“Old Town” of Munich – Monuments As Crystallization Points for Post-War Reconstruction Carmen Maria Enss

Reinventing the “Old Town” of Munich – Monuments as crystallization points for post-war Reconstruction Carmen Maria Enss 1. Introduction Immediately after the end of World War II, the German city government of Munich had agreed that the heavily damaged Altstadt (Old Town) should be rebuilt to resemble the former city center1. The inner parts of Munich had experienced a period of urban restructuring since the end of the 19th century, while the outer parts underwent a rapid expansion. During this process, the municipality had managed urban redevelopment both by planning functional improvements and intervening in large-scale changes that affected the cityscape. Architects and monument preservationists involved in post-war reconstruction made use of this long-term strategy and re-adapted existing drafts of urban planning very quickly to a restoration concept. This is why Munich’s responsible officials implemented their agenda for the rebuilding of the city center as early as 1946. At this time, the municipality started its campaign for the clearance of rubble. While large parts of the buildings had to be removed, most representative monuments were intended to be reconstructed and precious façades protected from further decay. These fragments of the ensemble of the historic center were supposed to lead the way to re-producing the physical appearance of the streets and squares. City planners had to accept that the number of construction workers and supplies of building materials and machinery were not sufficient to save all parts of the ruins from further deterioration. They developed both criteria for the selection of the essential heritage of the Altstadt and restorative principles for the reconstruction of monuments2. This paper will answer two main questions: What were the theoretical guidelines for the rebuilding process as far as it is related to creating continuity of appearance and the structure of the Altstadt? How was the concept implemented during the first years of reconstruction? 1 Aufbauzeit. Planen und Bauen, München 1045-1950, hrsg. von W. Nerdinger, Beck, München 1984, in part. H. Himen, Die Erhaltung der stadtebaulichen̈ Physiognomie als Prinzip des Wiederaufbaus in Munchen̈ , p. 19–29. 2 C. Enss, Fassaden sichern für den Wiederaufbau. Selektion bei der Trümmerräumung für die neue Münchner Altstadt, in Stadtplanung nach 1945. Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau, hrsg. von B. Franz, H.-R. Meier, Mitzkat, Holzminden 2011, pp. 96-103. To answer these questions, I will first introduce the main actors involved, then present the system for clearing away of rubble and the priorities set for the rebuilding process, and finally provide three examples for the completion of the structural intact parts of historic buildings with new architecture. 2. The Protagonists of Munich reconstruction and their field of action The historic center of Munich before World War II Munich’s post-war urban planners defined Altstadt as the part of the city within the second city wall3 (that is approximately equivalent to the area within the Altstadtring shown in fig. 1). They claimed that the main character of the Altstadt was determined by the proportion of the streets and by monumental medieval structures. The examples given below are located in the northwestern part of the Altstadt that is called Kreuzviertel. Whereas the outline of the streets had outlasted the centuries, the built structures within these streets had changed since the Middle Ages. Renaissance dukes had introduced two large building complexes into the quarter’s fabric – the monumental St. Michael’s Church with its cloister (fig. 1, B) and a second duke’s palace, the Herzog-Maxburg (fig. 1, C). During the following centuries a number of Baroque and Rococo noble palaces took the place of former farmyards4. After the beginning of the 19th century, the city extended to the northwest and the city fortification there was turned into a series of classicistic streets and squares, predominantly planned by the king’s architect Leo von Klenze. Beginning with Theodor Fischer, the first official municipal town planner in Munich from 1893, urban designers were looking for a way to protect the city center from large-scale modernization, especially from the straightening of the streets. However by the end of the 19th century, most of the medieval buildings had been replaced, yet leaving unchanged most of the historic monuments and the structure of the medieval city plan5. An influential circle of Munich’s high officials and architects around Theodor Fischer founded the Bayerischer Heimatschutz in 1902, an association for the conservation of historic monuments and the protection of traditional customs. Over the following decades Heimatschutz architects and urban planners implemented design principles to foster “Old Munich’s” construction style. They fell back on the pre- industrial architecture of the early 19th century6. 