By the bombing of Leipzig in World War II, the square's entire peripheral development was destroyed or severely damaged.

After clearing work, the castle square was only bordered by the town hall and the connected Stadthaus, the remaining structural enclosure was missing.

To the east, at the site of the Hirzel House, which was destroyed in the war, there had been a cordoned-off open excavation pit for over twenty years since the mid-1990s, which was named Burgplatzloch (Burgplatz hole).

It was created in 1995 during the construction of an underground parking garage for the western end of the Petersbogen structure, which was built between 1999 and 2001.

The facade, covered with Cotta Sandstone, contains six life-size figures with reference to the Leipzig Debate of 1519, which took place in the Pleissenburg castle opposite.