Friedrich Joseph Ark

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Friedrich Joseph Ark (born June 30, 1807 in Bonn , † February 23, 1878 in Aachen ; full name: Friedrich Heribert Josef Ark ) was a German architect and construction clerk who served as Aachen city ​​architect from 1839 to 1877 .

Live and act

The son of the Rhine shipping official Peter Josef Ark (1774 Bonn - 1848 Cologne) and Elisabeth Grimbach (1779 Mülheim (Rhine) - 1853 Aachen), cousin of the Aachen city architect Adam Franz Friedrich Leydel , was sworn in as surveyor on December 23, 1826 in Cologne . From 1828 he studied at the Bauakademie Berlin and graduated with his state examination as a royal building designer on April 9, 1832. One of his inspectors was Karl Friedrich Schinkel . His drawing exercises, his basic knowledge of architectural monuments and classical antiquity were remarkable. After working as a construction manager for the Cologne district government , Ark was appointed as his successor after the death of the Aachen city architect Adam Franz Friedrich Leydel and sworn in on February 1, 1839.

To study the technical equipment of hospitals and baths he traveled to Belgium and London in early 1842 and in March and April 1843 he studied the warehouses in Belgium, Holland and Cologne. In 1844 he visited the Brussels hospital for the construction of the Citizens Hospital at Templerbend. For the hospital on Weingartsberg he brought his knowledge of the most modern hospital buildings in Hamburg , Berlin and Antwerp up to date. In 1852 he studied German bathhouses for four weeks. In September 1856 he began his six-month study trip to Frascati ( villa ), Tivoli (Latium) , Naples , Segestum (temple), Palermo and Monreale , where his main focus was on the construction of Byzantine churches.

Friedrich Joseph Ark's main area of ​​activity in Aachen was the planning of municipal buildings, with experienced specialists such as the building conductors Seuff and Simeon as well as Friedrich Albert Cremer temporarily standing by his side during his tenure. After the associate mayor of Aachen Carl Eduard Dahmen (1800–1885) headed the administration of the building authority in 1849 , Ark was able to deal more intensively with new buildings and larger projects, coordinating the control of the new building projects with the royal police headquarters had to.

Ark also devoted particular interest to building sculpture and the fine arts. He was instrumental in their preservation and exhibition. Shortly after taking office, the Higher Citizens School in Aachen, today's Rhein-Maas-Gymnasium Aachen , received two plaster casts of old capitals from him . In 1848 he was a member of the exhibition committee of a painting exhibition alongside Alfred Rethel . In 1859 he himself organized an art exhibition in the Neue Redoute to promote the establishment of a museum . In addition, he exhibited his collection of plaster casts and spoils of various art treasures in the Neue Redoute.

He also paid special attention to the preservation of monuments. In this context, he prevented the demolition of the medieval marching gate in 1849 . He was also instrumental in maintaining the Aachen town hall . The repairs of the roof and the painting of the facade of the Aachen city theater were also among his tasks. In addition, Ark did a lot for the reconstruction or the new construction of numerous spa and bathing hotels including the planning of green areas in Aachen and Burtscheid . Another official duty was to ensure that the pillory (1840/1843, 1844 and 1851) was displayed on the market square or on the guillotine if the execution of a judgment was ordered .

During his 38 years as Aachen city architect, Ark built around 24 schools, both elementary schools and separate parish and free schools for boys and girls for the eight existing parishes in the city of Aachen. Later, as a result of the industrialization of the handicraft, some of the factory buildings he had planned were added.

As a city architect, Ark was also supreme commander for fire fighting. He was also responsible for monitoring the fire extinguishing systems. The fire in 1835 in London prompted him to purchase modern rescue machines from 1839 onwards and, among other things, to build a syringe house in Alexanderstrasse near St. Peter.