3 K. Meitinger, Das neue München. Vorschläge zum Wiederaufbau, Münchner Graph. Kunstanstalten, München 1946, p.17. 4 B. Huber, Klöster, Banken und Paläste. Zur Geschichte des Kreuzviertels, in Münchens neue Altstadt, hrsg. von Chr. Hölz, HypoVereinsbank, München 2003, pp. 49–64. 5 U. Walter, “Altstadt” oder “City”? Stadtumbau um 1900, in München – Musenstadt mit Hinterhöfen, hrsg. von F. Prinz, M. Krauss, Beck, München 1988, pp. 98–106. 6 H. Roth, Die Stellung der Denkmalpflege in der Heimatschutzbewegung am Beispiel Bayern, in Fig. 1 – Sketch of the city plan with the “Altstadt” of Munich, surrounded by the projected “Altstadtring”. Mapped buildings: Frauenkirche (A); St. Michael’s Church with the cloister (B); Herzog-Maxburg (C); Preysing-Palais (D); Building Maximiliansplatz 18 (E); Tower of the Herzog-Maxburg, integrated in the “Neue Maxburg” building complex (F) (Plan: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 8. Oct. 1946). The ideas of Heimatschutz were passed on within the Stadtbauamt, Munich’s urban planning office. During the years of National Socialist rule in Munich, Karl Meitinger, head of the Stadtbauamt, focused on the Altstadt as an urban renovation area to be redeveloped as an ensemble and to be cleared of dense blocks. He designed a traffic belt around the city center, the so-called Altstadtring. Adolph Hitler decided to bring in his personal architect, Munich’s new general building inspector Generalbaurat Hermann Monumental, hrsg. von S. Böning-Weis, M. Petzet, Lipp, München 1998, pp. 791–795. Giesler, in 1938, who effectively held all power7. Giesler initialized a complete reorganization of the city and its surroundings that was frozen due to the war. Three pioneers and decision makers for the rebuilding in Munich The most important people behind the reconstruction campaign had been involved in the city development during the Weimar Republic (1918-1933). Planners aimed to improve both traffic circulation around the Altstadt and living and working conditions within it, using a regional building style within the Altstadt. The architect Karl Meitinger had been a member of the municipal administration since 1910. He focused on urban redevelopment using a creative approach. He was elected to Stadtbaurat in 1939. When the Generalbaurat Giesler left the city after the war, the power reverted to Meitinger as head of the Stadtbauamt. He wrote a pamphlet on the reconstruction of Munich, which served as the theoretical guidelines for the initial phase of reconstruction. His concept for the reconstruction of the old town involved continuity in the outline of the streets and squares while redeveloping the city blocks within the existing construction lines8. Georg Lill was an art historian and Generalkonservator, the highest curator of monuments in Bavaria, from 1929. His office, the Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Bavarian State Office for Monument Conservation), made suggestions on the rebuilding of the Altstadt of Munich in July 19449. That paper emphasized the significance of the main streets as urban spaces that should be maintained as fixed reference points for reconstruction after the end of war. Lill remained Generalkonservator after the war. He continued to conceptualize theoretical positions concerning the preservation of monuments damaged in war, publishing articles until his death in 1951. Karl-Sebastian Preis had been municipal department of housing leader between 1926 and 1933, during which he initiated and oversaw a program for creating new housing. Due to his social democratic sympathies, the Nazis removed him from his post. In 1945, Karl Scharnagl, the mayor, appointed him as Wiederaufbaureferent, the head of the reconstruction department. Preis organized the municipal campaign for the clearing of rubble and the allocation of building materials for the repairs of individual buildings and reconstruction projects. Lill and Preis agreed with Meitinger that reconstruction of the historic city center should include urban renewal. Meitinger and Lill produced a list of the most 7 M. Früchtel, Der Architekt Hermann Giesler. Leben und Werk (1898 - 1987), Edition Altavilla, Tübingen 2008, p. 155. 8 K. Meitinger, Das neue München. … cit. p. 2. 9 G. Lill, J. Schmuderer, J. Ritz, Die denkmalpflegerischen Belange beim Wiederaufbau von München, München 6. Juli 1944, Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Registratur München, OA München, Wiederaufbau u. a. Schutträumung 1944-1950. representative buildings and façades in need of repair. The municipality strived to maintain these parts of the ensemble for reconstruction. Preis preserved the remains of the selected buildings – and

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