Around 1840 the plans for the construction of a first town hall began in Horrenberg. The building was to be built on the communitys own Lindenplatz. Josef Janson, the owner of "Zum Wilden Mann" connected with the construction serious disadvantages for his inn. The wild man should disappear completely behind the large town hall building, which would mean the loss of access for Janson. In the course of the debate with the community (of) Horrenberg, Janson finally brought action against the community and its mayor Johann Hering. He relied on the age old justice of the wild man".
I might be wrong, but it looks like the restaurant would be blocked from view if you were approaching from the NE, along the road going S. The square roof in the center of the photo must be the town hall--so yes, it would block the view of the Restaurant Wilden Mann.
"The process around the Lindenplatz dragged itself through three instances (district court, Hofgericht, Oberhofgericht) and was finally decided by the grand ducal Oberhofgericht in Mannheim in favor of the municipality Horrenberg. In the course of the process there were many testimonies and local appointments. From a sketch plan for Weisloch district court shows that the road to Hoffenheim at the town hall described a sharp turn and was not created as a turnoff from the road to Balzfeld. At the place of nowadays town hall, a gravel path deviated with gravel branched off, which crossed the Lindenplatz and ended immediately before the wild man. This path not only served as a gateway to the wild man but was also the main access to Horrenberger castle in the middle ages.
According to the case files, the Janson family owned the wild man for 100 years as a successor to the Hamburger family. Johann Adam Janson from Baiertal (born 1709, died 1798) had taken over the wild man around 1740 from his father-in-law Johann Caspar Hamburger. The inn later passed to his son Georg Adam Janson (born 1739, died 1795). Later his widow ran the inn until 1803. As a result, Valentin Janson was its owner until 1830. Since 1830, the inn and its associated agriculture belonged to the son Josef Janson.
During the course of the trial Josef Janson wanted several witnesses to appear (Maria Ihle, 83 years, Josef Fuchs, 80 years, Johann Ihle, 78 years), who were to confirm that the wild man could only be reached via the mentioned ravine and there were ways to do so Justice exists since time immemorial. Janson demanded an expedited litigation "otherwise the witnesses die". The court could not agree with the plaintiff's arguments and dismissed Jansons lawsuit for a fee.
Previously the community Horrenberg had been seized twice because they had not pre-stretched in the opinion of the municipal councils unnecessary court costs. At the end of the process there were several losers. Innkeeper Janson had not only lost the case but was also financially ruined by the conviction to pay all court and attorney fees. Since the Horrenberg parish had split into two camps during the trial, those who supported the community's position no longer visited Janson's inn.
Finally, Janson emigrated with his family to the US because he saw no future in Horrenberg. Since Mayor Hering also had a large part of the population against him, he was replaced. When he was brought to trial during the revolution of 1848/49 as a sympathizer of the republican movement, he also emigrated to America. The new Horrenberg town hall which was initially also used as a school, fulfills its function until the municipal reform of 1972".
Thank you to Kai's wife Kathrin for translating this chronicle page and typing it up so we could make sense of it 😊
