Carl Bernard Bartels

Royal Liver Building from the River Mersey with the two Liver Birds

Carl Bernard Garumand Bartels (* 1866 in Stuttgart , Germany , † 1955 in Great Britain ) is the creator and designer of the Liver Birds in Liverpool . The son of a woodcarver from the Black Forest was born in Stuttgart in 1866. He came to Britain on his honeymoon in 1887 at the age of 21 and liked it so much that he decided to stay there. He and his wife accepted British citizenship and settled in London, where their son Bernard Charles and daughter Maggie were born. In the meantime, his father had made a name for himself as a wood carver.

In Liverpool, construction began on the Royal Liver Building in 1908 . Bartels, who at the time was living and working in Harringay , London , won the international tender for the design of the two Liver Birds that were to adorn the twin towers of the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool. The building was completed in 1911.

During World War I, Bartels was interned at Knockaloe Camp on the Isle of Man , despite having been a naturalized British citizen for over 20 years. During this time Bartel's blueprints and the sketches of the Liver Birds were lost. After the war, Bartels had to return to Germany and leave his wife in England .

Bartels returned to the UK and worked for private clients and for Durham Cathedral . He continued to work in World War II. He died in 1955 and was buried in London.

Web links

• CARL BERNARD BARTELS, creator of Liverpool's Liver Birds, (English)