The Upper Market Square () in Görlitz is the largest square in the historic part of the town. It was laid out in 1250 together with the Lower Market Square. Both are connected via the Bretheren Street (Brüderstraße). While the Lower Market is mostly bordered by Renaissance buildings, the Upper Market has many buildings from the Baroque and Wilhelminian periods. It is therefore the gateway to the historic part of the town. Important buildings on the market include Reichenbach Tower, Kaisertrutz and Holy Trinity Church (Dreifaltigkeitskirche).
History
Expansion in 13th century The Upper Market was laid out around 1250. The square and the adjoining alleys formed the Neustadt (New town) in the 14th century. In 1401 the names Neumarkt (New Market) for the eastern part and Oberneumarkt (Upper New Market) for the western part appeared for the first time. However, by 1848 at latest, when the expansion of the city began, the name Obermarkt (Upper Market) became established. As part of the expansion, today's Wilhelmsplatz was also created, which bore the name Neumarkt (New Market) until it was renamed in 1871.
Early Modern Period
According to chronicles, the salt house was built in 1407, but the first mentions of it were only around 1424 and 1434. It stood in the middle of the square and started at about the level of the junction of Steinstraße (Stone Street) and then extended further in the direction of Bretheren Street (Brüderstraße).
In January 1451, a pulpit was erected in front of the salthouse for the Franciscan friar and preacher John of Capistrano. He preached 15 sermons there. The Franciscans owned a monastery in Görlitz on today's Klosterplatz from the 13th century until its dissolution as a result of the Reformation; their monastery church was the Holy Trinity Church on the Upper Market Square.
In 1535/36, the salt house was converted into a dance hall, merchant's and garment house, as until then there had only been a dance hall for the higher society in the town hall. Until 1767 it had high, pointed gables on each side, which were removed and replaced by a hipped roof. On the west and east sides, a staircase led to the second floor. A baroque portal granted entrance to the interior. There were stone measures on the house, the old grain measure Scheffel and the Viertel. In the large upper hall, local and foreign clothiers offered their goods for sale. Salt was stored on the first floor until about 1815, when it was moved to the Woad house. The salthouse housed military goods on the second floor. The Markthut (market hat) indicated that only local non-traders were currently allowed to shop in the salthouse as long as it hung outside of the building. Until the year 1851, the salt house was used, then it was demolished.
In 1717 a large townfire destroyed all buildings on the northern and western side Therefore, the oldest civil buildings on the square date back to 1717.
The upper market was mainly used for grain trade. By 1700, the influx of goods was so great that the space was barely enough. On July 19, 1804, 754 carts full of grain crowded the market.
Prussian Era
After the treaties of the Congress of Vienna, eastern Upper Lusatia changed from the Saxonian to the Prussian state and thus also the city of Görlitz. The inflow and outflow of goods from western and southern Upper Lusatia or to these areas was severely impeded by the border between Prussia and Saxony that had now been created. Only with the introduction of the customs union on 1 January 1834 the situation improved again clearly. On the market there were again traders like knitters, stocking sellers, beaders, Bohemian farmers with wooden boards, residents of Rothwasser with their shingles, ladders, brooms and numerous other products. However, the craft recovered only briefly, until it then declined sharply due to the greatly changing economic conditions around 1870.
To the west of the salthouse stood the main guardhouse from 1676 to 1847. It was extended in 1704 and 1740. From 1640 to 1650 the guard was located north of the monastery church. With the expansion of the Kaisertrutz by the Prussians, the main guard and the military arsenal moved from the salthouse to the Kaisertrutz in 1850.
George's fountain, dating from 1590, was placed in front of the Goldener Adler (Golden Eagle) until 1856, after which it was moved in front of the Schwibbogen. The shield of George with the Electoral Saxonian coat of arms probably previously bore the Bohemian coat of arms. The statue on the Upper Market Square is now a copy. The original is located in the Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences at Neissstraße 30. It is not sure whether the fountain figure represents Saint George or a Görlitz city servant.
On the south side of the square, which was largely spared from fires, numerous buildings from the 16th century remained until the 19th century, but for the most part in a ruinous condition. Exemplary described is the change of the houses between Klosterplatz and today's Steinstraße:
The cloth-maker Max Finster was at the same time the owner of the corner house Upper Market Square/Klosterplatz (at that time House No.1), built in 1722 by saddler Michael Ulrich in the Baroque style. In 1898 he additionally acquired the neighboring house No.2 and demolished both buildings. On the enlarged property he erected a new building in 1900. Today, the corner house houses the office of a health insurance company. Also in 1804, the double house Upper Market Square No.3 was demolished by the salt administrator Christian Friedrich Görcke and replaced by a wider new building. A third floor was added to the baroque appearing house No.4, but it remained otherwise unchanged. House No.5, then also known as the von Mollerstein-Zimmermannsche Haus had three large street gables with volutes and two gothic gates until shortly after 1800. In 1803, the gables were first demolished and replaced with a shingle roof. In 1837, Riemermeister Immanuel Friedrich Zimmermann completely rebuilt the house. Only the von Mollerstein coat of arms remained. The corner house Upper Market Square/Steinstraße (No.6) was also a baroque building crowned with two large gables. It was built in this form around 1680. This house lost its gables in 1803 and was rebuilt from scratch in 1844 by the master furrier Ernst Friedrich Thorer.
