Balthasar Neumann - Balthasar Neumann

Balthasar Neumann was born on January 27, 1687 in Eger born, his full name is Johann Balthasar Neumann. He died in Würzburg on August 19, 1753. He was a very well-known builder of the Baroque and Rococo, who left us a multitude of buildings worth seeing.

His life

Map by Balthasar Neumann
  • Born as Hans Christoph Neumann as the seventh of nine children in house no. 12 in Schiffgasse and baptized on January 30, 1687 in Eger.
  • He initially spent his apprenticeship with his godfather Balthasar Platzer. Then at the beginning of the 18th century he moved to Sebald Koch in Würzburg and graduated in 1711 with the apprenticeship "Gunsmith, serious and pleasure fireworks".
  • In 1712 he joined the Franconian district artillery and perfected his knowledge in the field of fortress construction.
  • He has been in the service of the Würzburg bishopric since 1714. With the Frankish troops he comes to Austria, Hungary, Vienna and Milan.
  • In 1719 the Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn appointed Neumann as the Prince-Bishop's building director in Würzburg.
  • In 1720 Neumann took over the planning for the new building of the Würzburg Residence.
  • He goes on a study trip to Mannheim, Bruchsal, Strasbourg, Nancy and Paris
  • In 1725 he married Maria Eva Engelberta Schild, the daughter of the secret councilor Franz Ignaz Schild and lived in Würzburg at Franziskanergasse 2, with his architecture office
  • In 1729 he becomes building director in Bamberg.
  • In 1731 he received the chair for civil and military architecture at the University of Würzburg
  • From 1723 he was a member of the episcopal building commission, which he headed from 1725.
  • He drew the designs for the residences in Stuttgart (1747–49), Karlsruhe (1750/51) and for Schwetzingen (1752).
  • Neumann died in Würzburg in 1753 and was buried in the Marienkapelle in Würzburg.
  • His last construction sites, the Neresheim Abbey and the Vierzehnheiligen basilica are being completed by others.

A selection of his works

In Lower Franconia

  • The 1 Fountain hall in Bad Bocklet, in 1725
  • The parish church St. Andrew in Retzstadt near Zellingen, in 1726
  • The 2 Round church of the Holzkirchen Monastery in Holzkirchen (Lower Franconia), from 1728 to 1730
  • Design of the staircase in the 3 Burgpreppach CastleBurgpreppach Castle in the Wikipedia encyclopediaBurgpreppach Castle in the Wikimedia Commons media directoryBurgpreppach Castle (Q2240454) in the Wikidata database (1731)
  • The 4 Parish church St. Mauritius in Wiesentheid, a foundation of Count Rudolf Franz Erwein von Schönborn, was built from 1727-1732 according to plans by Balthasar Neumann. The local master builder Joh. Georg Seitz was the site manager. The baroque interior with the ceiling frescoes by the Italian painter Giovanni Francesco Marchini is particularly worth seeing. He also created the false dome on the flat ceiling with the special spatial effect. The high altar comes from Johann Christian Mayer from Dettelbach
  • The 5 Tauber BridgeTauberbrücke in the encyclopedia WikipediaTauberbrücke in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsTauber Bridge (Q1742321) in the Wikidata database in Tauberrettersheim in 1733
  • The baroque one 6 Catholic parish church of St. LaurentiusCatholic parish church of St. Laurentius in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsCatholic Parish Church of St. Laurentius (Q41359618) in the Wikidata database in Retzbach (Zellingen), from 1736 to 1738
  • The basilica the Münsterschwarzach Abbey in 1743, the church was damaged by lightning in 1810 and completely demolished in 1825.
  • The Catholic 7 Parish Church of the Birth of MaryParish Church of the Birth of Mary in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsParish Church of the Birth of Mary (Q41321881) in the Wikidata database in common field (Burgpreppach) built from 1736 to 1744
  • The 8 Kreuzkapelle in the Kitzinger Etwashausen district, from 1741 to 1745, cross-shaped system around the central rotunda, the floor plan adorned the earlier 50-DM note.
  • Today's lock Werneck, was built between 1733 and 1745 by Neumann for Prince-Bishop Friedrich Karl von Schönborn as a splendid summer residence in the baroque style and used by the Würzburg bishops until 1803. The castle is considered to be one of his main works.
  • The 9 Pilgrimage Church of the Visitation of Mary in Limbach (Eltmann), from 1751 to 1755
  • The Oberzell Monastery in Zell am Main was rebuilt by him from 1744 to 1760

  • Werneck Castle

  • Veitshöchheim Castle

  • Well hall in Bad Bocklet

  • Kreuzkapelle in Kitzingen

In Wurzburg

  • The 10 residence in Würzburg in the Italian-French baroque style, from 1720 to 1744, based on the model of the Versailles Palace
  • The Schönborn Chapel on the northern transverse arm of the Würzburg Cathedral, from 1723 to 1724
  • The pilgrimage church Käppele in Würzburg, from 1748 to 1750

  • Residence in Würzburg

  • The Gothic Marienkapelle in Würzburg, Neumann's final resting place († August 19, 1753). A memorial plaque attached to the pillar to the central nave in 1953.

