Wilhelm Jung (art historian)

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Wilhelm Jung (born December 16, 1922 in Solingen ; † July 3, 2008 in Mainz ) was a German art historian and monument conservator .

Life

After his return from British captivity , Jung studied art history , history , church history and philosophy from 1946 to 1952 at the University of Mainz, which was newly founded by the French occupying forces . In the summer semester of 1949 he became a member of the VKDSt Hasso-Rhenania Mainz in the Cartell Association (CV) . In 1952 he received his doctorate from Friedrich Gerke with a thesis on Knechtsteden Abbey .

From 1953 to 1964 Jung worked in the State Office for Monument Preservation in Rhineland-Palatinate . He then worked at the Rhenish Office for Monument Preservation as an area conservator for the Aachen government district and the Euskirchen district . From 1969 until his retirement in 1988, he was cathedral and diocesan curator for the diocese of Mainz and director of the Episcopal Cathedral and Diocesan Museum in Mainz.

Act

In his adopted home of Mainz, Jung was also involved in prestigious Mainz clubs and associations. Wilhelm Jung was for many years the second chairman of the Mainz antiquity association and was a co-founder and member of the advisory board of the Kulturfonds der Mainz Wirtschaft. Until his death he was honorary chairman of the antiquity society. As a Privy Councilor in the Honorable Mainz Wine Guild from 1443, he was an eloquent expert on city, diocesan and wine history. He lived with his wife in the old town of Mainz . Following the example of the Cologne tradition, he suggested the introduction of Ash Wednesday for artists and publicists, which was realized by Cardinal Hermann Volk . For a long time he was a member of the board of the Mainz Tourist Association.

Two thousandth anniversary of the city of Mainz in 1962

The two millennium celebrations - even then, a controversy flared up over the date and the underlying dating, because the city was mentioned in 38 BC. Chr. Is not historically secured - heralded a rapid economic upswing in the city of Mainz, which, under Jockel Fuchs, came to a crowning conclusion in 1975 with the 1000th anniversary of the cathedral. Jung played a key role in shaping this important city anniversary when he worked for the State Office for Monument Preservation.

Savior of the old town

Jung made a special contribution to the old town of Mainz and its architectural heritage. The rise of the city of Mainz to a modern metropolis in the 1960s and 1970s posed great planning dangers for the old town . When the “ car-friendly city ” of Mainz was sought under Mayor Franz Stein and a renovation of the old town became foreseeable, he turned against it and advocated careful urban renewal and refurbishment of individual projects. It was precisely this merit that was honored with the City of Mainz's Ring of Honor in 1999. Lord Mayor Jens Beutel emphasized this at his award ceremony: When the people of Mainz look proud of their beautifully renovated old town today, they should remember that Jung knew how to arouse enthusiasm for his ideas of how to deal with them carefully and with great skill the legacies of the past.

Jung did not speak up about the car-friendly city, but helped develop a convincing rescue strategy for the historic city center .

1000 years of Mainz Cathedral

In his function as diocesan conservator, Jung was responsible for the imperial cathedrals in Worms and Mainz as well as for another 300 listed churches in the diocese of Mainz. What Cardinal Karl Lehmann particularly appreciates about Jung is that he has brought together monument preservation and restoration , "which are otherwise often far apart and at odds with one another".

The highlight of this activity in 1975 was the celebration of “1000 Years of Mainz Cathedral” on behalf of the diocese of Mainz. These celebrations were connected with a complete renovation of the cathedral mountains. The external restoration work after the war, during which weather damage was also removed, dragged on into the 1970s, as did work on the interior design, especially the new glazing. This was the first major cathedral restoration since the 1870s. Finally, the outside of the cathedral was colored red with mineral paints. Before that, the cathedral had not been completely plastered and had a purely sandstone-colored appearance. With the red coloring, Jung matched the color scheme of most of the historic Mainz buildings. After the renovation was completed, the millennium was celebrated in 1975.

Honors

Fonts

A complete list can be found at Susanne Speth: List of publications by Wilhelm Jung . In: Mainz magazine . Volume 87/88, 1992/93, pp. 5-9.

  • The Premonstratensian Collegiate Church Knechtsteden. A contribution to the Lower Rhine architecture and wall painting of the 12th century . Dissertation University of Mainz 1952.
  • with August Schuchert : The Mainz Cathedral. A manual. 2nd edition Schmidt, Mainz 1953; 3. Edition. Schmidt & Bödige, Mainz 1984.
  • A rediscovered marble altar of St. Maria Magdalena from the Mainz Charterhouse. In: Yearbook of the Diocese of Mainz. 8, 1958/60, pp. 333-340.
  • Did you order a copy or a fake? The emails in the Stephanskelch in Mainz. In: Mainz magazine. 54, 1959, pp. 31-32.
  • Mainz between the cathedral, St. Stephan and the wooden tower. Published by Wilhelm Jung on behalf of the City of Mainz 1971.
  • Guide to the Episcopal Cathedral and Diocesan Museum. Mainz 1971.
  • with Bruno Funk: The Mainz Town Hall . Self-published by the Mainz municipal administration, Will & Rothe publishing house and printing company, Mainz 1974.
  • (Ed.): 1000 years of Mainz Cathedral (975–1975). Becoming and change. Exhibition catalog and manual, Mainz 1975.
  • The Marien Altar in Mainz Cathedral. A foundation of Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel Frhr. Von Ketteler on his silver jubilee on July 25, 1875 . In: The Episcopal Church of St. Martin in Mainz (= contributions to the history of the Mainz church. Volume 1). Knecht, Frankfurt 1986, pp. 3-15.
  • Church monument preservation in the diocese of Mainz. In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History. Volume 40, 1988.
  • Building on the cathedral and in the diocese of Mainz during the 19th and 20th centuries. In: Daniela Christmann (Ed.): RückSicht. Festschrift for Hans-Jürgen Imiela on February 5, 1997. Schmidt, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-87439-420-4 , pp. 85-93.

literature

  • Helmut Mathy : Wilhelm Jung on his seventieth birthday on December 16, 1992 . In: Mainz magazine . Volume 87/88, 1992/93, pp. 1-3.
  • Helmut Wirth: Obituary for Dr. Wilhelm Jung (1922-2008) . In: Mainz magazine . Volume 104, 2009, pp. IX-X.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Jung, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art historian and monument conservator
DATE OF BIRTH December 16, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Solingen
DATE OF DEATH July 3, 2008
Place of death Mainz