Hellgrevenhof

The Hellgrevenhof is a historic building in the Wartburg city of Eisenach in Thuringia. In the west of the old town, directly at the former Georgentor, in the courtyard area of the houses Georgenstraße 43–47, is the so-called Kemenate of the Hellgrevenhof. Today, the building complex houses the main building of the Eisenach City Library. During the last renovation of the building in the mid-1990s, its building history was researched, according to which this stone building is probably the oldest preserved secular building within the city walls.

Among the Eisenach council families, which are known by name in 13th-century documents, is the Hellgrafe, Hellgrefe, or similar family - "Höllengraf" (Hell Count) - in legendary tradition, this bourgeois family is also encountered in the so-called Sängerkrieg (Singers' War): the Hungarian magician Klingsor and the minnesinger Heinrich von Ofterdingen find their dwelling in the house of the Hellgrefe - located on the city wall at St. Georgentor, to the left when leaving the city. At the end of the 17th century, the property was acquired by the court and assigned to the judicial office; in other parts, a brewery was established, which was connected to the opposite tavern and inn "Zur Güldenen Sonne". Parts of the property, probably the judicial office, found new use as a pawn and loan house. After several changes of ownership, the complex rapidly deteriorated in the 20th century; in the 1920s, there were even plans to erect a first high-rise building here, which, however, met with widespread rejection among the Eisenach population. A forge was last operated on the ground floor of the Kemenate. The stone building survived several city fires and wars; today, together with the neighboring half-timbered houses, it forms the Hellgrevenhof. In addition to the city library, a restaurant, and offices, it also houses the studio of the regional broadcaster "Wartburgradio".