Thomas Müntzer Plaza is one of Johannstadt’s most striking green areas, and a cultural monument. The plaza forms a walled semi-circle which opens onto the Käthe Kollwitz riverside and to the Elbe. Its northernmost end is nearly 200 meters wide, and extends into the residential developments on both ends. The houses on and near the plaza are among the most beloved in the quarter, surely not least because Johannstadt generally offers a much less coherent architectural profile. The lack of good parking spaces here however, has become a point of contention in the last few years. As the plaza was being planned in 1904, two factors were deemed most important: first, that it should offer a more beautiful view of the Elbe than of the industrial areas on the opposite bank. Second, it should serve as the bridgehead of the new Waldschlößchen Bridge, already approved for construction by the city council in 1896. These plans, however, came to nothing. Originally, the Münster Plaza was known as Field Commander’s Plaza. The first apartment-houses were built here in 1911, with 60 more built in the following 20 years. The bombings of 1945 left the plaza and its surroundings largely unscathed.
Further informationen about the history of Thomas-Müntzer-Platz
Text: Quartiersmanagement Nördliche Johannstadt