Musch & Lun

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Musch & Lun - Bureau for Architecture & Civil Engineering in Merano , headed by the master builder Josef Musch (1852–1928) and engineer Carl Lun (1853–1925), was a dominant construction company in South Tyrol from 1880 to 1930 in artistic and technological terms . In addition to his work as an entrepreneur, Carl Lun in particular was also active in various associations and in politics - both areas in which he worked tirelessly for urban planning tasks and for the implementation of buildings and projects that the economic and social development of Merano and South Tyrol promoted. Musch & Lun were not only building contractors, but also influential entrepreneurs with international networks, who provided valuable impulses for the implementation of sustainable economic and social initiatives.

activity

Hotel Brennerbad, Brenner, 1900/1901 (illustration from a brochure)
Hotel Emma, ​​Mazziniplatz, Meran (1908; design by Gustav Birkenstaedt , executed by Musch & Lun)
Töll power plant on the Adige River, Algund (1897/1898)
Schnalstal power station, Naturns (1910)
Friedhof, Meran (1907–1908, based on plans by Josef Schmitz from Nuremberg)
Grandhotel Trafoi, Stilfs, 1908
Grandhotel Stubai, Fulpmes (North Tyrol), 1904, source: Archives of the Fulpmes community

In the long period from approx. 1880 to 1930, the architects' office not only designed and implemented their own projects, but also implemented such freelance architects from home and abroad as a construction company.

Thanks to their cooperation with various architectural offices, Musch & Lun were able to quickly adopt current design trends and, among other things, significantly shape entire districts of Merano and the appearance of tourism architecture in South Tyrol. The architects used a regional form of historicism in their architectural language .

In addition to their work as a bureau in the narrower sense, Musch & Lun also acted in other areas in the South Tyrolean public, pursuing private economic interests as well as general public interests. In a literal Wilhelminian style, they recognized opportunities for progress in South Tyrol and implemented projects that promoted the development of the region on many, sometimes very different, levels. They used their social position, their economic success and their political influence to implement such projects. Last but not least, they had contacts that reached far beyond the region. They activated these networks for their far-sighted planned entrepreneurships and for the implementation of innovations. For example, thanks to their good connections to leading engineers of their time (e.g. Oskar von Miller and Josef Riehl ), they gained access to the latest technical achievements, with the development of the electricity industry in South Tyrol being inextricably linked with the name Musch & Lun.

In addition, their good network with leading business people was responsible for the fact that they were able to carry out both large and small construction projects. Musch & Lun were involved in the project development and construction of tourist buildings, whereby the design and equipment of their hotels corresponded to the latest state of the art. But they also advocate the inclusion of new technologies in projects for smaller buildings, e.g. B. when planning innovative electrical cooling processes for a local butcher shop.

In their work, Musch & Lun did not only react to changing economic and production conditions in order to gain market advantages for their own company. They also endeavored to realize projects related to general social developments. For example, in the run-up to the construction of the Merano hospital they built (1902–1905), they dealt intensively with the latest international standards in the fields of hygiene , disinfection and health prevention. To this end, they undertook information trips to various cities in the Danube Monarchy and Bavaria.

buildings

The most important buildings and projects realized by Musch & Lun include:

Public contracts (building and civil engineering projects)
  • 1881: Andreas Hofer barracks in Meran (probably the first order from Musch & Lun)
  • 1892: Volksschauspieltheater in Meran
  • 1897–1898: Töll power plant of the Etschwerke in Lagundo
  • 1900/01: Merano synagogue
  • 1902–1905: Hospital in Meran
  • 1906: slaughterhouse in Merano
  • 1907–1908: Cemetery in Meran (based on plans by Josef Schmitz from Nuremberg)
  • 1910: Schnalstal power station in Naturns
  • 1914: Suldenstrasse
  • 1914: Regulation of the Etsch from the Töll to the mouth of the Pass
Private contracts (mostly holistic planning from construction to interior design)
  • from 1895: Hotel Karersee in Welschnofen (reconstruction after fire damage 1910–1912)
  • from 1895: Hotel Brennerbad on the Brenner Pass
  • 1907: Hotel Oberbozen (Hotel Holzner) on the Renon
  • 1908: Hotel Emma in Meran (in collaboration with Gustav Birkenstaedt)
  • 1909: Sparkasse building in Bruneck am Graben
  • Numerous villas, holiday homes, businesses and business premises

Other Musch & Lun buildings in Merano are on the list of monuments in Merano and on the list of protected ensembles in Merano .

