The Historical Merchants' Hall (German : Historisches Kaufhaus) is one of the most outstanding buildings in Freiburg im Breisgau. It is situated on the south side of the Minster Square (market square around the Freiburg Minster). It stands out clearly due to its dominant red facade.
The first municipal merchants' hall in Freiburg was built in the 14th century as a custom office. It was situated in the Schusterstraße and mentioned in 1378 for the first time in an official document. The building has retained in its present-day form since 1520. At that time the back of the original building was extended and became the new front facing the market square and Freiburg Minster. The building was completed in 1532. The architect of the building is not known, but it is assumed to be Lienhardt Müller (from Ettlingen).
In later years, the merchants' hall underwent multiple modifications. In 1550 a balcony was added, in 1744 the merchants hall needed to be rebuilt due to bomb damage, in 1814 the facade was changed, in 1884 the building was remodeled according to the prevailing taste of the time. In 1924 the changes of 1884 were undone. Its contemporary state dated back to the extensive renovations which it underwent in 1988.
From 1946 to 1947 the building served as the office of the Beratende Landesversammlung (precursor of the Baden Parliament with the task of drawing up the constitution of Baden). From 1947 to 1951 the historical merchants hall served as a legislative building for the South Baden state.
The striking building with its crimson paint and extensive decoration, is situated with its eaves to the Minster Square (Freiburg im Breisgau). The high housetop with two attic stories is lined by crow-stepped gables. From the outside the four arcades with an access balcony facing the Minster are an eye-catching feature of the building. At ground level one enters through a gate a hall, which opens onto an inner courtyard. This hall is only open to the public on special occasions. Situated above the hall is one room that takes up the entire upper floor. The room has so-called arched curtain windows in the late Gothic style with the windows opening onto the market place. Two delicate, polygonal bay windows with colored tiles flank the arched curtain windows on the outside of the building. The front of the building is decorated with sculptures and the crest of the House of Habsburg, which were carved by Hans Sixt von Staufen between 1520 and 1531. The sculptures all have a baldachin and depict Maximilian I (Holy Roman Emperor), Philip I of Castile, Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) and Ferdinand I (Holy Roman Emperor). The statues are replicas as the originals are stored away from the elements in the Basler Hof. The five emblems under each of the bay windows depict territorial dominions belonging to the House of Habsburg.
The most significant room is the Emperors' Hall (Kaisersaal), which still serves as a prestigious venue and accommodates up to 350 people. The room has a painted stucco-ceiling. Portraits of the following dignitaries hang on the wall: the sovereigns of the House of Habsburg - Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Maria Theresa, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Princess Isabella of Parma as well as Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor . The Emperors' Hall also features stained glass windows. Despite the prominence of the House of Habsburg, the room was not named after Austrian Emperors, but after William I, German Emperor, who dined there in the course of the inauguration of the Siegesdenkmal in 1876. [1]
Since 1776, the Emperors' Hall can be accessed by a stairway from the neighboring Redoutenhaus (building where dances and masquerades were held). On the first floor of the former Salt House (Salzhaus) is the foyer of the Emperors' Hall. On the second floor, the rooms of the Freiburg Society for History ( Geschichtsvereins Schau-ins-Land ) are situated. In 1878, the interiors were designed by Fritz Geiges. [2] The inaugurational meeting of the Society for Baden Culture ( Landesverein Badische Heimat ) also took place in the Historical Merchants' Hall of Freiburg. [3] In the part of the merchants' hall facing the Schusterstraße are two smaller rooms, which are located on the first floor and can also be used for events; the Kaminzimmer accommodates up to 90 people and has an impressive fireplace from the 15th century and the Rococo Room (Rokokosaal) has capacity for up to 70 people.
Freiburg im Breisgau is the fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. With around 236,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 33rd-largest city. Its built-up area has a population of about 355,000 (2021) while the greater Freiburg metropolitan area ("Einzugsgebiet") has about 660,000 (2018).
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a Landkreis (district) in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Fifty towns and municipalities with 133 settlements lie within the district. The district itself belongs to the region of Freiburg with the region of Southern Upper Rhine.
Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria was the collective name for the early possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, including territories in the Alsace region west of the Rhine and in Vorarlberg.
Freiburg Minster is the cathedral of Freiburg im Breisgau, southwest Germany. The last duke of Zähringen had started the building around 1200 in romanesque style. The construction continued in 1230 in Gothic style. The minster was partly built on the foundations of an original church that had been there from the beginning of Freiburg, in 1120.