Grave and necrologist

The city architect Friedrich Joseph Ark, who died of a stroke in his lungs (apoplectic seizures), was buried in the family grave in the Aachen East Cemetery . His tomb was made in the form of a grave slab. His necrologists appeared on March 11, 1878 and March 13, 1878 in the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung , the Aachener Zeitung and in Echo der Gegenwart . His artistic versatility was emphasized in the different designs of the Aachen hospital, the imperial baths and the restoration of the town hall.

Memberships (as known)

Honors (selection)

  • 1858 Red Eagle Order IV class
  • 1865 Appointment to the building council on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the membership of the Rhineland to Prussia
  • 1876 Royal Crown Order III. Class on the occasion of his 50th anniversary of service
  • 1876 memorial plaque in the Kaiserbad. The history of the building was presented in Latin and Ark was named as the builder.
  • 1876 ​​In honor of Ark on the part of the city of Aachen, the sculptures made by the sculptor Gottfried Götting were attached to the Vinzenzbrunnen on Münsterplatz.

Works (selection)

  • 1836/1837: Plans for fire-fighting equipment in Mechanic's magazine London
  • 1839–1841: New building of the Aachen slaughterhouse on Lindenplatz (replaced and demolished in 1894 by a new building on Jülicher Straße)
  • 1839: Cost estimate for the Rensing'sche Reitbahn (riding arena with 50 stables, used as a gym since 1882, elementary school before 1900)
  • 1839–1845: Congress memorial in front of Adalbertstor
The monument commemorates the Aachen Congress in 1818 with Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Emperor Franz I of Austria and King Friedrich Wilhelm III. of Prussia. Commissioned by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Schinkel in sacellum form and worked out in 1822 based on drafts by the agricultural inspector Johann Peter Cremer and in 1837 by Schinkel / Cremers, the continuation of the project was transferred to Ark in 1839. In 1841 building contractor Andreas Hansen was commissioned with the execution.
  • 1839 and 1845: Expert opinion on structural damage to the Aachener Elisenbrunnen
(Zinc roof oxidation, deterioration of the oak roof beams of the rotunda, etc.)
  • 1840: Design for the main customs office (not executed, instead built on the station square according to a design by Cremer)
  • 1840: Completion of the Belvedere, begun by Leydel in 1836, on the Lousberg (not preserved)
Ark's staircase from 1840
  • 1840–1865: Restoration of the Aachen town hall
  • 1841: Expansion of the east cemetery
  • 1841: Reception room for tax collection at the Ponttor
The building was built according to a plan by Cremer, modified by Ark.
  • 1841: Design for a cast iron bridge and cost estimates for benches on the promenade in front of Adalbertstor
  • 1841–1843: Renovation of the Neue Redoute in order to set up a casino
(Parquet floor in the ballroom, marble slabs in the stairwell and the vestibule, stoves)
  • 1842: Four-class free school with a teacher's apartment on the second floor
the two-storey parish school of the Kreuzpfarre, built in 1837 by local builder Habes
  • 1842: Free school in St. Peter's Parish
(three-storey, almost square, with a gable roof; converted into a youth home with parish hall in 1925 as the property of the parish, burned out in World War II , demolished in 1946)
  • from 1842: cost estimate for renovation work on the Elisenbrunnen
(Trees, two fountains, portable music tent, iron grating; except for the trees standing close to the side of the building according to Schinkel's design; not implemented)
  • 1843, 1847, 1858, 1860 Design for a municipal warehouse
(not carried out, but Lagerhausstraße was named in 1847)
  • 1843: Design of an extension for the higher civil and trade school
  • 1845: Extension for the higher civil and trade school
  • 1843/1845: Free school of the Adalbert parish
former Maria-Hilf-Hospital Aachen
Demolished in 194 in favor of the construction of the New Kurhaus Aachen
