Georg Moller
Georg Moller | |
|---|---|
 Georg Moller, prior to 1852 | |
| Born | 21 January 1784 |
| Died | 13 March 1852(aged 68) |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | |
Georg Moller(21 January 1784 – 13 March 1852) was an architect and a town planner who worked in the South of Germany, mostly in the region today known asHessen.
Life and family background
[edit]Moller was born inDiepholz,a descendant of an old Norwegian family of clergy, who were known in the 17th century for publishing protestant songbooks. His father, Levin Adolf Moller, grew up in Westphalia and became a notary in Celle, and from 1777 worked as an advocate andattorney-at-lawin Diepholz. Moller's mother, Elisabeth von Castelmur, originated in an old Swiss family of nobility from theUpper Engadindistrict ofSwitzerland.Therefore, Moller grew up in a well-situated family.
In 1800, after finishing secondary school Moller began studying architecture with Christian Ludwig Witte in Hannover. Here he was introduced toFriedrich Weinbrennerwhom he followed to Karlsruhe in 1802, to continue studies at a school for building trades. During the years 1807–1809 Moller took a study trip to Rome where he gained crucial insight from members of the Roman colony of German artists. After finishing this journey he became a construction superintendent in 1810 and was hired as court master builder of theGrand Duchy of Hesse.
Among his major works in this capacity areSt. Ludwig,the first Roman Catholic church building inDarmstadtsince theReformation— a building whose forms were inspired by thePantheonin Rome – the formerLandestheater,theLuisenplatzand the Masonic Lodge, what today is the "Moller-Haus". Furthermore, he designed theStaatstheater Mainz,which created a stir because of its semicircular facade, and theStadtschloss Wiesbadenof theDukes of Nassau,today the seat of theLandtag of Hesse.From 1843 to 1847 Moller was commissioned byGrand-DukeLudwig II.to overview the restoration ofSchloss Biedenkopf.
Only two of Georg Moller's major works survived the second world war without damages: the grand-ducal mausoleum at theRosenhöheand the Ludwigsmonument on the Luisenplatz, both of them in Darmstadt. The other buildings Moller designed were damaged beyond repair or were reconstructed in a more simple design.
Moller was also responsible for the reconstruction of the castles inBad HomburgandMeisenheim,the latter called Wolfgangsbau, for theLandgraveofHesse-Homburg.He also worked for princeKlemens von Metternich,redesigning his castleSchloss Johannisberg.He worked inHannoveras well.
Moller is considered, along withKarl Friedrich SchinkelandLeo von Klenze,to be one of the most important German architects working in the Greek Revival andRomanticiststyles.[citation needed]His ingenuity as an engineer and when working space is most evident in the Ludwigskirche in Darmstadt.
Aside his work as an architect Moller was successful as a preserver of buildings. He was at least partly responsible for preserving the CarolingianTorhalleinLorsch,which today is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Moller in 1818 convinced the Grand-Duke of Hessen-Darmstadt to edict the first ordinance of preservation of ancient buildings, the first law concerning the protection of historic buildings in Germany.
Moller was also well-known for his writings on architecture. His bookDenkmähler der Deutschen Baukunst( "Milestones in German architecture"; 1815–1851)[1]covered buildings fromLorsch(founded 764) toOppenheim(14th century). The work is notable both for its scholarship and for the quality of its illustrations. He was one of the first to take a stylistic approach to dating of buildings rather than accepting all recorded dates.[2]An English translation of the text was published in 1836.[3]He also wroteBeiträge zu der Lehre von den Konstruktionen( "Contributions to knowledge on construction"; 1833–1844).
Moller also played an important role for the completion ofCologne Cathedral.It was he who discovered one half of the original 13.25 feet (4.04 m) facade drawing by cathedral masterbuilder Arnold in an attic near Darmstadt, while the other half was found bySulpiz Boisseréein Paris in 1816. The uncompleted cathedral was completed in accordance with these designs.
Moller died in Darmstadt, aged 68.
Architects Georg Moller educated
[edit]- Rudolf Wiegmann
- Gottfried Bandhauer(possible)
Gallery
[edit]-
Ludwigsmonument in Darmstadt -
Ludwigskirche in Darmstadt -
House of History, Darmstadt -
-
Literature
[edit]- ^Moller, Georg; Gladbach, Ernst (1815–1844).Denkmähler der deutschen Baukunst.Darmstadt: Heyer und Leske.Volume 1;Volume 2 Part 1;Volume 2 Part 2;Volume 2 Part 3;Volume 3.
- ^Pevsner, Nikolaus (1972).Some Architectural Writers of the Nineteenth Century.Oxford University Press Press. pp. 23–24.ISBN978-0-19-817315-1.
- ^Moller, Georg; Leeds, William Henry (1836).Moller's Memorials of German-Gothic Architecture.J. Weale.
- Reinhard Wegner (1994),"Moller, Georg",Neue Deutsche Biographie(in German), vol. 17, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 742–744
- Bernd Krimmel:Darmstadt in der Zeit des Klassizismus und der Romantik.Hess. Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, 1979
- Eckhart G. Franz:Georg Moller.Hess. Staatsarchiv Darmstadt
- Gilman, D. C.;Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905)..New International Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
External links
[edit]
- Georg Mollerin theGerman National Librarycatalogue
- .The American Cyclopædia.1879.
