Ulrich Ensinger

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Ulm Minster: highest tower of Christian churches
Facade detail of the Milan Cathedral

Ulrich Ensinger , also Ulrich von Ensingen and Ulricus Fissingen de Ulme (* 1359 in Oberensingen (?); † February 10, 1419 in Strasbourg ) was a builder of the southern German Gothic .

Life

The origin of the tower builder is not secured by any sources , but is most likely to be found in Oberensingen near Nürtingen. The place was known in ancient times through his works and millstone quarries in Stubensandstein . Another indication of such an origin is likely to be the fact that Ulrich von Ensingen was looking for work at the age of around 15 in the nearby town of Esslingen (around 20 kilometers away) and found work in the church building hut .

Ulrich von Ensingen was the progenitor of the Ensinger family of foremen . He was married to the daughter of Hans (* approx. 1390), son of Konrad Glaser (approx. 1325 to approx. 1393). Ulrich von Ensingen had at least three sons and two daughters. The daughter Anna († 1429) married Hans Kun, who, like their son Kaspar Kun, was foreman at Ulm Minster. The daughter Ursula (1386–1430) went to the Weil monastery as a conventual . His three sons Kaspar, Matthäus and Mathias also learned the stonemason trade and worked their way up to master builders. Matthäus and his grandson Moritz continued his work and followed him as master builder in Ulm. Matthäus and his son Vincenz from their first marriage continued the construction of the Esslinger Frauenkirche .

plant

For Ulrich, the building of the Frauenkirche brought about a close relationship with the city of Esslingen am Neckar . He entered the building works there as a journeyman. In the Esslingen tax lists 1365-1368, 1370-1380, 1390-1393 and 1396-1398 as murer and Stainmetz . During the missing years from 1381 to 1389 he was most likely on the prescribed wandering . It is very likely that Ulrich took over the construction of the Frauenkirche in place of Master Heinrich from 1389. In 1391 he is mentioned as a master.

From 1392 to 1417 he built the Ulm Minster , where he continued the nave that had already been started halfway up and implemented the plan change from the originally planned hall church to the basilica . His design for the cathedral tower is preserved in the Ulm City Museum. The crack, 70.4 cm wide and 306.5 cm, which consists of five large and two small leaves, is one of the most important Gothic architectural drawings . Ensinger was only able to build the basement of the tower. Matthäus Böblinger continued building according to his own plans, but the west tower remained unfinished in the Middle Ages (choir towers and west tower are works of the 19th century). From 1394 to 1395 Ensinger built the Milan Cathedral . In 1399 he was called to Strasbourg, where he built the octagonal north tower on the platform of the Strasbourg cathedral up to the base of the helmet until his death . From 1400 he was also the master builder who designed the tower of the Esslingen Frauenkirche and began construction. In 1414 he provided the design for the Georgsturm of Basel Minster , and in 1415 also for the west tower of Frankfurt Cathedral . None of his works was completed during his lifetime, and much was continued in a modified form.

The tower of the Strasbourg Cathedral, which is counted as "one of the most ingenious tower constructions of the Gothic", is considered to be his masterpiece, even though it was not completed until after his death. Ulrich von Ensingen is considered to be the inventor of the tower helmets, which are pierced by a kind of viewing gallery or ruff, which, for example, were also implemented on the towers of the cathedral of Burgos by Johannes von Köln .

Honors

Statue "Ulrich von Ensingen" in Ulm Minster

The Munich sculptor Hermann Lang created a larger than life statue of the builder in 1911/12, which was erected in Ulm Minster. The city of Ulm has named a school (Ulrich von Ensingen Community School) after him.

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johann Josef Böker, Julian Hanschke: A tower plan by Ulrich von Ensingen for the Frankfurt parish tower . In: Insitu - Zeitschrift für Architekturgeschichte 2, 2010, pp. 149–160.
  2. ↑ Ludger Alscher, Günter Feist, Peter H. Feist (ed.): Lexicon of Art. Architecture, fine arts, applied arts, industrial design, art theory. Volume 1, p. 625.
  3. ^ Hugo Kehrer: Germany in Spain. Relationship, influence and dependence. Munich 1953, p. 70.
  4. ↑ Lang, Hermann . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 22 : Krügner – Leitch . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1928, p. 317 .
personal data
SURNAME Ensinger, Ulrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ensingen, Ulrich von; Ulricus Fissingen de elm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Builder of the South German Gothic
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: 1362
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberensingen
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1419
Place of death Strasbourg , Alsace