Benedikt Perwög

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Builder Benedikt Perwög

Benedikt Perwög (born February 24, 1795 in Silz ; † September 9, 1860 there ) was a master builder who built Finstermünzstraße and expanded Fernpassstraße in the 1950s . His home community owes him the parish church and numerous secular buildings, the state of Tyrol (within its borders before 1918) several military fortifications.

life and work

In the personnel directory of the association for geognostic-mining thinning of the state of Tyrol and Vorarlberg from 1843, the professional title carpenter is attached to his name . At that time, Perwög had already expanded the business of his father, who died early, into a flourishing company. His manual dexterity and technical understanding had allowed him to continue training to become a master builder. It is not known where he received this training.

The first major project that was carried out under the supervision and direction of Benedikt Perwög was the construction of the new parish church in Silz , which was built from 1846 to 1848 in barely two years. Perwög, not only brought the building entrusted to him to a brilliant conclusion, but also donated the floor in the presbytery, which was laid out with Kehlheimer panels. Of the other buildings that Perwög carried out in Silz, the "Klösterle" built for the Sisters of Mercy and the Silz District Court should be emphasized. Both buildings were built in the late classicist style in 1844 and are listed buildings. After the completion of the parish church of Silz, Perwög's entrepreneurial interests were focused entirely on road construction, although he did not limit his business activities to Tyrol. While Perwög was busy establishing the traffic connection between Feldkirch and Nenzing, the demand for a better connection between Nauders and the traffic network in the Upper Inn Valley had grown louder. As early as 1832, Emperor Franz I ordered a plan to be drawn up for a new road that was to lead through Hochfinstermünz, but the implementation of the building designs drawn up by engineers Karl Donegani and Josef Duile had been postponed again and again. In 1840 Karl Ritter von Ghega was entrusted with the review of the projects at hand, but the concept he had worked out was not implemented immediately. In autumn 1850 the wait came to an end: Due to the authorization of the kk Generalbaudirektion dated September 6, 1850 Z. 7943, the building project was put out to tender by the Tyrolean building department and October 31, 1850 was set as the final deadline for submitting the offer. Benedikt Perwög won the bid from among three applicants.

The technical difficulties that had to be overcome when building the road leading over Hochfinstermünz were gigantic. Since no construction machinery was available at that time, the route had to be laboriously carved out of the rock by stone cutters, lowered with ropes from above and secured. To overcome the abysses, giants of gravel and torrents, 12 bridges were built on the almost 10 kilometer long construction section and four tunnels were blasted out of the rock. Two avalanche galleries - the first ever in Tyrol - were set up to guide the outgoing snow masses into the depths and to protect road users from falling rocks in the snow-free time . The highlight of Finstermünzstraße, however, was the Kajetansbrücke , which spans 21 meters in a bold arch over the Inn. It was once the largest cantilever wooden bridge in Tyrol. Its execution shows the highly developed art of bridge construction and, last but not least, the high level of craftsmanship of the bricklayers and carpenters under the supervision of master builder Benedikt Perwög. Shortly before the completion of the work, several high-ranking personalities visited the construction site in Hochfinstermünz and praised the work.

On October 30, 1854, the new traffic connection to Nauders was ceremoniously opened and opened to traffic. At times, more than 1200 workers were employed in the construction of Finstermünzstrasse. The construction work claimed 14 lives. For Benedikt Perwög, the road construction project was not only a personal but also a financial success. The energetic building contractor therefore insisted on organizing a grand celebration on the occasion of the wedding of the governor Karl Ludwig on November 4, 1856 in Nauders, to which he invited all the important personalities of the area. The festivities began with a holy mass in the Karl Ludwig Chapel in Hochfinstermünz, which he founded and built in 1855.

Finstermünzstraße was not yet finished when Perwög applied for the contract to build the southern ramp to the Fernpass , which replaced the shorter but much steeper old section of the road. Perwög offered to carry out the construction on the direction and in smaller parts. This construction project was also finally entrusted to him. Two other important structures that Perwög executed are the Kufstein train station and the fortress works on Thierberg near Kufstein. These consisted of two towers, one of which had a diameter of 27 and the other of 25 fathoms. Both towers had three floors and were connected by a covered corridor with 266 steps. Each of them could hold 30 guns. The last major construction that Perwög carried out was the fortress-like road block Gomagoi , the side of which facing the Stilfserjoch was studded with eight cannons. In recognition of his active participation in matters of national defense and his patriotic behavior, the emperor awarded him the silver medal of merit with the crown one year before his death.

Benedikt Perwög was the mayor of his home town of Silz for more than 10 years. He was particularly committed to the shooting scene, which he actively promoted. He has also rendered services to fire extinguishing.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Josef Sparber: Parish chronicle of Silz , 1929
  2. ^ Dorfbuch Silz , article on Benedikt Perwög by Johann Zauner, p. 233
  3. ↑ List of listed objects in Silz
  4. ^ Advertisement in the Vorarlberger Zeitung, July 6, 1849, p. 4, in which Perwög describes himself as a road construction company in Frastranz.
  5. ↑ Traffic routes through the Finstermünz
  6. ↑ 16 January 1855 Bote für Tirol, p. 3
  7. ↑ Franz Gerlich: Bridges in Tyrol , ed. from the Office of the State Building Directorate Tyrol, p. 197 ff.
  8. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten May 13, 1854, p. 3, Friedrich Kellner von Köllenstein ; June 7, 1854, p. 4 Leopold II (Tuscany) ; June 26, 1854, p. 4 Count Cajetan von Bissingen ; June 30, 1854, p. 4 Archduke Johann
  9. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, November 6, 1854, p. 5
  10. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, September 13, 1854 p. 2
  11. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, November 8, 1856 p. 3
  12. ^ Franz Gerlich: Bridges in Tyrol, ed. from the Office of the State Building Directorate Tyrol, p. 205 ff.
  13. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, April 11, 1854, p. 3 and April 13, 1854, p. 7
  14. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, August 22, 1857 p. 2
  15. ↑ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, July 6, 1855, p. 6; Foreign newspaper, January 12, 1858, p. 4
  16. ^ Innsbrucker Nachrichten, May 15, 1860
  17. ^ Bote für Tirol, October 27, 1859, p. 1
personal data
SURNAME Perwög, Benedict
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian builder
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1795
PLACE OF BIRTH Silz (Tyrol)
DATE OF DEATH September 9, 1860
Place of death Silz (Tyrol)