Alteshtadt (Dusseldorf)

Alteshtadt is one of the few streets in Düsseldorf that existed at the time it was granted city status in 1288 . The oldest building on it is the Basilica of St. Lambert . The chapel of St. Joseph (Josefkapelle, Josephskapelle) and the former hospital building of the Catholic blessed Mary Theresa Hace (Theresienhospital, Theresienhospital) (architect Caspar Clemens Pickkel ). Side of the street adjacent to the Basilica of St. Lambert (even) was built up with new buildings after the Second World War . On the other (odd) side of the street there are older buildings.

The extension of the street to the east is Ratingen Street (Ratinger Strasse, Ratingen Straße), which differs from Altestadt by the presence of many retail outlets, while Altestadt has only one restaurant (house number 14), and even then on the edge of the street. Altestadt is generally considered one of the quietest streets in the Old Town.

Currently, the street originates from Emilia Schneider-Platz Square, Emilie-Schneider-Platz, almost from the Rhine promenade , and continues east to Ratingen Street (Ratinger Strasse, Ratinger Straße). It was at this point (the intersection with the Postavki lanes (Liefergasse, Liefergasse) and Ursulinok (Urzulinen-gasse, Ursulinengasse) that the street ended at the time of the city’s first expansion. Then the first entrance city “Ratingen Gate” (Ratingen Tor, Ratinger Tor ) The length of the street -.. 190 meters, but after the expansion of the city limits, at least until 1663 the whole street with the extended section called Alteshtadt, and only in 1738 , according to reliable sources, it became known as the extended portion Ratingenskoy street ^{[In . 1]} . On the old map of the city, published in 1764 , it has shown almost the current state of the streets ^{[Approx. 2]} , except that between the Church of St. Lambert and the promenade of the Rhine can be found a few houses, now demolished.

On a somewhat later published map ( 1889 ), the development of the northwestern part of Stift Square (Stiftplatz, Stiftplatz) looks somewhat different compared to the current state ^{[Note. 2]} . Until the end of the 19th century, here, close to the facade of St. Lambert’s church, the inner parts of the houses of Torgovaya Street (Kremerstrasse, Kremerstraße) approached, so that only a narrow lane remained between the line of houses and the church to pass to Alteshtadt Street. On Torgovaya Street, houses number 4.6 stood, destroyed by shelling and demolished after World War II . On the map of 1764, these buildings have not yet been marked.

The beginning of the history of Alteshtadt Street is inextricably linked with the beginning of the history of Düsseldorf itself, but the first civil buildings of the XIII century on the street did not survive. It is known that before the first expansion of the city in 1384 west of St. Lambert’s Church, within the strip of the modern beginning of the street, there was a market square and an old town hall ^{[Note. 3] [Deputy 1]} . After the first urban expansion, the name of the Altestadt street its name began to be applied to the entire old part of the city. And only from the beginning of the XVII century the name returned exclusively for the street ^{[Note. 4]} .

Until 1769, the entire area around the church of St. Lambert was a cemetery territory, including that facing Alteshtadt Street ^{[Note. 5]} , but the cemetery was separated from the street by a wall. After the closure and liquidation of the cemetery, its wall was destroyed and the street expanded to the above monastery. ^{[Note 6]} .

In the XVII and XVIII centuries, the street repeatedly suffered as a result of wars and other disasters. So, in 1634, a powder tower exploded north of Altestadt, in 1758 the street survived the bombing of the seven-year war , and in 1794 - the shock of the war with the revolutionary French . In those and earlier years and centuries, many archival documents were lost (with the exception of St. Lambert's Church), including those related to the dates of construction of buildings, their names and the names of the owners. More or less complete documentation in the archives begins in the 17th century ^{[Note. 7]} .

The right (odd) side of the street does not have a single old house. If after the Second World War the buildings on this side of the street were tried to be restored, then they were finally demolished in 1990 ^{[Deputy. 2]} .

A small part of the information about the demolished houses is still preserved. House No. 1 had an entrance in the eastern part of the church square until 1842 . In 1842, the building was rebuilt and enlarged, and the entrance was moved to Alteshtadt street. Balthazar Thelen opened a wine shop called Zum Rosenkränzchen in it. This name became the name of the house ^{[Note. 8]} .

1. ↑ H. Ferber , In: Historische Wanderung durch die alte Stadt Düsseldorf; Herausgegeben vom Düsseldorfer Geschichtsverein, Verlag C. Kraus, 1889, Teil I, S. 12.
2. ↑ ^{1 2} H. Ferber , In: Historische Wanderung durch die alte Stadt Düsseldorf; Herausgegeben vom Düsseldorfer Geschichtsverein, Verlag C. Kraus, 1889, Teil I, S. 32/33.
3. ↑ Urkunde Nr. 28, 1889, Band 4, des Geschichtsvereins der Stadt Düsseldorf, in: Schreiben der Stadt Düsseldorf an den Herzog Jan Wellem von 1693, 24. September, S. [139] 136.
4. ↑ Herrmann Kleinfeld , In: Düsseldorfs Straßen und ihre Benennungen, 1996, Grupello-Verlag, S. 33.
5. ↑ Clemenz von Looz-Corswaren, Klaudia Wehofen , In: Düsseldorf im Kartenbild / Plan von 1750; 1998, Droste Verlag, S. 88.
6. ↑ Düsseldorfer Geschichtsverein; in: Band 3, 1888, S. [99] 95.
7. ↑ H. Ferber; In: Historische Wanderung durch die alte Stadt Düsseldorf; Herausgegeben vom Düsseldorfer Geschichtsverein, Verlag C. Kraus, 1889, Teil I, S. 12-25.
8. ↑ H. Ferber; In: Historische Wanderung durch die alte Stadt Düsseldorf; Herausgegeben vom Düsseldorfer Geschichtsverein, Verlag C. Kraus, 1889, Teil I, S. 12.

1. ↑ In document No. 28, it was reported that the building of the Carmelite monastery was located at the old town hall (market) square.
2. ↑ According to Ferber, such destroyed buildings included house No. 1, now absent. According to other sources , these structures included several buildings to the west of the church, previously ranked as a street.

• H. Ferber "In: Historische Wanderung durch die alte Stadt Düsseldorf; Herausgegeben vom Düsseldorfer Geschichtsverein, Verlag C. Kraus, 1889, Teil I, S. 12-25.
• Karl H. Neidhöfer In: Düsseldorf - Straßennamen und ihre Geschichte, 1979, Droste Verlag GmbH, Düsseldorf, S. 10.
• Herrmann Kleinfeld In: Düsseldorfs Straßen und ihre Benennungen, 1996, Grupello-Verlag, Düsseldorf, S. 33.

• Altestadt (German)
• Straßeninformationen zu dem Altestadt in 40213 Düsseldorf (German)