Foundation stone

The groundbreaking ceremony is a ceremony for the consecration of the (symbolic) foundation stone on which a new building is constructed.

The foundation stone does not coincide with the actual start of construction - in most cases the excavation starts, that is the excavation of the pit - together, often committed by another ceremony: the sod or ground-breaking ceremony.

The groundbreaking ceremony is celebrated especially in churches and public or semi-public buildings (such as town halls or public buildings ). In this case, usually a particularly ornate, crafted foundation hammer is used, symbolic lashes are running on the foundation with the too loud presented consecration or blessings.

Foundations are often hollow and then contain a so-called " time capsule ", such as a soldered metal container that can contain a certificate with details of the construction project, time products such as daily newspapers or money coins and possibly other symbolic objects. Such foundations are usually immured in the area of the foundation, so that they are accessible again until the destruction of the building. An alternative to time capsules in headstones are tower balls that are more accessible, but also less protected.

Another possibility is to add a so provided with an inscription foundation above ground level in the walls of the building that it remains visible from the outside or inside. This type of stone was used for example in laying the foundation stone by Wilhelm II on October 11, 1900 for the reconstruction of the Roman fort hall castle.

Another variant was practiced on 28 June 2012 in a hospital building of a denominational support, as the Protestant Foundation Tannenhof built a new hospital wing in Remscheid- Lüttringhausen: Add to about 1.20 meters tall, hollow foundation, standing on the concrete floor of the basement, the assembled time capsule was inserted and then covered and walled in by polishing with a stone slab. The ceremony ended with a symbolic hammer blows by representatives of the client in the presence of numerous guests. On the outer wall and always visible in the foreseeable future, a label is attached in the form of an abbreviation and remember those Bible text that the clergy present quoted the groundbreaking ceremony.

Cases are also known in which the foundation stone as a symbolic construction - so instead of a solemn (first) ground-breaking ceremony - which took place at an early stage and the final construction until some time later began, such as the chaff monument.

In prehistoric times to the late Middle Ages foundation deposits have been variously placed, the symbolic significance is comparable.

More solemn events in the construction process are the topping ( in Austria called out ceremony ) and the inauguration, which is a religious, liturgical act in churches and is colloquially referred to as consecration.