Villa Windthorst
The Villa Windthorst is a neo-Gothic villa built between 1882 and 1886 on the Moritzberg of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony , which including the garden is largely preserved in its original substance and is a listed building.
location and size
The Villa Windthorst is located at Bergstrasse 22-24, in the Moritzberg district , which is located west of the city center of Hildesheim . The property covers an area of 4443 m². In the north it borders on Bergstrasse , in the east on the Am Bergbrunnen square, in the south on the Große Steuer and in the west on Stiftskirchenweg. Above the property is the St. Mauritius Church , adjacent to the Moritzberg primary school from 1900.
The villa is a local part-defining building in an exposed location on the Moritzberg and is located at the top of the mountain road on a steep slope with a wide view of Hildesheim. A sandstone wall up to 5.5 meters high and approx. 260 meters long surrounds the property and emphasizes the island location in the historically marked district.
The plot of land before the villa was built
According to tradition, Bishop Godehard had a chapel dedicated to St. Mauritius built on the highest point of the Moritzberg. After his death, his entrails were buried here, and with the canonization of Godehard in the 12th century, the name Godehard Chapel became established. There is evidence of the existence of the Godehard Chapel on the basis of archival documents.
There were two churches on Moritzberg, the Mauritius Church for the members of the monastery and the Margaret Church for the common population as a parish church. The Godehard Chapel was located directly between the two churches.
During excavations in 1950, Josef Bohland uncovered foundations on the plot of the Villa Windthorst on the elevation southwest of the villa in today's orchard, which probably belonged to the Margaret Church, possibly also to the Godehard Chapel. The chapel was destroyed by Brunswick troops in the Thirty Years' War in 1632, along with the colleges and mountain houses.
The Margaret Church, rebuilt in 1650, stood until the beginning of the 19th century, after which the Mauritius Church was elevated to a parish church and the Margaret Church was closed in 1812, torn down and its foundation filled with earth.
The place where she had stood became Kaplangarten. The former cemetery, which had been laid out for the parish church of St. Margaret, remained accessible. This is the property of today's "Villa Windthorst". The wall refers to the cemetery, the remainder of which encompasses part of the southern enclosure of the property. This was subsequently increased by Amtsrat Koch.
History of the villa
On June 12, 1882, the Margaretenkirche property at Bergstrasse 89 came into the possession of master bricklayer Adolf Barth, who, according to the land register, undertook not to build “either a house or any other building” on the sexton garden. The neighboring property was already owned by the Barth family at that time and was merged with the new acquisition in 1887. Architect and master builder Barth († 1885) began building the villa in 1882, but had overestimated himself considerably with the construction, especially with the blasting work in the rocky subsoil for the foundation. He got into financial difficulties.
Out of gratitude for the successful work of the center politician Ludwig Windthorst in 1881 for the independence of Moritzberg from Hildesheim, several associations were formed that wanted to give him the villa as a gift; However, this refused and asked for the funds already collected to be used for the Marienkirche in Hanover. Despite great public interest, the house could therefore not be sold at a profit.
Barth was forced to have the property with the still unfinished house foreclosed in 1885. Wilhelm Laufköter, a merchant from Hildesheim, was awarded the contract. He commissioned the architects Schulz, Freckmann and Wening to complete the villa, which took place in 1886, and moved in with his family in 1891.
After Laufköter's death, the royal councilor Rudolph Koch acquired the residence in 1910, which he gave to his wife on their 25th wedding anniversary. He had the villa renovated and modernized, including a connection to the central water supply as well as electricity and gas. The surrounding walls of the property were raised. He lived in the house with his wife and daughter Marie.
Developments on the Moritzberg after completion of the construction
The Villa Windthorst still forms the upper end point and optical conclusion of the mountain road. The facade facing the Bergstrasse and the city is decorated with decorative elements. The Moritzberg elementary school was built on the neighboring property in 1900, obstructing the view to the south-east.
The Moritzberg was largely spared during the Second World War. The window panes in the villa broke during the air raid on Hildesheim. Only a large window in the hallway still shows the original colorful glazing.
