Homberg (Efze) - Culture and Sightseeing - Buildings

Buildings

Stadtkirche St. Marien Homberg's town church, St. Mary's, holds a special place in Hessian Protestantism: in 1526, Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous convened a synod in Homburg that sat in this church, marking the point in time when the Landgraviate of Hesse became Evangelical. Thus the church, one of the most important Gothic monuments in North Hesse, is sometimes called the Reformationskirche Hessens – the Reformation Church of Hesse.

What follows is something of the church's history:

• A Frankish chapel is believed to have been built on the site before 900.
• About 1000 a Romanesque church or chapel was built.
• In the 12th century, a Romanesque basilica (or early hall church) was built.
• In the first half of the 14th century, the structure was remodelled or expanded in late Gothic style as a hall church of the Hessian-Westphalian form.
• In 1374, building began on the tower.
• In 1640, the tower and hall were demolished by explosion, collapse and fire after the church was occupied by Imperial troops under Piccolomini.
• From 1645 to 1746 the church was being built anew, as it says on the stone plaque on the tower above the gallery.
• In 1709 the tower watchman's dwelling was built.
• In 1893 an endowment made possible the fitting of a choir window depicting the Homberg Synod.
• Since 1965, the church has been given its current shape through the removal of building done from the 17th to 19th centuries (pews, pulpit, galleries). A cloister has also been built.

Kirchhofslinde ("Churchyard linden") Before the church stands a linden tree that is more than 730 years old. Together with the church, the tree makes for a picturesque tableau over the marketplace. The poet Heinrich Ruppel dedicated the poem "Die Kirchhofslinde in Homberg" to the tree as his way of thanking those who had made donations for the tree's preservation after it had been burnt by a fire in its hollow. Also, Erich Kaiser, a "homeland researcher" (Heimatforscher) and writer, often mentioned the veteran tree in his writings.

Stalls, furniture van and house under the Kirchhofslinde In the spaces under the churchyard, stalls were built to serve as sales stands for butchers and bakers, as well as to serve as cookshops or meat storage.

At the former place of the so-called baker's stall, demolished in early 1820, a newer and notable building was built that Hombergers call the Möbelwagen ("Furniture Van").

The building next to the church to the right was built on the rubble of the former cookshop in 1719.

Rathaus (Town Hall) This was built in 1704 on the foundations of a former building built in the 15th century and destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. The tower was built after the Seven Years' War. The weather vane is from 1767. Since 1989, there has been a carillon. Beside the Gothic entrance at the stairway to Obertorstraße is the Homberger Elle (Homberg Ell), a mediaeval unit of measurement 57.4 cm long. Its importance reaches as far as Thuringia.

Remodelled in 1875 was the Simbelschanze ("Simpleton Lair"; Simbel is a Hessian dialect word) before the town hall. Its name comes from a tax levied the same year. The government had approved a tax on simpletons to cover rising expenditures.

Engel-Apotheke This was built in 1668 on the site of a former house, and is the biggest timber-frame house on the marketplace. Since 1701 it has been a pharmacy.

Fünffenster-Haus ("Five-Windowed House") In the early 19th century, a window tax was imposed, and so windows were limited to five on each floor.

Kyffhäuser-Museum This has permanent exhibits with the emphasis on the Kyffhäuserbund, an old warriors' association.

Krone ("Crown") This is a timber-frame house from 1480. Since 1721 it has been a guesthouse. The beams and roofwork are noteworthy. The bay windows were built in the 16th century.

• Churchyard linden tree – a veteran of about 730 years

• View of the stalls and the churchyard steps

• Homberg Ell

• Door handle on a house at the marketplace

Geburtshaus des Heimatdichters Ludwig Mohr (House where the homeland poet Ludwig Mohr was born) This may be found on the south side of the marketplace. He wrote the novel Rot-Weiß ("Red-White") whose theme was the Dörnberg Uprising.

Weißer Hof This is a Renaissance timber-frame house. Noteworthy is the adornment with saltires.

Löwenhaus (Lion's House) This was built in 1617. A stone showing a coat of arms can be found here showing a staff, a snake and a lion's head with the inscription L.A.1664. It is known as the Ofenstein ("Oven Stone"). This site of the Löwenapotheke ("Lion's Pharmacy") also has a Renaissance porch worth seeing.

Old schoolhouse or Opfermannhaus, barracks Built in 1750 as a residential house for the sexton (Opfermann) of the neighbouring church, the building also served as the town's first school. Right nearby is a Gothic building formerly used as barracks for the Hessian Jäger Battalion.

