Even if it currently looks like a standstill, the redesign of Cathedral Hill is progressing. The face of Cathedral Hill continues to change.
Freising – The new Diocesan Museum has been open since October 2022 and has since celebrated great success and is a crowd puller. The Domberg elevator has also been approved – the redesign of the mons doctus is in full swing. Now it's time to move on: The comprehensive renovation, modernization and architectural redesign of the Prince-Bishop's Residence as well as the new extension of the future education center (Kardinal-Döpfner-Haus) were approved by the building committee of the city of Freising on Wednesday afternoon. Christoph Spieß from the building authority presented the plans.
A number of changes are imminent: The residence is to be made accessible to the public and – admittedly taking into account the listed building – transformed into what the application documents call a "multifunctional conference centre". And so the complex is not only used, as before, as a conference center of the archdiocese, but also so-called "museum tours" are offered. For example, the episcopal living quarters in the residence remain unchanged as a testimony to their time.
City Council speaks of the "lottery win for Freising" - and votes against it
The Stone Hall is reactivated and serves as a multifunctional room for events with up to 224 guests. The reconstruction of the hall inspired the committee. Robert Weller spoke of a "lottery win for Freising". The extension is being built in two partial buildings on the site of the already demolished Haindl building, directly opposite the Diocesan Museum. It will have two or three storeys instead of seven storeys as previously planned. This extension was also designed as a courtyard building as a counterpart to the residence, but deliberately took a back seat in appearance next to the listed main building, it was said on Wednesday.
Guest rooms of different sizes will be accommodated here – 68 in total. In addition to the main access staircase and elevator, the intermediate building also includes a meeting room and an open loggia with a view over the open landscape. And: On the ground floor of the former laundry, a public café is planned that will be accessible from Museum Square.
"Struwwelpeter": The cathedral hill is to get a new tower
One of the main focuses of all future planning on Cathedral Hill is always on the city skyline: This is now to be supplemented by another tower: In the north-western corner of the residence, the former Khue Tower, which was demolished in 1790 and whose foundation walls are largely preserved, will be restored to its original height and can also be visited later on historical tours. The number of required parking spaces will increase from 135 to 168 – these will be proven in the adjacent Domberg multi-storey car park.
In the end, three members of the committee voted against the plans, "which I find gigantic except for one point," as one of the three, Robert Weller (Free Voters), said. Nevertheless, this one point was so serious that he simply could not be in favor of it: the reconstruction of the cow tower. Weller: "This planned spire looks like the Struwwelpeter, it just doesn't belong there."
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
Councillor Maria Lintl (Freisinger Mitte) wanted to architecturally assign the tower to "Brutalism" in this form. It is reminiscent of a hose tower of a fire brigade.
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