Simon Humpeller

Stone cutter's mark Simon Humpeller

Simon Humpeller (* in Rottweil , Baden-Württemberg ; † before January 10, 1642, when the will was published , in Vienna ) was the imperial court stone mason , sculptor and master builder in St. Stephen's Cathedral .

Life

In December 1614, Simon Humpeller received citizenship in Vienna. Due to his tax payments he was classified as a tenant until 1619 , in the following period he received additional income from home ownership. In the Carinthian district Simon Humpe Creator is run as a home owner. Through his wife Anna, b. Krueg, he initially became a partner in the “large floor” of the school yard 6 (old no. 413 identical to Parisergasse no. 2). After her death he inherited the house at Krugerstraße 8 (old No. 1014), from him it came to his second wife Agnes, who was later married to Khott. Humpeller bought a second house at 16 Neuer Markt (old no. 1085, identical to Seilergasse 15).

His sources of income were his stonemasonry and sculpture, the rented living and business premises, the tenants living in his houses and the income from his vineyards . Thus he achieved considerable prosperity.

Master builder in Vienna 1624–1641

In the craft regulations of the masonry and stonemasonry in Vienna of July 10, 1624 named as cathedral master builder. The numerous Swiss-Italian champions were not mentioned at all. The Viennese main hut still treated them as troublemakers and the city authorities were on the side of the main hut. In December 1624 a request for majesty with the simple form of address “Kayser” was sent to the imperial chancellery, the sender of which was the resident “master mason and stone mason wälscher nation” from the four quarters of Lower Austria , ultimately also the brotherhood in the imperial quarry . They approached the emperor because of their own rules of trade . There was an unequivocally negative attitude towards the Italians and Humpeller signed as German champion.

Cardinal Melchior Khlesl , Bishop of Vienna , once a student in the Jesuit Convict St. Barbara in Breslau , had pursued the Counter Reformation in such a way that Vienna became a purely Catholic city ​​again.

Elector Maximilian of Bavaria in Vienna

When the Elector Maximilian of Bavaria arrived in 1635, the cathedral master builder chose an extremely breakneck way of greeting, which he did himself. He climbed onto the tower of the Stephansturm and waved a flag while standing on it.

The reason was: the prince married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1610–1665), daughter of Emperor Ferdinand II and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria , on July 15, 1635 in Vienna . The emperor and the elector were cousins, both had received their basic training at the Jesuit college in Ingolstadt , and both agreed in the fight against the Protestants .

Building damage to the treasury

Inner Burgplatz, 1652

In the summer of 1640, necessary renovation work took place in the rooms of the old castle , which stretched towards St. Michael and which contained parts of the spiritual and secular treasury . A depression of the vault was found.

The imperial treasurer Matthias von Pallinger was commissioned with the experts Giovanni Battista Carlone , the court mason Pietro Spazzio and Simon Humpeller, the builder of St. Stephan, to assess the situation. Everyone agreed that the treasury had to be " khomben" to help first by "strong hilly straddling for a while and bit other remedies " . It was also recognized that it was necessary to partially renew the foundations and to remove the chimney between the “Spanish kitchen” and the treasury, which favored fire and break- ins. The stonemason was also responsible for chimneys.

New high altar in St. Stephan

As a witness, he signed a significant contract on March 1, 1641 between the Bishop of Vienna , Philipp Friedrich von Breuner and the stonemason and sculptor Johann Jacob Pock , concerning the erection of a new high altar at St. Stephen. It was one of his last official activities.

Testament of Simon Humpeller

On October 4, 1641, the cathedral master builder formulated his last will . One passage from it is interesting. .. to the master Hannßen Herstorfer , citizen and stainmetzen, I hand over .. if the appointed universal heir Agnes Humpellerin, would no longer marry for handicraft , all my left tools completely ... but since my housewife would stay with the handicraft, she would do it herself needy .

Archival material

• Vienna City and State Archives : tax files, stone mason files, event logs .

literature

• Moritz Dreger : Building history of the kk Hofburg in Vienna up to the XIX. Centuries . Vienna, A. Schroll & Co. 1914, ( Austrian Art Topography 14).
• Otto E. Plettenbacher: History of the stonecutters of Vienna in the 17th century. An economic and cultural historical as well as sociological investigation . Dissertation, University of Vienna 1960.
• Franz Loidl , Martin Krexner: Vienna's bishops and archbishops . Schendl, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-85268-080-8 .
• Herbert Haupt: The court and court-exempt craft in baroque Vienna 1620 to 1770 . Studien-Verlag, Innsbruck et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-7065-4342-2 , ( research and contributions to the history of the city of Vienna 46).