Yard 20

Several buildings on Krämerstraße had been severely damaged during the Second World War and were demolished. The city of Aachen had no plans to rebuild them true to the original. Instead, in the post-war period, the focus was on new, small-scale development and the gaps were closed with historic façades to preserve the appearance of the old town. This was also the case with house no. 20, which was not built until 1965. When the new building was constructed, the preserved façade of the building at Peterstraße 49, which was built around 1820, was relocated here. The strictly structured façade was to unfold its full effect here.

The building immediately catches the eye with its striking pilaster façade made of bluestone, which is unique in Aachen due to its consistent three-storey design. Both new side façades, on the other hand, were given a modern design with concrete elements, which almost looks like a subtle, simplified modification of the historic main façade. This cleverly draws attention to the main façade.

The sides of the building were designed in a modern style, but with a clear reference to the main Baroque façade. The building is a prime example of the efforts made by those involved to adapt modern architecture to the historic cityscape.

The old building from which the façade was taken was located on Peterstraße. Entire rows of houses that had survived the war were demolished there to accommodate the growing traffic and necessary road widening. Which parts of the façade were to be stored and then reused was simply recorded by hand and in photographs.