Glaspalast (Munich)

The ''Glaspalast'' (Glass Palace) was a glass and iron exhibition building located in the Old botanical garden - Munich in Munich modeled after The Crystal Palace in London. The Glaspalast opened for the first General German Industrial Exhibition on July 15, 1854.

Planning

Following other examples around Europe, the ''Glaspalast'' was ordered by Maximilian II, King of Bavaria, in order to hold the ''Erste Allgemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung'' (First General German Industrial Exhibition) on July 15, 1854.

Originally it was planned to erect the building on Maximilianplatz. However, the relevant Commission decision preferred an area near the railway station. Designed by architect August von Voit and built by MAN AG, the building was built in 1854 to the north of the Old Botanical Garden close to the Stachus.

Construction

Following the completion of 1853 Schrannenhalle and the planned and conservatory of Munich Residence, a glass with cast iron design was used, using existing experience for this modern building.

As with the Crystal Palace in London, initial designs were relatively complex. Due to the short time available for construction, the design was significantly simplified and relied on use of standard components. Conventional construction methods were not possible due to the large amount of building materials required.

The two-storied building was 234 meters (768 ft) long, 67 meters (220 ft) wide and 25 meters (82 ft) high. The elongated rectangular glass palace, in the form of a five-nave and two-storey main building in the hall with a transept in the middle and rectangular extensions at the ends of the longitudinal ship had a length of 234 meters and was 67 meters wide; the height was 25 meters.

The building was built entirely of glass and cast iron, load-bearing walls were completely omitted. The 1,700 tons of prefabricated iron parts were made by Cramer-Klett in Nuremberg. The company Cramer-Klett was the leader at this time in southern Germany in the field of iron constructions, the company had previously built the Großhesseloher bridge in Munich and also the Maximilian II conservatory. For this construction, the glass was produced in the more traditional Schmidsfelden glass works.

Construction was a mere six months, beginning December 31, 1853 and ending June 7, 1854, during which time 37,000 windows were installed. The total cost of construction was 800,000 guldens.

The ''Erste Allgemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung'' opened five weeks later, only three years after the completion of the Crystal Palace in London, which served as its model.

Use

First General German industry exhibition

Just three years after the completion of the Crystal Palace in London, which served as a model, the First General German Industry Exhibition opened at the newly built glass palace on July 15, 1854. However the opening was overshadowed as first the staff and later the exhibition guests were affected by cholera.

Electrification

In 1882 ''die erste elektrisch beleuchtete Internationale Elektrotechnische Ausstellung'' (the first electrically lit international electrotechnical exhibition) took place in the Glass Palace. The German engineer Oskar von Miller had built a 2000 volt DC overhead power line from Miesbach, 50 km distant, to bring power to Munich. At the exhibition, an electrically powered pump for an artificial waterfall demonstrated the feasibility of bringing electrical power over long distances.Chronologie des Miesbacher Bergbaus
, Websitebetreiber: Kappenverein Peißenberg, retrieved 5 March 2010.

The Glass Palace as a venue of art exhibitions

In 1858, the "First German general and historical art exhibition" organized in the palace, followed in 1869 by the "I. International Art Exhibition ", 1888" III. International Art Exhibition ".

From 1889, the Crystal Palace was almost exclusively used for art exhibitions. This affected the forum and place of the international art trade.

Other uses

When it was planned, following the industrial exhibition, it was assumed that the Glaspalast would be used as a greenhouse. However it was almost exclusively used for international art exhibitions and artist festivals.

Fire

The building was destroyed in a fire on June 6, 1931, a fate shared with the other crystal palaces. The cause of the fire was later determined to be arson. The fire in the ''Glaspalast'' irretrievably destroyed more than 3,000 artworks including more than 110 paintings from the early 19th century including many paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, Moritz von Schwind, Karl Blechen, and Philipp Otto Runge. A further 1,000 works by contemporary artists at that time were heavily damaged and only 80 artworks were recovered unharmed.

The daily newspaper "Neues Wiener Tagblatt" reported on the following day, June 7, 1931, in a telegram: The fire of the Munich Glass Palace, S. 4:

Other

After the fire, plans were made to rebuild the ''Glaspalast''. However, the plans were abandoned in 1933 after seizure of power by the new Nazi government. Instead of rebuilding the palace, the government built the Haus der Kunst (House of Art) on the Prinzregentenstraße near the ''Englischer Garten'' (English Garden).

In 1936 a small exhibition pavilion was built, but was destroyed in World War II. This was rebuilt by artists after the war.

The Park Cafe now stands on the site of the Glaspalast.''Webpräsenz des Münchnes "Park Cafés"''
dort unter
Erfahren: ''Geschichte''

The fountain of the Glaspalast, which remained intact, today stands in the center of the Weißenburger Platz in the Haidhausen quarter of Munich.

Footnotes

Sources

*German Wikipedia

External links

Historisches Lexikon Bayerns: Glaspalast, München
Several photographs of the interior and exterior of the Glaspalast

{{Authority control

Buildings and structures in Munich
1854 establishments in Bavaria
Glass architecture
Demolished buildings and structures in Munich
Maxvorstadt
Buildings and structures destroyed by arson
Buildings and structures completed in 1854
Former palaces in Germany