Langes Bäuche

The Langes Bäuche is a former riding stable in Darmstadt’s Friedensplatz. Built around 1730 as a private stable for Landgrave Ernst Ludwig’s horses, it is one of the few surviving buildings from the baroque Neue Vorstadt. The architect was likely Erich Philipp Ploennies. By the 19th century it served as a post office, handling twice-weekly diligence coaches to Frankfurt. Later it housed a Red Cross sewing room and Gustav Lorenz’s experiments in epidemic control. After the war it became a laundry for the Technical University, then a storage site for the Grand Ducal estate office. From 1960 to 2018 the Institute for New Technical Form occupied the building. The elongated structure has a ground floor and a mansard storey, with sandstone door and window surrounds. A dated keystone above a window marks 1730, and the roof is covered with slate tiles. Visitors see the long, low façade of red sandstone and slate. Mansard windows line the upper floor, their sash frames still intact. Inside, the ground floor rooms retain original stone architraves. The building stands empty now, its quiet spaces echoing past uses. The peaceful square in front offers a view of the baroque roofline against modern Darmstadt.