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The Romanus House is a historic building in
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, located in the borough Mitte, on the corner of Brühl and
Katharinenstrasse Katharinenstrasse (in English: ''Catherine Street'') is a street in the north of the central quarter inside the Inner City Ring Road of Leipzig, Germany. It runs slightly curved in a north–south direction between Markt and Brühl. Its length ...
. The city palace, built between 1701 and 1704, is one of the main works of Leipzig
Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...
influenced by
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. Previously used as a bourgeois residence building, it now serves as a commercial building. It is under heritage protection.


Architecture

The Romanus House, which covers four properties, is designed as a baroque city palace with a plinth-like ground floor, three floors of different heights and a
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
. As a corner building, it has a north facade with 13 window axes facing Brühl and an east facade about half as wide with six window axes facing Katharinenstrasse. Both fronts are connected by a two-story
bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...
on the corner of the house, which is beveled at a 45-degree angle. The facades are vertically structured by risalits: on the north front, the three axes on the left and right edges as well as the three middle axes form a risalit, and on the east side the two middle window axes protrude from the alignment. The central risalit on the north side is closed by a richly decorated one-story tail gable with an oval window, and the risalit on the east facade is closed off by a similar gable with two kidney-shaped windows. In the southwest, the building encloses a small rectangular courtyard. The roof originally had a one-story belvedere (roof pavilion) that was five windows wide and two windows deep and was placed in the middle above the north facade, which was removed in 1874 but rebuilt in 1996–1998 as part of repair and restoration work. During renovation between 1966 and 1969, all of the stucco ceilings and the two courtyard wings were destroyed. However, the latter were also restored to their old form. The decorative elements are typically baroque. Most striking are the garlands on most of the window
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
s, the entrances and the
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
s. A statue of
Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...
, probably created by
Balthasar Permoser Balthasar Permoser (13 August 1651 – 18 February 1732) was among the leading sculptors of his generation, whose evolving working styles spanned the late Baroque and early Rococo. Biography Permoser was born in Kammer bei Waging, Salzburg, t ...
(1651-1731), was recently placed in the niche under the corner bay window.


History

The Romanus House owes its name to Franz Conrad Romanus (1671–1746), mayor of Leipzig from 1701, who had the building built between 1701 and 1704 according to plans by the Leipzig council master mason Johann Gregor Fuchs. In 1730, Romanus' daughter, the poet
Christiana Mariana von Ziegler Christiana Mariana von Ziegler (28 June 1695 – 1 May 1760) was a German poet and writer. She is best known for the texts of nine cantatas, which Johann Sebastian Bach composed after Easter in 1725. Biography Christiana Mariana Romanus was born ...
, set up a literature and music
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
in the Romanus House. At this point in time, the palace no longer belonged to Romanus, who had since been convicted of forging council promissory notes and was imprisoned at
Königstein Fortress Königstein Fortress (), the "Saxony, Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein, Saxony, Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one of the largest hilltop for ...
, but to his wife Christiana Maria Romanus (née Brümmer), who sold it to Hofrat Oertel in 1735. The Oertel family sold it to the wine merchant George Wilhelm Richter in 1770. Two years later he opened the “Richtersche Café” on the second floor, but after he got heavily into debt, the building came into the possession of the merchant Jacob Marcus Dufour-Pallard. It was called “Dufour's House” after him in the 19th century. In 1906, the Steitmann brothers took over the Romanus House and let it completely renovate by the architect
Otto Paul Burghardt Otto Paul Burghardt (17 January 1875 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire – 29 December 1959 in Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg, Germany) was a German architect. Biography Burghardt received his Abitur from the ''Höhere Bürgerschule'' i ...
in 1906/07. During the renovation from 1966 to 1969 according to plans by Rudolf Rohrer (1900–1968), all of the
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
ceilings and the two courtyard wings fell victim. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Romanus House was part of the Leipzig real estate holdings of the building contractor Jürgen Schneider. Opposite the Romanus House, on the other side of Katharinenstrasse, the Leipzig Museum Quarter with the Museum of Fine Arts was built between 1999 and 2017. Romanushaus 1704.jpg, The Romanus House on an engraving from 1704 Leipzig Romanushaus Nordseite.jpg, Romanus House: north facade facing Brühl Romanushaus Ostseite Leipzig.jpg, Romanus House: east facade facing Katharinenstrasse Leipzig, April 2013 - panoramio (61).jpg, Statue of Hermes


See also

* Architecture of Leipzig - Baroque era


Literature

* * * *


Footnotes


External links


Leipzig-Lexikon: Romanushaus
in German
Romanushaus: Webpage of the owner
in German {{Portal, Germany, Saxony Buildings and structures in Leipzig Baroque architecture in Saxony Houses completed in 1704 Tourist attractions in Leipzig