Hochzeitshaus (Wedding House) Built in 1552, after the old town hall burnt down, it was used as the so-called new town hall. Later it was a rectory, a school and an administration building, but since 1952 it has housed the Heimatmuseum der Stadt Homberg (Homeland Museum of the Town of Homberg).

Pförtchen ("Little Gateway") This was the original pedestrian access to the castle.

Baumbachscher Burgsitz Built in 1543 as the castle seat, it lies right on the town wall. From 1840 to 1855 it was let to the deaf-and-dumb institution, and since 1873 it has been owned by the Evangelical Lutheran parish.

Dörnbergtempel Built on the foundations of the old Bächtenturm (tower), it was the meeting place for the plotters of the Dörnberg Uprising in 1809.

'Haus Leimbach This is a noteworthy corner house with a Gothic entrance.

• Ofenstein at the Löwenhaus with the letters L and A for Löwenapotheke, and the yeardate 1648

• Old schoolhouse, before it at left a Gothic building which housed the Hessian Jäger Battalion

• Hochzeitshaus

• "Pförtchen"

Bischofsches Haus This was the ancestral seat of the wool-trading Bischof family. It was built on the ruins of another building destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. It has Renaissance bay windows, and the Bardeleben and Bischof coat of arms.

Haus Klüppel Until 1891, this was the seat of Homberg's Landrat. On the side facing Bischofstraße, sandstone figures may be found at the former entrance to a neighbouring house's cellar.

Ehemaliges Brauhaus (former brewhouse) In the town's archives are various descriptions from the homeland researcher Kaiser for the brewhouse at the corner of Untergasse and Entengasse. In 1665, people spoke of the little brewhouse at which there was a fountain. As of 1730, there were reports of the old or lower brewhouse, since a newer brewhouse had been built. In 1676 the house was partly destroyed by fire. With the introduction of trade freedom, brewers lost their exclusive rights to their trade. The town gave the brewhouse over to a leaseholder named Zickendraht, who was still brewing beer 15 years later. Other owners were also named, such as wainwright Wilhelm Ulrich. In 1918, he sold the house to a carter named Aubel, who converted it into a residential house of the form that can still be seen today.

• former castle seat, nowadays the Evangelical Lutheran Church's guesthouse

• Front of the Bischofsches Haus with old and new entrances

• Sandstone figures

• Homberg's former lower brewhouse

Alter Friedhof (Old Graveyard) This had been a burying ground since 1580, but is now parkland where some of the grave markers, belonging to various Hombergers, are well worth seeing. Among these are those belonging to Minister Julius Rhode, Mayor Winter, and Professor Wilhelm Volckmar. Also to be found there are graves containing the remains of Abbesses Marianne vom und zum Stein and Charlotte von Gilsa, and Justice of the Peace Martin, all of whom played key parts in the preparations for the Dörnberg Uprising against Jérôme Bonaparte in 1809.

Christus-Epheta-Kirche Consecrated in 1957, it is planned in circular form with the altar in the middle. It has a three-level dome over the apse. The 12 windows on the right side stand for the Twelve Apostles. The church tower is 30 m high. The mosaic design is by Gerhard Dechant: Christus heilt zwei taubstumme Kinder – This training centre existed in freedom for 44 years in this building. The great red-brick building was amply built and was said at the time to be the most modern building of its kind in Prussia. The building consisted of a broad middle section that housed classrooms, subject rooms, an assembly hall and the administration. InChrist heals two deaf-and-dumb children.

Ehemaliges Lehrerseminar (Former Teachers' College) ==== Below Bindeweg, the Prussian government had the Royal Teachers' College built in 1879. the side wings lived the director and several college teachers. In 1925, the college was dissolved, and the building then served as a building school. Nowadays the whole building complex is used by the Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium.

Die Freiheit This part of the town was founded by Landgrave Henry II in 1356, and was separated from the rest of the town by the town wall enclosing the Old Town. It had its own mayor, town hall, church and fortifications. Its independence came to an end in 1536 with its amalgamation with Homberg.

Das Neue Tor (The New Gate) This was built in 1536 when Die Freiheit was established to afford access between the two towns.

Wallensteinsches Stiftsgebäude This building was built about 1550, and as of 1616 was the castle seat. In 1783 came the endowment from the Wallenstein Convent (Wallensteinscher Damenstift). In the wake of the failed Dörnberg Uprising in 1832, the convent had to move to Fulda, whereafter the building became a residence for the pedagogues from the teachers' college.

