Leopold Mayr

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Leopold Mayr, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber , 1850

Leopold Mayr (* 1808 in Vienna ; † March 19, 1866 there ) was an Austrian court architect, architect and local politician.

Life

Leopold Mayr was the son of a master stonemason. Despite the modest family situation, he was able to attend the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna between 1822 and 1829 and the Polytechnic Institute with interruptions between 1824 and 1833 . Here he was able to acquire particularly technical skills. In 1835 he obtained his master builder license and married the daughter of Josef Klee , one of the most important and influential builders in Vienna. This family relationship as well as his acquaintance with Count Ferdinand von Colloredo-Mannsfeld helped him to advance his construction company, which is said to have built around 400 buildings in Vienna. In 1847 he also acquired the concession to become a town stone mason. From 1848 Mayr began to get involved politically. The political contacts were certainly helpful in obtaining large public works contracts, such as the construction of the arsenal . In 1859 Mayr became a member of the City Expansion Commission (it was in those years that the decisions were made to tear down the Vienna city wall and build Vienna's Ringstrasse with numerous representative buildings in its place ).

Mayr was politically committed to the Liberals . He was a member of the state parliament for Lower Austria and ran for the office of mayor of Vienna. In 1861 he was only defeated by his competitor Andreas Zelinka by 10 votes and then became the first deputy mayor. Mayr's other functions were the management of the Erste Österreichische Spar-Casse , the accounting management of the fire damage insurance company and the seat on the administrative board of the Lower Austrian Escompte-Gesellschaft and Creditverein. For his services he was awarded the title of kuk court architect.

Mayr set up a charitable fund that bore his name and was used for charitable purposes.

plant

Stephansplatz 5 (1837–1842)
Kaiserstein Palace (1839)
Stephansplatz 6 (1839–1842)

Leopold Mayr carried out the construction of many building projects in Vienna before and after 1848. His company was one of the largest and most influential. The construction of the arsenal and the Westbahnhof were particularly complex and technically difficult tasks. In the era of the early Ringstrasse period, Mayr also had a significant influence on the construction process due to his political functions. In addition, Mayr was also active as an independent architect with his own designs.

literature

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Commons : Leopold Mayr  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Mayr, Leopold
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mayer, Leopold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian builder and politician, member of the state parliament
DATE OF BIRTH 1808
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH March 19, 1866
Place of death Vienna