John of Cologne (cathedral builder, 1410)

John of Cologne also or Spanish Juan de Colonia (* probably around 1410 in Cologne , † 1480 ) was a builder of the Gothic .

biography

Little is known about his life outside of his work in Spain . Johannes, also known as Hans, first learned his trade at the Cologne cathedral builder . Later he probably also worked on Swabian cathedral builders, before the Bishop Alonso de Cartagena brought him from the Council of Basel to Burgos in 1440 (according to other sources as early as 1435) to employ a capable master builder to complete the towers of the Burgos Cathedral. From then on he also worked as a builder at the Cathedral of Burgos . First he built the Capilla de la Visitación, the burial chapel of the bishop, in the cathedral, before starting work in September 1442 to complete the towers, which he was to complete 16 years later.

He married the Spanish Maria Ferández. From this marriage there were six children; Among them was Simon of Cologne , who continued the construction of the cathedral after the death of his father. Juan de Vallejo is named as John's pupil , who from 1539 renewed the collapsed crossing tower of the cathedral of Burgos, which was never originally planned.

plant

The participation in the following buildings is attributed to Hans:

architect

Burgos and surroundings

• Capilla de la Visitación in the Cathedral of Burgos (considered his first work in Spain; 1440–1442)
• Tower spiers on the cathedral of Burgos (considered his artistic masterpiece; September 18, 1442 - September 4, 1458), around 1466 crossing tower
• Plans of the Cartuja de Miraflores (1454)
• Dome of the Capilla de la Concepción , later completed by his son

sculptor

at the cathedral of Burgos

• Inscriptions on the roof and tower

literature

• Johann Jakob Merlo:  Johann of Cologne (master builder) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 461.
• Ingrid Münch:  Johannes von Köln (cathedral builder, 1410). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2 , Sp. 886-888.
• Hugo Kehrer: Germany in Spain. Relationship, influence and dependence. Munich, 1953, pp. 69-74.
• Nicolás Menéndez González: "Sunder of many other great famous masters" Las obras de la capilla de la Visitación y la fachada de la catedral de Burgos, marco de la aparición de Juan de Colonia en la ciudad. La reestructuración del taller catedralicio (h. 1444-1447) . In: 1514. Arquitectos tardogóticos en la encrucijada. Seville, 2016, pp. 91-106.
• Nicolás Menéndez González: Studies on the empirical construction of Juan de Colonia († 1476/78). Form and manufacturing knowledge in the proto-stage of an era of the architecture treatise , 2 vol., Cologne, 2018.