Description
In the façade of the Bürgersaalbau (Community Hall Building) of Frankfurt's New Town Hall are seven niches with allegorical sculptures and the three gables are topped with bronze (?) statues. Each level shows a different theme.
Personifications of human activities, between the windows of the second stock,
- Kunst / Art, depicted as the beauty of a nude woman.
- Wohlstand / Abundantia, woman with cornucopia.
- Handel / Trade, woman with ship and the staff of Mercury.
- Industrie / Industry, woman with a leather apron, hammer, anvil and cogwheel.
a fifth statue, wisdom, was destroyed in World War II.
The three virtues, in the three gables
- Klugheit - Wisdom, woman with snake
- Gerechtigkeit - Justuce, woman with sword and book
- Eintracht - Unity woman with fasces, symbol of the magistrate's power and jurisdiction.
These virtues are explaind by the figures on top of the gables:
- Mundschenk - Cupbearer, man with tankard and cup.
- Zeremonienmeister - Master of ceremonies, man with staff
- Koch / Cook man with a dish with poultry.
Annotation
Built 1900-1908 after designs from the architects Ludwig Neher and Franz von Hoven.
Sculptor
Sources & Information
- Willi Stubenvoll, 'Das Frankfurter Rathaus 1896-1901', p. 415-451 in Ekkehard Mai et al., Das Rathaus im Kaiserreich: Kunstpolitische Aspekte einer Bauaufgabe des 19. Jahrhunderts (Berlin, 1982).
- Das alte Rathaus. Notizen zum Denkmalschutz 8 (Frankfurt am Main: Der Stadtkonservator, Dezernat Planung, 2014).
Tags
Locatie (N 50°6'38" - E 8°40'51") (Satellite view: Google Maps)
Item Code: dehs182; Photograph: 28 September 2014
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt
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