It was similar with the houses in the direction of Kaisertrutz. Two personalities were connected with those: Hans Karl von Winterfeldt wounded in the Battle of Moys, died in the night from September 7 to 8, 1757 in the house No.11. In the house No.8, the saddler Johann Christoph Lüders opened his first carriage building business in 1830. He moved his business to Brunnenstraße in 1849. He is considered the founding father of the Görlitz wagon construction.
Emperor Wilhelm II visited Görlitz for the first time on May 18, 1893, and unveiled the equestrian statue of Wilhelm I on the Upper Market Square. It was located in the approximate center of the square. On May 11, 1939, the monument with its three figures was moved to the Wilhelmsplatz. During World War II it was melted down for war purposes.
Begin of 20th century and Weimar Republic
In 1909/10, the Holy Trinity Church was renovated; the artist Adolf Quensen from Braunschweig provided the walls and vaults with romanticizing paintings. The ceiling and wall decorations were replaced with new paintings, which are now considered worthy of preservation as evidence of the national and religious understanding of the time.
With the beginning of the First World War in 1914, the regular parades of the Görlitz garrison troops on the Upper Market Square ended. The soldiers marched through the city to the train station under the cheers of the population. On November 9, 1918, at 6 pm., a large crowd gathered in front of the Kaisertrutz, the main guardhouse at that time. They liberated the military prisoners from the guardhouse without the duty officers being able to prevent it. At the end of the day, the red flag was hoisted on the Kaisertrutz. The day after at 1 p.m. the Reichstag representative Paul Taubadel (SDP, for Görlitz-Lubań since 1912 in the Reichstag) spoke to numerous people on the Upper Market Square. Von Bähr (USPD) and soldier Krüger were also among the speakers. On May 1, 1919, thousands of people celebrated the first May parade after the end of the Empire. In the Golden Twenties the house No.24 offered a new home to the new Volkskabarett zum Mönch (public revue). The audience was entertained with sideswipes at boorish inflation winners and the prudish regimentation of swimwear. The audience probably found the sharper political satire inappropriate. More popular were languorous tango singers and discreet ribaldry. The highlight of these years was the Oberlausitzer Festwoche (Upper Lusatian Festival Week) from July 3 to 10, 1927. The parade with more than 70 floats, including military clubs, post office, fire department, craftsmen's groups, a beer wagon of the Landskron brewery, gymnasts and athletes as well as floats of the automobile club was admired by thousands of citizens. On the stage on the Upper Market Square every evening from 8:30 p.m. the athletes and gymnasts offered performances. Also a music corps of the Reichswehr from the III. Battalion of the 8th Infantry Regiment under Heinrich Junghans played and reminded of earlier military parades on the square. Another highlight was the colorful illumination of the Reichenbach Tower and the Kaisertrutz in the evening.
In September 1928, during his visit to Görlitz, Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg also came to the Upper Market Square. He was greeted by the residents with the old black-red-white imperial flag of the German Empire. Only on the public buildings the black-red-gold flag of the Weimar Republic was hoisted up. A few years later with Hitler's seizure of power, the Reich flags finally disappeared in the attics of local residents, where they were rediscovered a few decades later.
National Socialism and World War II On the square after Adolf Hitler's seizure of control on January 30, 1933, more and more swastika flags hoisted from windows of private apartments and stores. With the reintroduction of compulsory military service in 1935, the Görlitz Reichswehr Battalion became the Infantry Regiment 30 Görlitz-Lubań; the Holy Trinity Church served as the Protestant garrison church. From June 24 to 27, 1937, the "Anticominternzug" with the Nazi propaganda traveling exhibition World Enemy No. 1 - Bolshevism appeared on the square. Not only the left political wing suffered under the Nazi rule, but also the Jews of Görlitz. On the Upper Market Square, this affected numerous retailers who had to sell their shops far below value or close down as part of the Aryanization. Thus, Otto Klau took over the men's clothing store of Jakob Abramowitz (House No.11), Paul Rother took over the men's and women's clothing store of Richard Dresel (House No.3), Fritz Behrendt took over the shoe store of Paul Kafka (Upper Market corner Steinstraße) and the company Bahr und Söhne took over the men's and women's wardrobe store of the Meirowsky brothers (House No.7).
Artur Dresel's men's clothing store (House No.6) closed. Artur Dresel was a prominent and committed Social Democrat who had held numerous honorary municipal offices. He was accused of sexually harassing a teenage customer during a fitting. The Oberlausitzer Tagespost (Upper Lusatian Daily) and Der Stürmer overflowed with insinuations and fabrications, all of which collapsed after a trial that ended with an acquittal for Dresel and an embarrassment for the masterminds. Despite his acquittal, Artur Dresel was sent to the court prison in Breslau, where he allegedly put an end to his own life shortly afterwards. At a 1948 court trial in Bautzen, it came out that a begrudging neighborhood craftsman had denounced Dresel.