Hans Güldenpfennig

Hans Güldenpfennig. Cologne master builder from 1928 to 1944

Hans Güldenpfennig (born August 16, 1875 in Paderborn , † November 14, 1945 in Göttingen ) was a German architect . From 1928 to 1944 he was a master builder for Cologne's cathedral .

Life

Güldenpfennig was the youngest child of the Paderborn cathedral builder Arnold Güldenpfennig and his wife. His architectural studies at the Technical University of Hannover he concluded 1901/2 at Karl Mohrmann with design work for a new museum building down, then he put the test as Regierungsbauführer , 1905 Regierungsbaumeister from, in what capacity he with employment Schulpforta in the administrative district of Merseburg worked. In 1921 he was transferred to Hildesheim , in 1926 to Kassel , and in 1928 he was appointed as successor to Bernhard Hertel as Cologne cathedral master builder and appointed senior building officer . After his retirement in 1944, he moved to Göttingen.

plant

Numerous architectural designs, mainly in the neo-baroque style, but no new building project are known from him. In 1934 he published comprehensive urban design concepts for Cologne , which included the relocation of the main train station. In 1941 the eastern half of the cathedral courtyard was raised in connection with the construction of an air raid shelter. Güldenpfennig initially continued the renovation of the choir buttress with shell limestone , which Bernhard Hertel had begun in May 1926 , but soon had doubts about the material. Güldenpfennig preferred basaltic lava . During the restoration work on Cologne Cathedral , which also included the static securing work on the crossing piers, he advocated a "simplification of the abundant forms" of the components erected in the 19th century and an "independent design for the renewal of individual forms". "Especially with the roof turret, the removal of which should be necessary for structural reasons, but would also be desirable from an aesthetic point of view, the replacement by a structure in modern forms could be considered."

Before the bombing began in World War II, Güldenpfennig took care of the protection of art treasures and architectural sculptures. According to his designs, a bunker was built in the north tower of Cologne Cathedral in 1942/43 made of brick and concrete, which was only demolished in 1986. On November 3, 1943, a British aerial bomb tore 80 cubic meters of sandstone blocks from the north tower, which impaired the stability of the cathedral. Güldenpfennig commissioned the security work. The lining with 27,500 bricks was completed as the Cologne cathedral bomb in March 1944.

See also

Portal: Cologne Cathedral  - What Wikipedia knows about the cathedral

literature

• Carl Simons: Cathedral builder Hans Güldenpfennig. In: Kölner Domblatt 2/3, 1949, pp. 186–187.
• Gerhard Dietrich: Some news about Hans Güldenpfennig. Cathedral builder in dark times: 1928–1944. In: Kölner Domblatt 51, 1986, pp. 285–338.
• Hans-Georg Lippert: Historicism and cultural criticism. The Cologne Cathedral 1920–1960 (= studies on Cologne Cathedral . Volume 7). Cologne Cathedral Publishing House, Cologne 2001.

Fonts

• Cologne traffic problems and cathedral renovation . (Publications of the Cologne History Association, 11). Cologne 1934.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Arnold Wolff : Stones of Cologne Cathedral - Muschelkalk. In: Kölner Domblatt 35, 1972, pp. 8–28.
2. ↑ Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung 50, 1930, p. 288.
3. ↑ Arnold Wolff : 27 Dombaubericht. In: Kölner Domblatt 51, Verlag JP Bachem, Cologne 1986, pp. 157-160.