Point 2 - Market

Market

Schirgiswalde developed from a village settlement and was only granted town charter in 1665. That is why there is no large market square.

A photo from 1872 shows that all the buildings on Obermarkt were originally half-timbered houses, including the former "Erbgericht" inn. The new Hotel Erbgericht - unfortunately now closed - was equipped with a large hall in which countless carnival parties, concerts, school commencements etc. were celebrated.

The baroque sandstone sculpture "Christ at the Scourge Column" used to stand on the Obermarkt in front of the Erbgericht, but was moved to its current location by the church steps in 1941. The beautiful corner house at Markt 2 is one of the few half-timbered houses to have survived alongside the arcade houses. The people of Schirgiswalde bought their groceries at "Hausch" until the 1990s.

Next to it (today Markt 3/Rämischstraße 1) used to be the Ratskeller restaurant (with butcher's shop) and the Ratsaal, which was planned as the town hall but was never completed. Between the Erbgericht and the building at the foot of the Kirchberg (Marktstuben) stood another large half-timbered house - the so-called Hentschel-Haus, where the famous composer and musician Theodor Hentschel was probably born. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 2011.

Buildings also disappeared on Niedermarkt. Until 1879, the town's brook still flowed openly across the Niedermarkt to the Spree. The imposing building of the so-called ice cellar stood on its northern side. This is where the ice supplies for the "Spreeschloßbrauerei" brewery on the south side of the square were stored.

The market not only provided - and still provides - space for traders, but also for festivities such as the St. Nicholas fair, the carnival parade, the receptions of the Saxon king or the prime minister.