Neuenburg am Rhein is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
The Münstertal is a municipality in the southern Black Forest, which belongs to the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is 3 miles east from Staufen.
Freiburg Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station of the German city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The Rhine Valley Railway (Mannheim–Basel), Höllentalbahn and the Breisach Railway (Breisach–Freiburg) meet here.
The Augustiner Museum is a museum in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany located in the former Augustinian Monastery building. It is undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion, the first phase of which ended in 2010.
The Kaiser-Joseph-Straße in Freiburg im Breisgau is a shopping street of about 900 meters, which runs through the center of Freiburg's historic downtown from north to south. It is one of the most expensive locations in Germany.
The Bertoldsbrunnen is a monument in the historic city of Freiburg im Breisgau. It is situated at the crossing of the Salz- and Bertoldsstraße with the Kaiser-Joseph-Straße. The fountain is one of the central locations of the city. A tram station with the same name is situated at the Bertoldsbrunnen where four of the five tramways of the Freiburger Verkehrs AG stop.
The Minster Square in the centre district of Freiburg, Germany, is a paved area surrounding the Freiburger Minster. The city library, the Historical Merchants' Hall, the Wentzinger House and the Korn House are on this square. The Freiburger streams run along the sides of the square.
The History of Freiburg im Breisgau can be traced back 900 years. Around 100 years after Freiburg was founded in 1120 by the Zähringer, until their family died out. The unloved Counts of Freiburg followed as the town lords, who then sold it onto the Habsburgers. At the start of the 19th century, the (catholic) Austrian ownership of the town ended, when Napoleon, after having invaded the town, decreed the town and Breisgau to be a part of the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1806. Until 1918, Freiburg belonged to the Grand Duchy, until 1933 to the Weimar Republic and Gau Baden in Nazi Germany. After the Second World War, the town was the state capital of (South) Baden from 1949 until 1952. Today, Freiburg is the fourth-largest city in Baden-Württemberg.
Messe Freiburg is an event area and exhibition grounds in Freiburg im Breisgau.
The Salzstraße in Freiburg im Breisgau is a significant part of the Freiburg city centre pedestrian area. It runs from Bertoldsbrunnen to Kaiser-Joseph-Straße, then eastward to Oberlinden square, where a fountain of the same name is located. It is probably the location of Freiburg's oldest houses. A stream, the Freiburg Bächle, runs along the street's northern side between the tramway tracks and the pavement.
The Colombischlössle is a manor house in the city centre of Freiburg im Breisgau where the eponymous archaeological museum is situated.
The Old City of Freiburg is part of the city and business centres of Freiburg im Breisgau and is the core of the original city. It is divided into the two districts 111 Altstadt-Mitte and 112 Altstadt-Ring. The Altstadt-Mitte district was the city's build-up area at the time of its foundation and therefore formed the old city. The district Altstadt-Ring is connected westwards to the railway line and south to the Dreisam.
The Platz der Alten Synagoge is a square in Freiburg, Germany. With a size of 130 by 130 metres, it is the second largest square in the city after Minster Square. The square is named after the old synagogue, which was destroyed during the Kristallnacht in 1938. The synagogue had been built in 1869/1870 to the southwest of today's location of the square.
The Town Hall of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, is spread over a total of 16 locations. The three most important buildings are the Old Town Hall and the New Town Hall in the city center as well as the Technical Town Hall in the Stühlinger district. The oldest town hall in Freiburg is part of the building complex of the Old Town Hall. It is located in the inner courtyard and is now called Gerichtslaube and is directly connected to the Old Town Hall. A passage from the New Town Hall to the Old Town Hall spans the Turmstraße between the two buildings. The three town halls form a complex, in which the three individual buildings are registered as monuments in the list of monuments of the country.
The old cemetery in Neuburg, a district of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, covers an area of 2.65 hectares. Situated on park-like grounds, the old cemetery is one of Germany's oldest cemeteries that have been abandoned and preserved as a whole. Located close to the Ludwigskirche, it is often mistaken to be part of the neighboring district Herdern. Providing tombs to an estimate of 1200 people, half of them are worthy of preservation. The booster club takes care of maintenance. The old cemetery falls under preservation order of cultural and natural monument. Moreover, it can be seen as evidence for death cult, town history and stylistic area of the 17th and 18th century. Serving not only as a place for individual and artistic tombstones of middle class people. Furthermore, the old cemetery grants an insight into the consciousness of faith during the baroque period until the time of neo-classicism.
Schloss Ebnet is a baroque mansion in Ebnet, a district of Freiburg im Breisgau.
