Panel discussion on the topic "Former university building Haus ZIII" on January 22, 2020.
The administrative building of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences stood here until 2018. It had interesting predecessors. Starting with the "Kaiserhaus" built by Karl IV in 1361. Admission to the public event is free (4.15 pm, Haus ZIV, Hörsaal Theodor-Körner-Allee 8, 02763 Zittau).
It's well worth a visit! Also to see the historical finds on display, some of which are being shown to the public for the first time. Their connection to the imperial house will be discussed and evaluated by the experts present. The opening of a hermetically sealed "time capsule", which was sunk in 1971 when the foundation stone of the university building was laid, is also extremely interesting.
The construction of this building brought to light the foundation walls of the imperial house once built in the immediate vicinity of the medieval Pfortmühle. Its stones had been removed in the 16th century and used for the Zittau "salt house". The demolition of the imperial house in 1516 and the use of the stones for the salt house are documented by historiography. There is no doubt about that. In the panel discussion, the experts will examine the question of whether the stone finds that were discovered during the renovation of the Salzhaus (1998-2001) can be dated so that they can be assigned to the building construction of the Zittau imperial house. These stone finds will be presented to the public for the first time at the event. Dr. Knüvener has dealt with the question of dating the stone finds and Dr. Westphalen, as an archaeologist, will explain how we can clarify the presumed remains of the foundations of the Zittau imperial house.
We will also discuss how to proceed with the historic square (which is home to an ancient plane tree, probably the oldest tree in Zittau). The mayor of Zittau, Thomas Zenker, has confirmed his attendance. The designated rector of the university, Prof. Alexander Kratzsch, will also be present. Both will present their vision for the future design of the historically significant square - from the perspective of the university and the town respectively. Dr. Peter Knüvener, Director of the Zittau Municipal Museums, and Dr. Thomas Westphalen from the State Office for Archaeology will also be present. University employee Dr. Wolfgang Menzel has conducted extensive research into the history of this traditional building site over the past few years. He will moderate the panel discussion.
Unfortunately, most of the mighty foundations of the Kaiserhaus (photo) were removed when the foundations for the former university administration building were laid in 1971. However, the remains of the walls running along Theodor-Körner-Allee were not affected by this, as they were outside the construction site at the time. Of course, the use of the former university building will also be discussed during the discussion. Ralf Ulbrich, Head of Technology and Facility Management at the university, is well placed to provide information on this.
Fortunately, administrative employee Luisa Görtz rediscovered the foundation stone of the building in summer 2017. As a result, it and the "time capsule", which had been walled up since the foundation stone was laid on October 25, 1971, could be recovered in time before demolition. Its opening is certainly a highlight of this interesting event, but certainly not the only one.
