Werderhaus Berlin

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Werderhaus, facade of the component on Werderstrasse
Werderhaus (marked in red), excerpt from the Pharus city map from 1905
Share over 1000 marks of the Actien-Baugesellschaft Werderscher Mark from 1886

The Werderhaus on Werderschen Markt in Berlin was a commercial building group consisting of five individual buildings, which was built from 1886–1888 based on designs by the architect Alfred Messel . After considerable war damage, the ruin was demolished in 1952. Today the Federal Foreign Office's new building is located here .

Property and surroundings

Previously there were on the complex of land on which the Werderhaus was built

  • in the northern part originally the Friedrichswerder town hall , which burned down in 1794 and was replaced in 1798–1800 by an extension for the Prussian mint, later known as the old coin ,
  • and in the southern part the Princely House , a representative palace that served as a guest house for the Prussian government.

These existing buildings were demolished in the summer of 1886.

To the north of the Werderhaus were two buildings erected by Karl Friedrich Schinkel , the Bauakademie and the Friedrichswerder Church . To the east, the Werderhaus bordered the Neue Münze. To the west, on Werderschen Markt, was the Gerson department store .

Client

The Werderhaus was built by Actien-Baugesellschaft "Werderscher Markt" , founded in 1886 to finance the project , which initially acquired the properties at Werderscher Markt 10 and Werderstrasse 7. The Werderhaus built by the company was the first commercial building designed by Alfred Messel, and Messel was also a board member of the stock corporation.

Building description

The Werderhaus actually consisted of five individual buildings, which is why the plural of “the Werder houses” was also used. This concept should ensure better rentability of the entire facility. The individual houses should meet different needs and be rented separately. The Werderhaus extended in an L-shape along what was then Werderstrasse and on Werder's market. The corner house was cut diagonally and thus offered space for an entrance. The facade decoration came from the sculptors Otto Lessing and Nikolaus Geiger .

  • Werderhaus, facade of the corner building facing Werderchen Markt

  • Werderhaus, ground floor plan

  • New building for the Foreign Office at the same location, view from the northeast (probably from the television tower), 2004

Demolition and today's situation

Like most of its surroundings, the Werderhaus suffered severe damage in the air raids of World War II. Between 1949 and 1952, the ruins of the Neue Münze and the Werderhaus were torn down to make way for a forecourt in front of the extension of the Reichsbank from the 1930s. The Central Committee of the SED resided in the Reichsbank extension between 1949 and 1990 . The Foreign Office has been using the building since 2000 , which has been renovated and expanded at this point by a new building.

literature

  • "Hd." ( Oskar Hossfeld ?): The buildings of the company "Werderscher Markt" in Berlin. In: Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , 9th year 1889, No. 9 (from March 2, 1889), pp. 81–84.
  • Siegfried Ways: Big city with a human dimension. The architect Alfred Messel (1853–1909). In: Berlinische Monatsschrift , year 1999, issue 3.

Web links

Commons : Werderhaus Berlin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 '53 "  N , 13 ° 23' 58"  E