another renovation. In 2008/09 renewed work took place. In the former apartments on the upper floors there are offices of the city administration, including the tourism office of the city of Munich. The ground floor is occupied by traditional, small shops. Extensive modernization has been underway since the beginning of 2018, with additional office space for the municipal department being developed in the attic. The shops will reopen after the renovation, and almost all of them have been given a replacement location in the immediate vicinity for the duration of the construction period.
literature
- Heinrich Habel, Johannes Hallinger, Timm Weski (eds.): Monuments in Bavaria - City of Munich: Mitte , Karl M. Lipp Verlag, Munich 2009. ISBN 978-3-87490-586-2 Entry: Rindermarkt 10 , pages 941-943
Web links
- muenchen.de: Ruffinihaus
- sueddeutsche.de: Tour through the Ruffinihaus (picture gallery)
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 10.6 ″ N , 11 ° 34 ′ 24.6 ″ E