Remains of historic farmhouse gutted by fire to be demolished

Regular readers will remember the fire which gutted a historic farmhouse in Schochenmühlestrasse in the city in March. Fortunately, no-one was injured, but considerable damage was caused, as is only too evident from the photograph.

Now the city council has announced it intends to have the remains of the 219-year-old farmhouse, which served as a multi-family dwelling unit, demolished, and a new building erected on the same site, though when this is to be is not yet certain.

The city was replying in part to a question tabled by Philip C. Brunner of the SVP party, who wanted to know what it was doing to protect such old buildings from fire.

The city felt it was not appropriate to try and recreate the old farmhouse in the way the famous Kappellbrücke bridge in Lucerne (second photograph) was meticulously re-built after the 1993 fire; after all, it would only be a mere copy of the original. The city’s written reply went on to mention how any such reconstruction was out of the question from a financial point of view, too. “It would involve considerable ancillary costs and there would be various disadvantages in regard to maintenance for whatever purpose it might be later used for, especially when one considers the size of and height of the rooms, not to mention such issues as insulation and such like. These just would not conform to today’s standards.”

It was also mentioned that the city could not be obliged to reconstruct it by the Cantonal Office for the Protection of Ancient Monuments and Buildings, either, though this authority would have to consent to the demolition of what remains. Indeed, this has already been agreed, though not yet in writing.

As to whatever is built on this site is not yet clear at this stage and depends on a vote in the cantonal parliament, too.