Christian Friedrich Uhlig

Christian Friedrich Uhlig (born December 16, 1774 in Altenhain ; † March 14, 1848 there ) was a German builder . In the first half of the 19th century he developed into one of the most famous church builders in the Ore Mountains and its northern foreland. He also built several spinning mills and other secular buildings.

Education and professional career

Uhlig came from a farming family. Little is known about his training as a carpenter and carpenter. Conclusions about his journey as a journeyman can only be drawn on the basis of buildings whose architecture had a strong role model effect on Uhlig's later work. Uhlig has been a house owner in Altenhain since 1798 and was accepted by the Zschopau carpenters' guild and was allowed to call himself a carpenter, master craftsman and master carpenter from 1801. Initially, he was involved in building construction, with the collaboration with the master builder Johann Traugott Lohse in particular having a formative influence on Uhlig. In addition, he continued his self-study with architectural sample books and theoretical writings. It was not until 1820 that Uhlig emerged with his own designs. Although he was soon valued as an expert, lack of money on the part of the builders often delayed the execution of his designs.

In addition to Uhlig's professional activity as a builder and carpenter, he managed the family's Viertelhufengut from 1819. He died in 1848 at the age of 74, leaving three sons who worked in the building trade:

• Gustav Wilhelm Uhlig (1816–) became a master mason in Grünberg near Augustusburg,
• Carl Ferdinand Uhlig (1818–1875) was a master carpenter in Altenhain and
• Louis Julius Uhlig (1824–1869) became a master carpenter in Altenhain.

Buildings

Uhlig planned and built the following churches:

• Einsiedel village church (built 1822–1827, burned out in 1945, simplified spire restored, modern interior),
• Drebach village church (built 1823–1825),
• Seifersbach village church near Mittweida (built 1826–1828),
• Großwaltersdorf village church (built 1829–1831, burned down in 1837),
• Evangelical Church in Mildenau (built 1834–1839, burned out in 1945, restored slightly changed inside),
• Großwaltersdorf village church (reconstruction after fire 1838–1839),
• Village church Pappendorf near Hainichen (built 1839–1840),
• Church of St. Nicolai (Waldheim) (built 1839–1842),
• Church of St. Petri (Augustusburg) (built 1840–1845, modified after fire in 1893) and
• Zettlitz village church near Rochlitz (built 1847–1848),
• Borstendorf village church (only interior work 1847).

The following churches were built according to Uhlig's plans:

• Grünhainichen village church (built 1848–1850, completed by master mason Karl Gotthelf Gläser, Gehringswalde and master carpenter Heinitz, Zschopau),
• Thalheim church in the Erzgebirge (planning 1840, with a modified tower built 1849–1850 by Gustav Wilhelm, Carl Ferdinand and Friedrich Louis Julius Uhlig) and
• Niederstriegis village church near Döbeln (built 1849–1850 by Gustav Wilhelm and Carl Ferdinand Uhlig).

The village church in Wüstenbrand (planned and built between 1851 and 1852 by the Uhlig brothers) is closely based on Uhlig's formal language.

Uhlig planned and built the following secular buildings:

• Einsiedel spinning mill (built 1820–1821, total loss),
• Drebach School (built 1825),
• Einsiedel School (built 1828–1829),
• Hennersdorf spinning mill (built around 1830, preserved modified),
• Herold spinning mill (built in 1833, total loss),
• Spinnmühle Wiesenbad ("Himmelmühle", built in 1834, modified),
• Altenhain spinning mill (lower spinning mill, built 1834),
• Spinning mill Scharfenstein (built 1834–1836, total loss),
• Spinning mill Grießbach (built in 1835, total loss)
• Tannenberg spinning mill (built in 1838, demolished in 2017),
• Altenhain spinning mill (upper spinning mill, heightening of an existing mill building in 1838, modified, preserved),
• Hennersdorf School (built 1838)
• Großwaltersdorf rectory (reconstruction after fire 1838–1839),
• Großwaltersdorf School (reconstruction after fire 1838–1839),
• Hammerleubsdorf spinning mill (built 1839–1840),
• Covered wooden bridge Hennersdorf (built 1840),
• School Gornau (built in 1841, preserved modified),
• Kleinolbersdorf school (reconstruction 1841, changed preserved),
• Geyer town hall (built in 1844, total loss),
• School Dittmannsdorf (built 1846) and
• Schönau School (built 1846–1847, preserved modified).

There is a portrait of Uhlig in the church in Waldheim. In the Kleinolbersdorf-Altenhain (Chemnitz) district, a street in Uhlig's memory bears his name: Baumeister-Uhlig-Straße.

literature

• Gottfried Eichler, Klaus Schröpel: The Thalheimer Kirche - Festschrift for the 150th anniversary. Thalheim, church council of the Evangelical Luth. Church, 1999. DNB 960672745
• Stefan Thiele: Saxon country churches between baroque and historicism. The church buildings by Christian Friedrich Uhlig (1774–1848). Frankfurt / M., 2006. ISBN 3-631-55497-4
• Stefan Thiele: rural master craftsmen as carriers of architecture and technology - Johann Traugott Lohse and Christian Friedrich Uhlig and their contribution to Saxon art and industrial history between 1790 and 1850. In: Mitteilungen des Chemnitzer Geschichtsverein 80 = NF 19 (2016), p. 84 -107.
• Stefan Thiele: “The creator of the largest and most tasteful buildings”: Christian Friedrich Uhlig on the 170th anniversary of his death , in: Erzgebirgische Heimatblätter 40 (2018), issue 2, pp. 18-21. ISSN  0232-6078

Web links

Commons : Christian Friedrich Uhlig  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Christian Friedrich Uhlig in the Saxon Bibliography