Hospital zum Heiligen Geist Endowed in 1368 by the priest Heinrich Bischof in aid of the poor and sick.

Pulverturm (Powder Tower) This is the only fully preserved tower of the town's old fortifications, which were formerly some 1 200 m long with seven towers. The town wall reached a height of 6 to 8 m and was on average 2 m thick.

• Historic grave marker

• Pulverturm

• Baumbach arms stone

Gotisches Haus (Gothic House) This is Homberg's oldest residential house, having been built about 1425.

House on Holzhäuser Str. at the corner of Webergasse ==== This was built in the 16th century. On the wall facing Webergasse is a sandstone sculpture of an angel with a sword. The sculpture comes from the old Amt court.

Former Jewish prayer room Also on Webergasse is a building that once housed a prayer room for the town's Jews.

Baumbachscher Burgsitz at the Upper Gate ==== Above the entranceway here is a family coat of arms with a recumbent half-moon and two stars. The building underwent alterations in bygone ages.

Windmühle (Windmill) This is to be found at some former town fortification works near where the Holzhäusertor (gate) once was.

Stadthalle Built in 1909-1911 as the Restaurant Stadtpark, this building underwent restoration after decades of changing uses, and since 1991 it has been used as a municipal hall. It has been awarded the Hessian Monument Protection Prize, and is known for its noteworthy Art Nouveau architecture.

Hermann-Schafft-Schule (school) This is a school for the deaf and hearing-impaired. The building was dedicated in 1912 and is still used now.

Hohlebach-Mühle (mill) First mentioned in 1415, the mill was restored in 1992. The water wheel is 5 m across.

Side building from the late Middle Ages This is a building used for agricultural or trade purposes in the late Middle Ages. The house lies on a lane between Pfarrstraße and Berggasse with the gable facing the latter. The house's framework, which has not yet been dendrochronologically dated, points to the second half of the 15th century. There once was a similar building in Marburg, but it has fallen to the wrecker's ball.

The floors were used as storerooms. The ground floor is split into two halves of the same size by a middle wall that was built much later. The upstairs and attic have no inner walls at all, and there is no evidence that they ever did. The building has three entrances: a door in the east side onto the ground floor from the garden, a door opposite that leading into the street, both on the house's "eaves" sides, and another door in the north gable side leading to the upstairs. The attic is reached by ladder.

The spaces between the beams in the upper gable still have their original clay netting forming the cores of the walls. On the outer side, three-sided holes were pressed into the still soft outer layer of clay with a pointed trowel in an artform called Schuppenputz. There is also a house, built in 1452, in Bad Hersfeld that also has this original work dating from the late Middle Ages.

Westheimer Torturm (Gate Tower) On 18 July 2005, while building work was being done, one of the old Westheim Gate Tower's foundations was unearthed. On a base of basalt stones, smoothly hewn sandstone or tuff was fixed. That this is the old gate tower's foundation is not in doubt, and the strength of the foundation bespeaks a formidable structure.

Wells and cisterns While Westheimer Straße was being renovated in 2006, two long lost and forgotten examples of Homberg's historical water supply were rediscovered and reconstructed. The picture shows the so-called Radbrunnen ("wheel well") in the foreground at left, and up at the Besenmarkt (Broom Market), an old water cistern can quite clearly be seen.

• Mediaeval farm building

• Westheimer Torturm

• View of Westheimer Straße with two rediscovered examples of Homberg's historical water supply

St. Wendel In 1247, south of the town at the foot of the Schmückeberg (mountain) lay the Sondersiechenhaus St. Wendelin ("St. Wendelin Special Sickhouse") with a chapel and a mill. The last time when a leper is known to have been there was 1652. The building later served as a plague house and a homeless shelter. The crumbling building complex was torn down in 1786. This leper colony belonged to a network of all together 68 places and 71 colonies evenly scattered all over what is today Hesse.

Artworks On 19 May 2005 on Wallstraße in Homberg, a collaborative work by Christina Fiand and Ernst Groß was put up. The artwork, called Die Stelzengänger ("The Stilt Walkers") is a commissioned work by the Town of Homberg and the Kraftstrombezugsgenossenschaft (KBG; Electrical Supply Coöperative). Three figures on stilts more than six metres high peer curiously over the town wall on Wallstraße.

The three carved figures are meant to awaken passersby's curiosity about Homberg and get them to have a look behind the town's walls. The same artist created another artwork before the Schwalm-Eder district offices above the Old Graveyard park.

• Homberg's Old Town in winter

• View down the castle well

• Landgrave Philip in a stone relief in the Haina monastery church