Laurentius Liechti

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Church of St. Martin in Baar with clockwork from 1526
Unterkulm church with tower clock from 1530
Remigen church with clock tower from 1535
Clock tower in Solothurn with clockwork from 1545
Solothurn Astronomical Clock (wall panel)

Laurentius Liechti (* probably 1489; † 1545 in Winterthur ) was a Swiss watchmaker , politician and founder of the Liechti watchmaking dynasty.

Live and act

Laurentius Liechti was probably born in Winterthur in 1489. He was a locksmith and watchmaker by profession. He became known through the commission to build an astronomical clock at the Liebfrauenkirche in Munich .

Laurentius Liechti designed more than 19 tower clocks, 16 of which are still preserved today and some of them are in use. He mainly made wheel clocks with a pointer , but also elementary clocks with astrolabe .

family

The family was first mentioned in 1412. Laurentius Liechti's son Laurentius II (1598) took over the father's workshop and worked as a locksmith, while the second son Erhard (around 1530–1591) made clocks for wealthy citizens and monasteries.

From 1533 the Liechtis had a seat in the Grand Council and from 1588 in the Small Council of Winterthur. They exercised the art of watchmaking for three centuries up to Jakob Ulrich (1829–1857) and in 12 generations produced 19 craftsmen who built watches.

While early iron clocks were not signed, it was a family tradition of the Liechtis to sign their products (between the initials a star of the family coat of arms and a W for Winterthur) and to date them (year). Thanks to this tradition, based on old council protocols, the family tree of the Liechti and the dates, the clock technology could be reconstructed over around two centuries.

Works

Tower clocks by Laurentius Liechti with year of construction The movements are signed with L * L , the W for Winterthur and the year (year of construction).

  • 1524: Liebfrauenkirche Munich , altar-shaped with astronomical displays, destroyed.
  • 1526 Church of St. Martin in Baar , clock tower still in operation (not included in Schenk's list)
  • 1528: Dinhard Church , location: Mörsburg Castle
  • 1529: Lower arch (Kefitor / Käfigtor) Winterthur, tower clock mechanism with astrolabe and 2 automatons, location: Museum Lindengut , Winterthur.
  • 1530: Porte Basse, Thann (Alsace), destroyed except for the 2 machines.
  • 1530: Unterkulm church , tower clock still in operation.
  • 1530: Ellikon an der Thur church , location: Kellenberger clock collection , Winterthur (on loan from Technorama ).
  • 1530: Veltheim Church , closed in 1950 on site, missing since 1993.
  • 1531: Obertor Brugg , with astronomical displays, tower dismantled in 1840, work lost.
  • 1535: Remigen Church , iron clockwork from 1535.
  • 1535: Villigen Church , location: Museum Aargau , Lenzburg .
  • 1540: Niederbüren (?), Location: Historical Museum, St. Gallen .
  • 1540: Wolfsberg Castle in Ermatingen , tower clock from the old castle still in operation, location: west wall of the library, the corresponding dial with hour hand is on the western outer wall (not included in Schenk's list).
  • 1541: Church Hornussen , location: private property USA.
  • 1543: Renzentor Aarau, gate 1812 broken off, work lost.
  • 1544: Maria Hilf Monastery, Altstätten , still in operation (authorship not confirmed).
  • 1544/1545: Solothurn clock tower, with astronomical displays and automats, tower clock mechanism still in operation.

Museums

  • Gewerbemuseum Winterthur: The Kellenberger clock collection shows a cross-section of the work of the Liechti family of clockmakers and an iron tower clock by Laurentius Liechti from 1530.
  • Museum Lindengut , Winterthur: The astronomical tower clock (with a 4/4 stroke) of the Winterthur Zytgloggeturm (Käfigtor), which Liechti made in 1529, is considered the oldest surviving astrolabe gear .

literature

  • Adolf Schenk: The Liechti von Winterthur watchmaking family and their works. First edition 1970 (with a list of the Liechti watches still known today). Gewerbemuseum Winterthur, Winterthur 2006, ISBN 3-9520940-3-X .
  • The astronomical gear of Laurentius Liechti from Winterthur, 1529. In: Erik Damm: Basics of astronomical clocks. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2009, ISBN 978-3-8391-0361-6 , pp. 55 f. ( books.google.ch ).
  • Ruedi Wehrli: Watchmaking in the Canton of Zurich. In: Man and Time in Switzerland, 1291–1991. La Chaux-de-Fonds 1991.

Web links

Commons : Laurentius Liechti  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adolf Schenk, Georg von Holthey: The watchmaker family Liechti von Winterthur and their works . First edition 1970. Gewerbemuseum Winterthur, Winterthur 2006, ISBN 3-9520940-3-X . (With a list of the Liechti watches still known today.)
  2. ↑ Residential community Baar: St. Martinskirche ( Memento from August 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Liechti, watchmaker family - tower clock from the lower arch in the Winterthur glossary.
  4. ^ Reformed parish of Kulm: Church of Unterkulm
  5. ↑ Vinorama Museum Ermatingen: Historic clock on the Wolfsberg
  6. ^ Marie-Christine Egger: The clock tower and the astronomical clock. (PDF; 43 kB)
  7. ↑ Kellenberger clock collection in the Winterthur industrial museum
  8. ↑ The cellar and its equipment ( Memento from August 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) in the Lindengut Museum, Winterthur.
personal data
SURNAME Liechti, Laurentius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Liechti, Lorenz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss watchmaker
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: 1489
PLACE OF BIRTH uncertain: Winterthur
DATE OF DEATH 1545
Place of death Winterthur