Hardly any year in oberhaid's recent history has been as memorable as 1974. The year in which the tower of the bartholomew church burned down. Robert brand experienced this as a young boy. His father josef was on duty for days with the many other firefighters. When the oberhaider fire department celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1979, the fire in the church tower was still so prominent that a part of the new flag was dedicated to it: below st. Florian, the event was at least set in small scene.
And now the church tower is once again surrounded by a sulfur-yellow cloud: claudio osorio, the colombian art professor and oberhaider by choice, paints the motif of this flag – florian and horse life-size above the small bartholomaus church – on the wall in the fire station.
"No one else has such a thing"
"No one else has anything like it", robert bank, second in command of the oberhaider fire brigade, is pleased. First mayor carsten joneitis (SPD) is happy to agree with him. He buries the continuation of osorio's artworks on and in public or exposed buildings: osorio's art is emblazoned on the facade of the wagner brewery, the oberhaider town hall, the haus der begegnung in staffelbach, the oberhaider regenbogen kindergarten and most recently on the facade of the brewery wagner.
But how did the firehouse come to be the youngest osorio-opus? When joneitis and the fire department leadership stood in the new representation room, one could imagine the historical sprayer here well. But only that? Somehow, it almost seemed a bit obvious to give osorio space for another work, in the beautiful new multipurpose and exhibition space that the fire department has now been given in addition to his own. Since 2007, the fire department headquarters has been located in a former carpenter's shop on friedrich-ebert-strabe.
The fire brigade has a further need for space, according to bank, because of the welcome influx and growth in the area of the children's fire brigade. 30 children between the ages of six and twelve are on fire for their defense and should therefore be challenged and "kept busy" accordingly will be. The 100-member (40 of them active) paying association has invested over 250 hours of its own work in its additional 50 square meters of space.
8000 euro material cost subsidy has been granted by the municipality "but that was probably just enough for the rough, mabfertigte wooden corner bench", makes second commander bank clear. Thanks to the enormous contribution of the children and (ten) teenagers, a flat screen television and a darts machine are now available for their use. The multi-purpose room offers an appropriate ambience for the historical sprayer and can otherwise be quickly converted for various purposes. After the fire department had modernized the floors, ceilings and walls of the two rooms used by the municipality as storage rooms, there was suddenly this seven-meter long "weibe wall", the mayor remembers.
1974 the church burned
Together with the association's leadership and chairman bernd schmitt, they considered how the wall could be designed and then, as mentioned, came up with the artist, who is well respected in the community. As it turns out, probably a lucky guess. The work is not yet finished. When osorio has completed it, the new rooms will be presented to the public and will receive the ecclesiastical blessing.
And most certainly, the burning church will become the fuben of the st. Florian eyewitnesses to the fire of 4. February 1974 remember. "Firefighters were busy for days and luckily the tower did not fall on the longhouse", reports robert bank, now 44 years old. Because then the house of god would not have been saved and the nearby town hall would probably not have been saved either. The cause of the fire is not officially known to this day.