Gregor Wilhelm von Kirchner
Gregor Wilhelm von Kirchner , (* 1671 ; † March 15, 1735 in Vienna ) was an Austrian court official, patron of the arts and builder of the demolished Breitenfurt Palace near Vienna .
Life
Gregor Wilhelm von Kirchner's ancestry is unclear and, due to his unusual biography, is tainted with various legends. Even the often claimed baron status is uncertain. In the 19th century he was considered, although much younger, as the natural son of Charles VI , then as his illegitimate brother. At the emperor's court he had a steep career and held the offices of ministerial blank deputation accountant, mountain council and superintendent of the emperor's forest property. Kirchner made a great fortune in these lucrative uses. In 1703 he married Anna Christina von Rosenberger, the widow of the broadfurt estate owner Christoph von Rosenberger. Between 1714 and 1732, Gregor Wilhelm von Kirchner had the Breitenfurt Palace built on the land he had donated from the Kaiser in Breitenfurt. The gigantic building, measuring 222 meters in the longitudinal axis, was built in a form similar to the letter W as a two-winged two-storey complex in the main wing. This form should allude to the first letter of the first name Wilhelm.
Gregor Wilhelm von Kirchner hired outstanding artists to furnish the palace designed by the court architect Anton Erhard Martinelli . The sculptor Georg Raphael Donner created in 1734 for the Festival Hall today in Vienna Belvedere erected Apotheosis of Emperor Charles VI. , one of his main works, as well as a number of other sculptures for the park and the palace chapel. Daniel Gran and Bartholomäus Altomonte took on the painting, Giovanni Giuliani made the stucco work and Johann Hencke built the organ of the chapel.
Gregor Wilhelm von Kirchner died on March 15, 1735 in Vienna without leaving any descendants. He bequeathed the castle, which was still built without a north wing, to the emperor for use as a hospital for the poor and a supply house. Von Kichner was buried in the crypt of the castle chapel. The life-size wax figure of Kirchners, which Albert Ilg ascribed to Georg Raphael Donner due to its outstanding quality, is kept in the sacristy . As a result of the high deficits in maintenance, the poor hospital was closed in 1786 by order of Joseph II. 1786 and dismantled from 1796. Only the palace chapel has survived with its grandiose furnishings and is now used as the Catholic parish church of St. Johannes Nepomuk .
Appreciation
In Breitenfurt one street was named Gregor Kirchner-Straße . Not far from there is also the Schlossallee, which is intended to be a reminder of the Breitenfurt Palace he built .
literature
- Gregor Wilhelm Kirchner: (1671-1735) ; Festschrift for the 250th anniversary of the death of the founder of today's parish church St. Johann in Breitenfurt, market community Breitenfurt 1986, 25 pages.
Web links
- History of Breitenfurt, the castle that once stood in Breitenfurt ( online )
Individual evidence
- ^ Luigi Ronzoni: The Kirchnerische Schloss Breitenfurt and its equipment. Gregor Wilhelm von Kirchner and the apotheosis of Emperor Charles VI. by Georg Raphael Donner. Pp. 101–116, in Barockberichte N ° 31, Barockmuseum Salzburg
- ↑ Julius von Schlosser: Dead Views: History of portrait painting in wax; an attempt / Julius von Schlosser. Ed. Thomas Medicus, Akad. Verl., Berlin 1993, pp. 86f., ISBN 3-05-002408-9
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kirchner, Gregor Wilhelm von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kirchner, Gregor Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian court official and builder of the demolished Breitenfurt Palace near Vienna |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1671 |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 15, 1735 |
| Place of death | Vienna |