  • 1845: Conversion of the Club Aachener Casino , Theaterplatz 7
The building built by the architect Imhaus in 1838 was rebuilt in collaboration with Cremer. Ark's design for an alternative new building in Peterstrasse was not implemented.
  • 1845: Reconstruction of the orphanage on Pontstraße (arched portal designed by Ark)
  • 1845: New building of the Birnbaum house , Markt 23
( Attributed to Ark ; three floors, four axes, two entrances, but atypical hipped roof and narrow window position)
Vincent Fountain
  • 1845–1847: Laufbrunnen on Münsterplatz, Vinzenzbrunnen
(made of Heilbronn sandstone, "Cabinet piece of neo-Gothic architecture", based on the model of the cast iron memorial to the wars of freedom by Schinkel in 1820 on the Kreuzberg in Berlin)
  • 1849: Draft for the conversion of the Alte Redoute in Komphausbadstraße 11 into a casino (not executed)
  • 1849–1851: Bonn , Villa Bluhme (attributed to)
  • 1849 / 1851–1852: Komphausbad
  • 1849–1852: Supervision of the tower support work on St. Foillan's Church
  • after 1850: Suermondt house , Harscampstrasse (attributed)
  • 1851–1854: Rectory St. Michael , Jesuitenstrasse (destroyed in World War II)
  • 1851–1854: Conversion of the Great House of Aachen , the house at Pontstrasse 13, to become a police headquarters with a prison
(Replaced in 1910 by the newly built police headquarters in Kasernenstrasse)
House Pontstrasse 13 is the second oldest house in Aachen. It dates from 1495 and is now an international newspaper museum .
  • 1851: Drinking fountain in Peterstrasse (out of order since the 1960s)
  • 1852: Gatekeeper's house at Sandkaultor
  • 1852: Design of a parish school II for St. Adalbert
  • 1852: Design for a café-restaurant in the west pavilion of the Elisenbrunnen
  • 1852: two drafts for the extension of the colonnade building of the Elisenbrunnen to the rear garden front
(not carried out, there is a competing design by the Brussels architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar for this project )
  • 1852–1855: Market hall at Hühnermarkt-Büchel
(Demolished in 1887, the Büchelpalais is located here today )
  • 1853–1855: Drinking fountain with a foyer in Burtscheid
(called Viktoriabrunnen since 1858 , integrated into his Kurhaus building by Eduard Linse in 1889 )
  • 1853: Cost estimate and construction of the salt store
(30 m × 10 m single-storey hall, later fish market, demolished in 1890)
  • 1853 and 1868: Restoration of the St. Katharina grammar school church in Pontstrasse
The Kaiserbad am Büchel
Interior view of the Kaiserbad (bathing hall, as it was around 1900)
( Neo-Renaissance building, based on Andrea Palladio , demolished in 1965 after severe war damage). A splendid bath cell "Fürstenbad" (the authorship of which is unclear) from the Kaiserbad consisting of two domed vaults with lateral connecting tubs and late classical mosaics and marble cladding was moved to the new building of the spa park terraces in Burtscheid in 1964 and is now a listed building .
  • 1853: Renovation and expansion of the rose bath
  • 1853 and 1870: Restoration work on the St. Michael Church in Aachen
  • 1853: Design for the School of Jakob parish
(inspired by the extension of the rose bath, not executed)
  • 1854: Volksbrunnen am Elisenbrunnen (attributed to, octagonal canopy made of cast iron)
  • 1855: Design for a pharmacy for the poor in the grass house (not carried out)
  • 1855: rectory ibid
  • 1855: Reconstruction of the insane asylum in the Annuntiatenhaus
  • 1855: Status report of the grass house
  • 1857–1858: Building police report for the St. Mary's Church built by Vinzenz Statz in 1859–1861
  • 1858: Expert opinion on the fire extinguishers in the police and prison building
  • 1858–1862: Works on the Aachen Minster
  • before 1860: headquarters of the Aachener und Münchener, Feuerversicherungsgesellschaft , Aureliusstraße 14, ex. no more.
  • 1860: Small syringe booth at Gasborn
  • around 1860: Gatekeeper's house , Promenadenstrasse
  • 1860–1862: Bath for the Queen of Hungary / bathing hall Edelstraße (two side buildings)
  • 1861: Residential building at Bahnhofstrasse 33 (four-window house, inhabited by Ark since 1870)