The naming
The villa bears its name in honor of the leader of the Center Party, Ludwig Windthorst, although he never lived in or owned it. It was supposed to be a gift from the citizens as a thank you for preventing the town of Hildesheim from incorporating the Moritzberg monastery in 1881. It was thanks to his objection in the Reichstag that Moritzberg was able to maintain its independence. However, Windthorst refused the gift and did not even look at the villa.
Building description
The Villa Windthorst was built between 1882 and 1886 and belongs to the historicist style. It was built from red brick and sandstone in the style of the Hanover School , which was regionally influential from 1880 onwards. The neo-Gothic building also echoes the Romanesque design language in the emphasized horizontal structure of the cubic structure, possibly inspired by the formative Romanesque buildings in Hildesheim. The floor plan, like the facade, is asymmetrical, which is typical of the neo-Gothic style. Due to the elevated position, the building looks very imposing.
The facade of red bricks with decorative elements of yellow sandstone follows a yellow sandstone plinth. It is divided by a central risalite and a tower-like bay window, which originally had a pointed helmet roof, but which has been removed. The facade is richly modeled with balconies, the large tracery rosette in the gable, pointed arched windows , friezes and various ornaments made of sandstone.
The finial on the gable of the villa is typical of the top of Gothic roofs. It consists of sandstone and is formed from leaves arranged in a cross shape. A circle of five leaves develops into a smaller circle of five leaves, from which a rounded tip protrudes. At the base of the pediment, a mythical creature is attached on both sides, with its head pointing outwards. The animal has a distorted dog's head, its wider body resembles that of a dragon and ends in a tail with a flower tip.
Monument protection
According to Section 1 of the Lower Saxony Monument Protection Act (NDSchG), cultural monuments must be “protected, maintained and scientifically researched.” Due to their “historical, artistic, scientific or urban development importance, there is a public interest” in their preservation.
The Villa Windthorst is listed as an overall object of a group of structures according to § 3 paragraph 3 of the NDSchG, which includes the "individual monuments villa and garden with structures as well as the components of the former farm building and detection wall with garden portal".
In 2002, its owner was awarded the Prize for Monument Preservation of the Lower Saxony Sparkasse Foundation.
Todays use
With the opening of the garden in 2012, the villa has been participating in the annual Moritzberg mountain festival . Light artists turned the villa into an object of light art with a light installation . The garden gates were already opened in previous years for viewing on the Open Monument Day and when collaborating with the Hildesheim City Theater in the 2009 season.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annemarie and Andreas Böhm: Churches, monasteries and chapels. A little art guide . Bernward Verlag, Verlag August Lax, Hildesheim 1989, p. 64 .
- ↑ Annemarie and Andreas Böhm: Churches, monasteries and chapels . Bernward, Hildesheim 1991, ISBN 3-87065-590-9 , p. 84 .
- ^ Ecclesiastical guide for the Catholics in Hildesheim-Moritzberg . Kornacherische Druckerei, Hildesheim 1914, p. 26th f .
- ↑ The Secret of the Orchard. A Godehards chapel discovered under the lawn . In: City and Country. Supplement to the Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung . Hildesheim May 27, 1950.
- ↑ William Ridhen: The St. Margaret Church in Moritz Mountains. For its 900 year inauguration . S. 171 (no year).
- ^ Heinrich Wilhelm Caspary: Exchange Contract, § 1 . 06/12/1882. Certified copy, Sauer private collection.
- ↑ Anke Twachtmann-Schlichter: City of Hildesheim (= monument topography Federal Republic of Germany . Architectural monuments in Lower Saxony. Vol. 14.1. Publications of the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation ). Niemeyer, Hameln 2007, pp. 176–177.
- ^ A b Regina Viereck: The Villa Windthorst on Moritzberg - a historical building on historical ground . In: Hildesheimer Heimatkalender: Yearbook for Art and Science in the Hildesheimer Land . Publishing house Gebrüder Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1997, p. 60-64, p. 63 .
- ↑ Günther Kokkelink: Architecture in Northern Germany, Architecture and Crafts of the Hanover School 1850-1900 . Schlütersche, 1998, p. 155 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 8 '52.1 " N , 9 ° 55' 36.4" E