Arnold of Westphalia

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View of the courtyard facade of the Albrechtsburg in Meissen

Arnold von Westfalen (* around 1425; † 1480 or 1481 in Meißen ) was the Saxon state master builder and the builder of the Albrechtsburg in Meißen and the third floor of the towers of the Meißner Dom . He is one of the most important architects of the 15th century in the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance .

Arnold is also considered the architect of the reconstruction of the castles Kriebstein Castle (around 1470) and Rochsburg Castle (from 1470) and the gatehouse of Dresden Castle . Perhaps he also expanded the St. George's Chapel in the Matthias Tower of the Ortenburg in Bautzen . It is less certain whether he also rebuilt Tharandt Castle . He repeatedly used tuff from the Rochlitzer Berg as building material .

He was married to Margarethe Rülckin from a noble family and acquired the Langenau manor. His stonemason's mark can be found on a salary receipt from 1479.

Recently, based on an art-historical analysis of forms, Stefan Bürger put forward the thesis that Arnold von Westfalen had been in charge of the construction of the new choir of St. Peter's Church in Görlitz from around 1461 . He also sees stylistic parallels with the Frauenkirche there (completion of the nave vault around 1480) and the Rochlitz Kunigunden Church (central nave vault 1476). Bürger suspects that Arnold had previously trained at the Vienna cathedral builder under the cathedral master builder Laurenz Spenning . The use of arched curtain windows and richly shaped, deeply set ribbed and cell vaults over irregular floor plans is particularly characteristic of the style of Arnold von Westfalia's buildings .

literature

  • Stefan Bürger: Innovation as an indication - oeuvre and era of the tenure of Arnold von Westfalens (1461/71 to 1481) . In: Stefan Bürger and Bruno Klein (eds.), Foremen of the late Gothic. People, office and image. Darmstadt 2010, pp. 171–192.
  • Stefan Bürger: A new idea about the origins of the state master craftsman Arnold von Westfalen. In: Late Gothic palace construction in Central Germany. Conference proceedings. Sandstein, Dresden 2007 ISBN 978-3-940319-23-4 , pp. 43-52.
  • Matthias Donath: Master Arnold's family. Arnold von Westfalen, Hans Rülcke and Claus Kirchner . In: Monumenta Misnensia. Yearbook for Cathedral and Albrechtsburg in Meißen 8 (2007/2008), pp. 103-107.
  • Ernst-Heinz Lemper: Arnold of Westphalia. Professional and life picture of a German master craftsman of the late Gothic. In: Hans-Joachim Mrusek (ed.): The Albrechtsburg in Meißen. Seemann, Leipzig 1972, pp. 41-55.
  • Wolfgang Rauda:  Arnold of Westphalia. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 381 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Franz Schnorr von Carolsfeld:  Arnold von Westfalen . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 42, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1897, p. 216 f.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Arnold of Westphalia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Saxon state master builder and the builder of Albrechtsburg in Meißen
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century
DATE OF DEATH 1480 or 1481
Place of death Meissen