Nikolaus Lilienfeld

Astronomical clock in the Nikolaikirche (Stralsund)

Nikolaus Lilienfeld (also Nicolaus Lillienveld , Nikolaus Lillienfeld ) was an engineer and clockmaker of the late 14th and early 15th centuries .

life and work

Nikolaus Lilienfeld's living conditions are largely unknown. It is believed that he was born between 1350 and 1365 and died between 1420 and 1435. The place of birth or death of Lilienfeld is unknown.

Lilienfeld can be documented for the first time at the end of 1394, when he completed the astronomical clock in Stralsund. In 1396 he was mentioned in two Rostock files as a witness of the notarization in connection with the establishment of the Carthusian monastery Marienehe in Rostock; In 1406 he worked as a hydraulic engineer for the Marienkron monastery near Rügenwalde and in 1420 he received a financial grant for the construction of a water pipe for the city of Stralsund .

Lilienfeld's importance results from the fact that he built the astronomical clock in St. Nikolai (Stralsund) . This makes him the oldest known watchmaker in the Baltic Sea region. The clock he designed bears the Latin inscription :

Anno mcccxciiii In die sancte nicolai completum est opus per nicolaum lillienueld orate pro factoribus et largitoribus qui cum diligencia compleuerunt. (In the year 1394, on the day of St. Nicholas, this work was completed by Nicolaus Lillienveld. Pray for the makers and donors who created it with caring diligence.)

Lilienfeld probably had no academic education, but was trained in the use of astronomical instruments. His indication of the geographical latitude of Stralsund on the dial of the Stralsund clock with 54 degrees 25 minutes is amazingly accurate.

The case of the watch also has a portrait of Lilienfeld on the southern side wall, the oldest portrait of a watchmaker.

Due to the similarities between the parts that have been preserved and the corresponding elements of the Stralsund clock, it is assumed that Lilienfeld also built the astronomical clock of the Doberan Minster , of which only the dial is preserved today, as well as the clock in Lund Cathedral , which is no longer in its original state . However, there is no written evidence to support this assumption.

literature

Manfred Schukowski : Wonderful watches. Astronomical clocks in churches from the Hanseatic era . Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 2006, ISBN 3-935749-03-1 .
Jürgen Hamel : Nikolaus Lilienfeld - a North German astronomer of the late 14th century? In: Contributions to the history of astronomy, Volume 36. Frankfurt a. M. 2008 (Acta Historica Astronomiae; 9), pp. 15-25.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Lilienfeld, Nicholas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Lillienfeld, Nikolaus; Lillienveld, Nicolaus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Engineer and watchmaker
DATE OF BIRTH	14th Century
DATE OF DEATH	15th century