  • Balthasar-Neumann memorial plaque in the Würzburg Marienkapelle

In Upper Franconia

  • in the 11 Ebrach MonasteryEbrach Monastery in the Wikipedia encyclopediaEbrach Monastery in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsEbrach Monastery (Q315482) in the Wikidata database in the Steigerwald the staircase and the imperial hall on the upper floor according to plans by Balhasar Neumann (1715)
  • The 12 Monastery church of Banz Monastery was designed by the Bamberg master builder Leonhard Dientzenhofer and his brother Johann Dientzenhofer, and was inaugurated on October 5th, 1719. The Baroque expansion of the monastery complex was carried out by the Staffelstein builders Sebastian Weber and Johann Thomas Nißler (who also carried out Vierzehnheiligen); Balthasar Neumann provided the site plan for the forecourt.
  • The first Orangery in Memmelsdorf was built from 1723. The building was given its present form under Prince-Bishop Friedrich Karl from 1733 according to plans by Balthasar Neumann. Heinrich Dientzenhofer was in charge of construction. Today, the Ferdinand Tietz Museum with original sculptures by the sculptor is housed in the western wing of the orangery (freely accessible), while the castle café is located in the eastern wing.
  • The parish church 13 St. NicholasSt. Nicholas in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsSt. Nicholas (Q41296612) in the Wikidata database in Arnstein a district of Weismain, from 1731 to 1734
  • The 14 Pilgrimage church of the monastery Gößweinstein, from 1730 to 1739
  • The 15 basilica Fourteen saints at Bad Staffelstein from 1743 to 1772. In 1743 a new building was to be started according to plans by Balthasar Neumann with the concept of a cross-shaped church space and the place of grace arranged centrally in the crossing under a dome. The construction was initially carried out by the Saxon-Weimar master builder Gottfried Heinrich Krohne, who, however, did not adopt Neumann's concept (possibly for economic reasons after consultation with the abbot) and shifted the entire building a little on the mountain slope, so that the altar of grace is no longer in the crossing, but would have been arranged in the nave. By the time Neumannn appeared on the construction site, the work on the foundations had progressed so far that it was no longer possible to change these components at a later date. Neumann's architectural achievement is based on the fact that in addition to the already built church plinth with a given, almost strictly rectangular floor plan, he introduced two free-standing rows of columns in the nave, and over these rows of columns, several self-supporting shells, oval in plan and intersecting, arched as the church ceiling. The basic type of a three-aisled basilica emerged again, but now with a swaying spatial effect in the Rococo style. The altar of grace moved back into the center of the church as a mixed solution of longitudinal and central building. After delays in the Seven Years' War, after Krohne's dismissal in 1743, the construction was probably carried out by the Staffelstein master builder Jahann Thomas Nißler (1713-1769), who also worked on the construction of the neighboring Banz monastery

  • Ebrach monastery stairwell

  • Pilgrimage Church of Gößweinstein

  • Fourteen saints

In Baden-Wuerttemberg

  • The 16 Teutonic Order Church in Bad Mergentheim, from 1730 to 1735
  • The Abbey church of the monastery Schöntaluntil 1736
  • The 17 lock Bruchsal, Staircase from 1731
  • Designs for that 18 New lock in Meersburg around 1740
  • The 19 Church of the abbey Neresheim from 1747 to 1792
  • The 20 Hermitage in Waghausel was built around 1725, expanded by Balthasar Neumann around 1737. Part of the Hermitage fell victim to the industrial complex of the sugar factory (closed in 1995). One of the remaining three wings is inhabited, the other two are used for association work (astronomy) and lectures.

  • Bruchsal Castle

In Rhineland-Palatinate

  • The interior of the parish church 21 St. Paulin in trier, from 1734 to 1757
  • The parish church St. Cecilia in Saffig, from 1739 to 1742
  • The Laurentiuskirche in Dirmstein, from 1742 to 1746

In North Rhine-Westphalia

  • The Locks 22 Augustusburg and Falkenlust in Bruehl (Rhineland), the staircase, from 1740 to 1746, the high altar of St. Marien, from 1745 to 1746
  • The Holy Stairs of the Kreuzbergkirche in Bonn from 1746 to 1751

In Hesse

  • The 23 St. Cecilia Parish church St. Cecilia in Heusenstamm in 1739
  • The parish church St. Michael in Hofheim, a district of Lampertheim, from 1747 to 1754

literature

Web links

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