Johann Friedrich Christian Hess
Johann Friedrich Christian Hess (sometimes Hess ) (* 6. March 1785 in Kirchheim on the wine route , † 21st August 1845 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German architect of classicism and 1816 to 1843, succeeding his father Johann Georg Christian Hess City architect of Frankfurt am Main.
life and work
Hess was born in Kirchheim an der Weinstrasse, where his father was a building inspector at the time, but came to Frankfurt am Main as early as 1787. He studied from 1802 to 1804 at the École polytechnique in Paris . After completing his studies, he undertook several extensive study trips through Italy before he became an adjunct in Frankfurt in 1815 and succeeded his father as city architect on January 26, 1816. Hess was a co-founder and respected member of numerous Frankfurt institutions, including the Frankfurter Museumsgesellschaft (1808) and the Polytechnic Society (1816). On April 15, 1807, he was accepted as a member of the Frankfurt Freemason Lodge Zur Einigkeit, of which his father was already one of the brothers, after he had previously been accepted into the Freemasons ' League during his studies in Paris or Italy .
As early as 1809, his father Christian Hess had designed a new building statute for Frankfurt, which was put into effect by the then Grand Duke of Frankfurt Carl Theodor von Dalberg . This included the development plans for the new districts in the west, north and east of the city that were created after the old Frankfurt city fortifications were razed. All houses had to be built according to the principles of classicism in simple, symmetrical forms. The architectural elements that were characteristic of Frankfurt in the past - steep gable roofs , dwelling houses , overhangs, bay windows and mansards - were banned. Until 1815, however, the high contributions that Frankfurt had to make after the French occupation in 1792 and 1796, as well as the economic crisis in the wake of the continental blockade, prevented brisk construction activity. That changed when the city regained its independence as a Free City after the Congress of Vienna . During the 27 years of Christian Hess's tenure, a large number of public and private classical buildings were built. Many of these buildings were already lost during the founding period , others fell victim to the Second World War .
Hess retired in 1843 for health reasons and died on August 21, 1845 in Frankfurt. His grave is in the main cemetery (Gewann D, grave 457) and is now a grave of honor . As a cultural monument, it is under monument protection . He was married to Johanna Neuburg , a daughter of Johann Georg Neuburg .
Structures preserved or restored
- 1810/1811: Monkey gate houses in Sachsenhausen
- 1820 to 1825: The Old City Library , rebuilt from 2003 to 2005 after being destroyed in the war in 1944, today the seat of the Frankfurt Literature House .
- 1816 to 1833: completion of the Paulskirche , especially the tower.
- 1820/21: Bürgerervillen Untermainkai 14 (for Simon Moritz von Bethmann ) and 15 (for Joseph Isaak Speyer ). House No. 14 was acquired by Mayer Carl von Rothschild in 1846 and known as the Rothschild Palais . Both houses came into the possession of the city of Frankfurt in 1928. After the war, it was initially the seat of the city and university library and later a branch of the Historical Museum , and has been the seat of the Jewish Museum since 1988 .
- 1823: Citizen's villa on the former Degussa site on Mainkai, today Hermann-Schlosser-Haus (one of the three classicist villas preserved in Frankfurt )
- 1829: Country house villa for the businessman Samuel Passavant (1787–1855) in Frankfurt-Bockenheim , today used by a kindergarten.
literature
- Evelyn Hils: Johann Friedrich Christian Hess. City architect of classicism in Frankfurt am Main from 1816–1845 (= studies on Frankfurt history 24). Waldemar Kramer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-7829-0364-1 .
- Wolfgang Klötzer (Hrsg.): Frankfurter Biographie . Personal history lexicon . First volume. A – L (= publications of the Frankfurt Historical Commission . Volume XIX , no. 1 ). Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-7829-0444-3 , p. 323-324 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Roland Hoede: The Paulskirche as a symbol. Quatuor Coronati, Bayreuth and Frankfurt am Main 1999, p. 22 f.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Hess, Johann Friedrich Christian |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hess, Johann Friedrich Christian |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | City architect in Frankfurt am Main |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 6, 1785 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Kirchheim an der Weinstrasse |
DATE OF DEATH | August 21, 1845 |
Place of death | Frankfurt am Main |