Civil casino Arnsberg

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The civil casino in Arnsberg was built in 1821. It later served, among other things, as the town hall, as the office for agricultural regulations and today houses the occupational safety department of the Arnsberg district government .

The building seen from the Königsstrasse

History and construction

At the Congress of Vienna it was decided that the former Duchy of Westphalia should fall to the Kingdom of Prussia . In 1816 the city of Arnsberg became the seat of a district president. Numerous officials moved to the city, which was greatly expanded as a result. A new district was created with buildings in the classical style . The Prussian state subsidized house construction with building aid. At times, the state paid those willing to build up to 30% of the building costs. The focus was the Neumarkt with the Protestant Church of the Resurrection .

The higher officials of the government, members of the courts and other "educated", who had come together in an "evening party", missed a place where they could meet appropriately. A casino company was therefore founded in 1818 with the aim of buying or building a corresponding building. As a community of shareholders, the company laid the financial basis for the construction.

A large part of the urban upper class at the time participated in the society. In addition to Protestant immigrants, there were also some members of the local Catholic elite. There were also some foreign members. Among the signatories of the "Ciculairs for establishment of a company house" of the provincial government included Friedrich von Bernuth , chief forester of Schwarzkoppen, secret Councilor Maximilian von Weichs , road construction inspector Friedrich Wulff, Hofgerichtsadvokat F. Höyinck, District Franz Anton Thüsing , Ferdinand Hasenclever , Friedrich Adolf Sauerland , Johann Nikolaus Emmerich , Christian Fürst von Hohenlohe, Upper President Ludwig von Vincke , Baron von Fürstenberg and the hotel owner Linhoff. A total of 85 people signed the letter and purchased at least one share of 50 Reichstalers each.

The building should include conversation, reading and play rooms, a ball and concert hall, a billiard room, a wine cellar and a garden with a bowling alley. Those involved hoped to get subsidies for the society house from the state building aid funds. The social conclusion was ensured by the provision that no resident of the city who was not a member of the community was allowed to enter.

The company's building committee, chaired by District Administrator Thüsing and road construction inspector Wulff, submitted an application on November 28, 1818 to lease a plot of land on Neumarkt. For this purpose, a first construction plan and an estimate of the construction costs were submitted. These also amounted to 15,000 Reichstaler . The first construction plans were rejected by the Royal Supreme Building Deputation for safety reasons and replaced by new plans.

The necessary timber was made available in 1819 by the Obereimer Forestry Department at the behest of the government . The costs should be offset against the building aid money. It was estimated that 200,000 bricks would be needed to build. Therefore a brick kiln was set up in Niedereimer . There were also quarry stones. The construction was completed in 1820. It cost 26,000 thalers. The state subsidy was comparatively low at 782 thalers.

The building shapes the southern narrow side of the square. It is a classical eaves construction with a hipped roof. There was a large garden behind the house. This was designed by Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe . A garden house, which is now a listed building, also belonged to this .

As planned, the building became a meeting point for the city's upper class. The house was managed by a tenant called a castellan. Social gatherings and celebrations took place there, including on the birthday of the respective king or emperor. It also served for communication and as a transfer point for information. The society held a wide range of national newspapers and magazines for its members.

Later, Mayor Wilhelm Seissenschmidt , Johann Friedrich Sommer and Johann Suibert Seibertz belonged to the society. The Arnsberg Historical Society was established in the casino. This met there regularly for many decades.

It served as a civil casino until 1936. The number of civil servants had already declined before that. After the war and inflation, society also had to open up to less “class” members in order to survive. After the beginning of the National Socialist rule, the exclusive casino company did not fit in with the popular community . Without support from the top of the government and authorities, the debt increased. In 1936 the casino was foreclosed by auction. A new association called NS-Kameradschaft took over the building and made it the focus of National Socialist party life.

After the war, the building served as the town hall from 1946 to 1975. During this period in particular, it was rebuilt in 1954, 1956, 1965 and 1967 and expanded towards the garden. After the town hall was relocated to Neheim after the municipal reorganization in 1975 , the Office for Agricultural Regulations moved into the house. The government's occupational health and safety department was later housed there. The original old building has been a listed building since 1986.

literature

  • Karl-Heinz Strothmann: The former casino on Neumarkt. In: Heimatblätter of the Arnsberger Heimatbund. Vol. 8 1987, pp. 57-63.
  • Karl Féaux de Lacroix : The Arnsberg casino company 1818-1918. Stein, Arnsberg 1918.
  • Uwe Haltaufderheide: The architectural monuments of the city of Arnsberg. Collection period 1980–1990. City of Arnsberg, Arnsberg 1990, ISBN 3-928394-01-0 , p. 43 f.
  • Hermann Herbold: Arnsberg's citizenship through the ages. In: 750 years of Arnsberg. Strobel, Arnsberg 1989, ISBN 3-87793-025-5 , pp. 259 f.

Coordinates: 51 ° 23 '39.6 "  N , 8 ° 3' 45.7"  E