Bernhard Schlippe

Bernhard Schlippe (born February 4, 1922 in Darmstadt , † April 30, 1998 in Lübeck ; full name: Bernhard Carl Joseph Konrad Schlippe ) was a German architect and preservationist .

education

Bernhard Schlippe was a son of the City Planning Director Joseph Schlippe and his wife Maria Schlippe nee Schimon (born August 29, 1896 in Essen , † April 5, 1986 in Breisach ). He spent his childhood first in Darmstadt , where his father taught, and later in Freiburg im Breisgau and was brought up by his parents as a catholic - humanist . He passed the Abitur examination at the Friedrich-Gymnasium in 1940 and then did his labor service.

In 1940/41 Schlippe attended the Technical University of Stuttgart for three trimesters . He was then drafted into the Wehrmacht and fought in Stalingrad , France, Italy and at the Battle of Monte Cassino , among others . British soldiers captured him in Italy , where he was still able to study for a semester at the German camp college in Bellaria while in custody. In November 1945 he reached Freiburg, where he worked as an intern and stonemason at the Münsterbauhütte.

From 1946 Schlippe studied architecture at the Technical University of Darmstadt and finished his studies in 1949 with the academic degree of a graduate engineer . During his studies he concentrated on the history of architecture and art and attended art history lectures on a wide range of topics. At the same time he created extensive art-historical studies. From 1949 he created drafts for two architecture firms in Freiburg, took over construction management as an employee and won the competition for the Freiburg Lortzing School.

During his training as a trainee lawyer , Schlippe worked in the reconstruction office of the Freiburg University Clinics and on the new building of the Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit. In 1953 he passed the 2nd state examination in building construction. He then worked as a construction assessor ("government builder ") and for three years as a freelance architect. During this time he dedicated himself to the preservation of monuments for the first time and took over the renovation and restoration of the monuments at Münsterplatz 21, Oberlinden 2, Herrenstrasse 17 and 19. Because of this work, he received a call from Lübeck's Senator for Construction, Adolf Ehrtmann .

Work in Lübeck

Schlippe worked in the Hanseatic city from November 1956 and was the first person there to take on the preservation of monuments full-time, which was not considered important at the time. Parts of the inner city were destroyed after the air raids on Palm Sunday 1942 ; however, other buildings could have been restored. Instead of doing this, historically significant buildings or their facades and basements had been completely removed. This was seen as rebuilding what others later referred to as the “second destruction” of the city. It goes back to the "Münter Plan" devised by the city planning director Georg Münter , who also acknowledged monument protection, but had given priority to economic interests and car traffic.

Schlippe was appointed town building assessor in 1959, town building officer in 1961 and head of the new office for monument preservation in 1963. He thus headed the upper monument protection authority and was not subordinate to the Schleswig-Holstein state monument preservationist, but equated. Schlippe built up this office and adapted it to the ever increasing tasks. In 1963 he was appointed managing director of the working group for building and art monument preservation. Many of his areas of responsibility include building research , inventory , preservation of monuments and the preservation of objects and ensembles of sacred and secular buildings. In 1964 he received a call as a permanent member of the working group in the Office for Prehistory. In 1965 he was appointed chief building officer and in 1976 city building director.

During the reconstruction phase after the Second World War, Schlippe worked under difficult conditions. He gained authority in the early 1970s. In 1970 the Society for the Promotion of Charitable Activities established the Committee for the Preservation of Lübeck Monuments. Schlippe helped initiate an appeal by the German state monument conservators, with which the Lübeck city ensemble should be put on an equal footing with those of the cities of Florence , Prague , Bern , Amsterdam and Bruges in 1971 . They pointed out that their own funds were not sufficient to maintain the old town. The 31st General Assembly of the German UNESCO Commission therefore formed a working group in October 1971 to deal with the matter.

Then Schlippe helped a public colloquium that the Society for the Promotion of Charitable Activities initiated in 1972 together with the Lübecker Nachrichten under the title "Save Lübeck". The Lübeck citizenship made the decision three years later to recognize Lübeck's old town as a unique cultural monument . Schlippe had always considered this to be a “total work of art”. In 1977 his office was separated from the building department and subordinated directly to the mayor, which resolved conflicts that had arisen between the building authority and the monument protection authority. Schlippe worked well with Mayor Werner Kock and extremely trustingly with his successor Gustav-Robert Knüppel .

During his service, Schlippe worked on numerous buildings. He worked closely with the Evangelical Lutheran Church and rebuilt the destroyed medieval churches in the old town. In addition, he inventoried the sacred art objects of the churches in the old town that had not been destroyed and was responsible for their care and exposure. This also included the village church of Genin and the St. Lorenz Church in Travemünde. He made particular contributions to the preservation, reconstruction, restoration and renovation of secular buildings. Numerous historical buildings, such as upper-class hall houses and corridors, were on the verge of decay. Schlippe kindly advised homeowners and buyers and rarely threatened legal regulations. He took care of the details and worked persistently, sometimes strictly. Particularly noteworthy were the renovation of the Große Petersgrube with the music college , the repair of the choir of the Lübeck cathedral and the cathedral monastery .

During Schlippe's tenure, citizens' groups in particular complained about the demolition of monuments which, in their opinion, he could have averted. This included the west side of Mühlenstrasse and the development of the northern upper Fleischhauerstrasse, where the politicians prevailed against him. The citizens' initiative Rettet Lübeck encouraged him, but also strongly criticized his work and accused him of being too indulgent at times. Schlippe used this criticism as diplomatic leverage in disputes with investors and politicians who were not interested in the preservation of monuments. Schlippe never sought publicity in conflicts, but preferred to work quietly and persistently. The highlight of his work was the award of Lübeck's old town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , which took place shortly before his retirement.

family

Schlippe was married to Adelheid Lips-Ambs (born February 24, 1931 in Freiburg), with whom he had a daughter and two sons. Her father was the master craftsman and local politician Josef Lips-Ambs.

literature

• Martin Thoemmes : Schlippe, Bernhard . In: Biographisches Lexikon für Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck , Volume 12. Wachholtz, Neumünster 2006, ISBN 3-529-02560-7 , pages 376-380.

Web links

• Obituary on the website of the Lübeck city newspaper on May 12, 1998

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck , Volume 12. (compare literature )