Building of the cloth factory Marx & Auerbach, Templergraben, owned by RWTH since 1974
Ark rejected the property at Rehmplatz, and his alternative proposal at Templerbend was implemented.
  • 1865: Paland's house next to the Elisenbrunnen
(attributed to the restaurant, billiard and gaming rooms on the upper floors)
Gym at the Schanz
Memorial plaque on the gym built by Ark
  • 1865–1866: Cost estimate, expert opinion and implementation of a gym at the Schanz
planned since 1816; Brickwork; first gym in the Rhineland ; Russian prisoners of war interned in WWII , they carved wooden planes, animals, etc. a. for 2 loaves. In 2011 the gym, which was restored in 1992, functions as a sports facility for dance clubs. A plaque from the city of Aachen commemorates the architect Friedrich Joseph Ark. The building, symmetrically laid out in a basilica T-shape, consisting of a large central hall and two smaller extensions, is approx. 35/40 m long and 34 m wide. The two side halls are on the front side, they do not cut through the central hall, but were built separately. The gable central wing is followed by a lower eaves side wing on each side . A round-arched double entrance portal under a triple window in the middle forms the front of the main building with a round-arched window on the right and left under a round window. The side buildings each have three lower arched windows and a door. The middle measures 18 m and the two side wings each 8 m wide. The interior of the central wing is spanned by an open gable roof. The central building is illuminated by 7 high arched windows on each side. The back is bricked up except for a walled-up central door.
  • after 1865: corner house Suermondtplatz 12 (attributed)
  • 1866: New construction of the St. Cross II free school
  • 1866–1868: Headmaster's apartment of the Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium , Augustinerbach 9
(three floors, four axes, walls architraved with carnies , kitchen in the basement, coupled, blind, louvre-like plastered windows in the gable as decoration, demolished at the end of the 1950s for an extension of the high school)
  • 1867: Lever bar for tax in front of the marching gate
  • 1867: Farm building on the left behind the Elisenbrunnen
  • 1872: Rectory St. Paul , Trichtergasse 8 (execution by site manager Krott)
  • before 1870: Villa Gründgens on Lousberg
(private client, based on the model of Venetian Renaissance villas, two storeys, five axes, the three central ones as a risalit with a gable crown, portico on the ground floor, balustraded balcony with four columns of Tuscan order , upper floor structured with Ionic pilasters , dark sandstone surround the side windows in stone walls with corner pilaster frames, rebuilt in 1908 by Carl Sieben , destroyed in World War II)
  • before 1870: Levers for taxes in front of the Ostfriedhof and on Kölnsteinweg (Jülicher Straße)
  • 1872–1873: Bandstand and veranda in the spa garden, Peterstrasse
  • 1875: Café Littéraire conversion project (facade and heightening), Komphausbadstrasse 22
(not executed)

literature

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Joseph Ark  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedrich Joseph Ark's maternal grandmother was born Leydel (Anna Maria Leydel, 1751 Bonn - 1794 ibid). The father's sister, Elisabeth Ark (1765 Bonn - 1805 Cologne) was married to a Leydel, Michael, a master builder in Cologne since 1800. Dünnwald: family tree Ark, p. 9.
  2. ↑ see photograph by August Kampf from 1863.
  3. ↑ Ludwina Forst: King's Way. In the footsteps of the first city curator, Hans Königs (1903–1988). Thouet, Aachen 2008, ISBN 3-930594-33-1 .
  4. ^ Bruno Lerho : Old Aachen Buildings. Meyer & Meyer, Aachen, 1996, p.115f., Illus. P. 116.
personal data
SURNAME Ark, Friedrich Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ark, Friedrich Heribert Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German architect
DATE OF BIRTH June 30, 1807
PLACE OF BIRTH Bonn
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1878
Place of death Aachen