Old Shopping & Dancing Hall with the Eye Roller
Here the knight rolls his eyes in time with the pendulum.
The Florinsmarkt, on which the old shopping & dancing hall stands, was the political and economic center of the city in earlier times. The old Kauf- und Danzhaus together with the Florinskirche, the Schöffenhaus and the Bürresheimer Hof form an ensemble of four historic buildings, which is one of the most beautiful groups of buildings in the city.
The old "Shopping & Dancing Hall" was built in 1419 in Gothic style and rebuilt in the 17th/18th century. In the process it received baroque elements. in 1944 the building burned down and was rebuilt in 1961/62. In the old shopping & dancing hall was located until 2012 the Mittelrhein-Museum (since 2013 in the Forum Confluentes).
The Eye Roller
Under the tower clock, which was installed in 1724, you can see the "eye roller", which moves its eyes back and forth in time with the clock's pendulum and sticks out its tongue every full and half hour. He reminds of the robber baron Johann Lutter von Kobern, who was executed on the Florinsmarkt in 1536. According to legend, he twisted his eyes on the scaffold and stuck his tongue out at the spectators.
Guided Tour: Thieves, Crooks and Scoundrels
Immerse yourself in the dark judicial and criminal history of the city of Koblenz. The circumstances of trials of the time as well as the Reichsprogromnacht and the accompanying destruction throughout the city are also thematized.
The Gothic Aldermen House
Right next to the old shopping & dancing hall, the Gothic Aldermen House was built in 1530. Here met the aldermen of the city court, whose task was to supervise the coins and weights. Until the 18th century, the town pillory was located in front of the court house. in 1965 the house, destroyed during the war, was reconstructed.
Bürresheimer Hof
To the left of the old shopping & dancing hall is the Bürresheimer Hof, built in 1659, which owes its name to its then (1714) owners, the von Breitbach-Bürresheim family.
Points of Interest near the Old Shopping & Dancing Hall
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