Urban and regional development

  • Musch & Lun were involved in the introduction of the newly emerging modes of transport (local trains, railways) and, as a result, they were involved in the implementation of urban development concepts. At the instigation of Musch & Lun, Theodor Fischer was entrusted with the development of building line plans in 1896 .
  • Musch & Lun advocated the use of water power to generate electrical energy and played a key role in founding the Etschwerke to market electricity . Particularly noteworthy are the services provided by Musch & Lun in connection with the solution of new construction tasks such as building structures for power plants.
  • Musch & Lun played a decisive role in the tourist development of South Tyrol in the areas of recreational and health tourism. In addition to realizing top achievements in the field of hotel construction (Hotel Brennerbad, Hotel Karersee, Hotel Emma, ​​etc.) and equipping them according to the latest technical standards, Musch & Lun may also have been active in the field of tourism project development and as investors.
  • Musch & Lun participated in charitable projects, especially in connection with the improvement of sanitary and medical standards (disinfection facility, Merano hospital, slaughterhouse, etc.).
  • Musch & Lun were committed to the cultural development of the spa town of Merano, especially in the theater sector (construction of temporary stages, a decisive part in the realization of the Merano City Theater).

The Musch & Lun office was also a training center for prospective architects. The architects who were trained here include the North Tyroleans Theodor Prachensky (1888–1970) and Franz Baumann (1892–1974).

literature

  • House plan of the spa town of Merano: List of streets, squares and promenades, villas, houses and farmsteads in the spa district of Merano. Meran: Pötzelberger 1922.
  • Bettina Schlorhaufer , Georg Grote , Kuratorium Schloss Prösels (eds.): Architecture becomes region: the regionalization of architecture in South Tyrol from around 1880 to the interwar period = Dall'architettura alla regione. Basel: Birkhäuser-AG 2017. ISBN 978-3-035613889
  • Bettina Schlorhaufer: Historicism and the Rise of Regionalism as “Style”: South Tyrol's Successful Special Path . In: Georg Grote, Hannes Obermair (Ed.): A Land on the Threshold. South Tyrolean Transformations, 1915-2015 . Peter Lang, Oxford-Bern-New York 2017, ISBN 978-3-0343-2240-9 , pp. 217-237 .

Web links

Commons : Musch & Lun  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Josef Musch (1852–1928): Born in Bozen. So far nothing is known about the school and university time. 1881 marriage to Carl Lun's sister Maria. See: Albert Mascotti: Josef Musch & Carl Lun. In: turrisbabel , No. 5, Bozen 1986, pp. 28-34.
  2. ^ Obituary for Josef Musch in the Dolomites from October 16, 1928. Digital copy from the Teßmann library
  3. ^ Carl Lun (1853–1925): Born in Bozen, grammar school in Brixen, high school diploma in Feldkirch. From 1872 studies at the Polytechnic Munich , from 1877 at the Technical University of Vienna . Degree as an engineer. First professional practice in Bolzano (1878–1880) with the district authority in order to obtain the position of state engineer. 1880 Relocation to Merano to found the Bureau for Architecture & Engineering Musch & Lun together with Josef Musch . From 1892 to 1896 political activity in the municipal committee of Merano, 1896 to 1908 in the municipal council. From 1902 to 1913 Carl Lun was a member of the trade committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bozen. Many other offices, e.g. B. as a member of the board of directors of the Etschwerke in Bozen and in the association for alpine hotels. See: Albert Mascotti: Josef Musch & Carl Lun. In: turrisbabel , No. 5, Bozen 1986, pp. 28-34.
  4. ^ Obituary for Karl Lun in the Burggräfler from March 11, 1925, digitized version of the Teßmann library
  5. ^ Josef Weingartner : The art monuments of South Tyrol. Volume II. 7th edition, Bozen: Athesia 1991, p. 611.
  6. Anna Pixner Pertoll: Built into the light: the Merano villas, their gardens and the development of the city (1860–1920). Ed. Raetia, Bozen 2009, ISBN 978-88-7283-355-1 .
  7. Bettina Schlorhaufer, Matthias Boeckl: Theodor Prachensky. Architect and painter. Innsbruck 2006.
    Horst Hambrusch, Joachim Moroder, Bettina Schlorhaufer: Franz Baumann. Modernist architect in Tyrol. Bozen / Vienna 1998.
    In connection with their work in Merano, it should be noted that Theodor Prachensky and Franz Baumann were talented draftsmen. Her talent is likely to have flowed into the preparation of drafts (diagrams, perspective drawings) in the Musch & Lun office.