In 1973 the television journalist Dieter Wieland made a spectacular documentary about the city of Landshut. It was an indictment through and through. The then Mayor Josef Deimer intervened violently against his school friend Wieland with the director of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation, but ultimately in vain. “Once I was in a discussion in a Landshut tavern,” Wieland likes to tell. “I still wonder today that they didn’t kill me there.”
At that time, Wieland denounced the daring plans of the city leaders, who still believed unreservedly in the omnipotence of modernization and growth and less in the value of historic inner cities. After all, Wieland ensured that the Landshut people did not cut a traffic lane through their unique old town. It was in those years that the basic problems of modern urban planning came to light for the first time. The key question is: What can be demolished and changed in a historic building, what must be preserved?
Not only Wieland, but also the academic painter Franz Högner (1903-1979), a Landshut man with body and soul, warned against the destruction of architectural cultural assets. All his life he placed the rich historical treasure of Landshut at the center of his artistic work. In addition to countless pictures that document the buildings of the city as well as its inhabitants, and the restoration of significant art treasures, he always appeared as a strong warning when it came to the destruction of historical buildings. On the back of an ink drawing of the building stock on Ländgasse, for example, there is the following note: “April 23, 1978: Old houses are deliberately left to neglect… So that they can then be demolished. Landshut is being demolished.”
A 15th century citizen would still find his way there today
This drawing can currently be seen alongside many others in an exhibition in Landshut (Kleine Rathausgalerie). The range extends from Högner’s townscapes from the 1930s to the works he created shortly before his death in 1979. Since Högner meticulously recorded the urban development changes, his drawings form a unique chronicle. This show was made possible by the associations “Friends of Landshut Old Town” and “Die Förderer”, who were able to acquire a treasure trove of watercolors and drawings from Högner’s daughter.
Högner was an important figure, especially for the sponsors who organize the historical festival “Landshut Wedding 1475” every four years. With an unrivaled attention to detail, he created designs for the gothic robes, flags and structures of the festival and thus laid the foundation for the festival to be part of Germany’s intangible cultural heritage. A merit that the head of the sponsorship, Stefan Feigel, duly emphasizes. Högner was no less concerned about the structural and design development of the historic inner city of Landshut. What would the performance of the festival be without this unique Gothic setting, some of which still looks like it did 500 years ago? A citizen from the 15th century could still find his way around the alleys of the old town without any problems.
There is something persistent about the city
Josef Wiesmüller, chairman of the Friends of the Old Town in Landshut, emphasizes Högner has also made a great contribution to the revival of Gothic frescoes. “Högner was a master at handling colors and materials. He regularly achieved extraordinary things.” This sensitivity gives an idea of how painful the often rough interventions in the historical building fabric must have been for Högner – and also how painful some current developments in Landshut would be for him, as Wiesmüller suspects. That is the basic problem in Landshut: On the one hand, the Lower Bavarian district capital benefits greatly from the dynamism of globalization, which has brought it a major airport, a motorway and industrial companies in the immediate vicinity. On the other hand, there is something persistent about the city that is not often found in this form.
However, Feigel and Wiesmüller also point to positive examples. There are a number of exemplary refurbishments of historical buildings in Landshut, such as the machine factory in the summer, the property Rauchsteiner on the Mühleninsel, the Firmerbräu in the Neustadt and the exemplary refurbished log house on Pfettrachgasse. Högner would also have liked these changes.
Högner – Landshut. The historical conscience of the city and the “Landshut Wedding 1475”, Small Town Hall Gallery, until December 5th, Tuesday to Thursday 10 am-5pm.