Wiland (builder)

The Kreuzkirche in Breslau: a work of Master Wiland

Master Wiland ( lat. Magister Lapicida Wilandus * probably in the middle of the 13th century; † after 1295) was an architect of the Gothic , in Lower Silesia , mainly in Wroclaw , worked. He was mentioned in 1284 as the court architect of Duke Heinrich the Righteous and owner of the village of Kreika near Breslau.

life and work

From written records about the court architect Wiland, as well as from buildings that were built on what was then the palace area of ​​Breslau or donated by Duke Heinrich and that have been preserved or the remains of which were excavated , one can infer which objects were created by Wiland and his building hut come into question. The style of its high-Gothic brick buildings refers to its possible origins in today's Austria . The Bauhütte achieved a high artistic and structural level, its architecture was characterized by the pursuit of monumentality and verticality .

Among the works of Wiland and his Bauhütte is the octagon of the auditorium or chapel of the castle on the cathedral island in Wroclaw , which was referred to as a central building and was demolished in the early modern period , and also a three-storey castle barn for the Holy Virgin (completed as Martin's Church). His most important work is the construction of the choir and probably also the entire complex of the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St. Bartholomew ( Kreuzkirche ) in Wroclaw.

Furthermore, a builder named Wiland was mentioned in connection with the construction of the parish church of St. Peter and Paul ( upper church ; today cathedral) in Liegnitz , who signed the building contract in 1333.

However, since a document from 1284 shows that the Wroclaw master builder Wiland had a son who had the same name and that the older Wiland must either have been very old around 1333 and possibly no longer lived, the assumption is that it was the construction of the Liegnitz church was the work of his son, who most likely inherited his father's profession.

literature

• Edmund Małachowicz: Wrocławski zamek książęcy i kolegiata św. Krzyża na Ostrowie. Oficyna Wydawnicza PWr, Wrocław 1994, ISBN 83-7085-012-X