Zeidler & Wimmel
The company Zeidler & Wimmel (Z + W) was one of the largest stonemason companies in Germany with more than 1,600 employees in the 1930s. It was founded in Berlin in 1776, making it one of the oldest stone cutting companies in Germany. The company has been part of the Geiger Group since 2004 . It currently (2020) employs around 40 people.
history
The stonemason families Wimmel, Zeidler and later also Metzing were involved in several important stone buildings in Germany. The master stonemason Johann Heinrich Wimmel founded a stonemasonry in Berlin in 1776, which quickly developed into Berlin's largest stonemasonry during the construction work of Frederick the Great . The Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building are well known ; It is almost unknown that these structures were carried out by Z + W. Most of the construction work carried out by Z + W reflects German history. In all historical epochs, the stonemasons of the Wimmel, Zeidler and later also Metzing families worked with architects and sculptors. Between Z + W and the architects Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Paul Wallot and the sculptors Christian Daniel Rauch and Johann Gottfried Schadow there was not only business, but also partnership and friendship relationships. The main focus of Z + W's construction activity was in Berlin, and most of the stones used came from the eastern stone mining areas of Germany.
In 1939 the company employed around 1,600 workers in seven factories and 21 quarries, making it one of the largest stonemasonry companies ever to exist in Germany. At the end of the Second World War, Z + W had lost eight tenths of its business assets and was re-established in Kirchheim near Würzburg . In 1989 Hellmut Metzing sold Z + W to Philipp Holzmann AG, which in turn sold it to H. Geiger Stein- und Schotterwerke from Kinding in 2004 .
Personalities
On March 11th, 1776, the master stonemason Johann Heinrich Wimmel founded the stonemason company Wimmel in Berlin, which quickly developed into the largest stonemason company in Berlin due to the lively construction activity of Frederick the Great . In doing so, he had to overcome the objection of the master stonemasons in Berlin, who said that "... the master stonemason in Berlin is enough ..." This objection was repealed " by decretum magistratus ". Johann Heinrich Wimmel was born into a middle-class family in Kassel in 1749, learned the trade of stonemason , and his wanderings led him to Strasbourg and Berlin, where he received his master craftsman's certificate on January 4, 1776 and his first workshop at the Pommeranzenbrücke, near the bank of a branch of the Spree that has now been filled in. During his creative period, the master stonemason acquired the trust of famous Berlin architects such as Carl von Gontard , Carl Gotthard Langhans and David Gilly , and his son Friedrich Gilly and of stone sculptors such as Johann Gottfried Schadow . When Wimmel died in 1818, he had built the Brandenburg Gate and the Royal Colonnades in Berlin.
Phillip Heinrich Wimmel
The oldest of his sons, Phillip Heinrich Wimmel , who was the only one to have learned the profession of stonemason and acquired the master's license in 1801, took over the company. The other sons became construction directors in Berlin and with Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau . The reputation of the efficient company and the established company relationships helped the stonemasonry company to survive the difficult times of the wars of freedom , when planned stone facades were made of stucco and plaster for reasons of cost.
On June 6, 1754, Frederick the Great had decreed that only Ummendorfer sandstone , a soft stone from the Magdeburg area, was to be used for state buildings. Wimmel installed the material at the Berlin City Palace , Berlin Armory , Brandenburg Gate, Old Museum and the Neue Wache . At the beginning of the 19th century, hard rock was also processed, and boulders from the Mark Brandenburg and Prussia were initially used for this. King Friedrich Wilhelm III. commissioned the master stonemasons Wimmel and Trippel to convert the portico of the mausoleum in Charlottenburg Palace using domestic granite. Other monument bases and monuments, columns, bowls, etc. were machine-made, polished and successfully sold in this company.
In a letter, Goethe praised the granite work, highlighting the four granite columns on the mausoleum in Charlottenburg Palace, in particular the large granite bowl in the pleasure garden with a diameter of 6.91 meters and a weight of 75 tons in front of it.
Wimmel not only maintained business relationships with architects and sculptors, such as B. to Schinkel, but a friendly one, which is documented by letter.
In 1828, Phillip Heinrich Wimmel received the King's medal for arts and crafts for outstanding technical achievements .
He died in 1831. The widow Phillips showed a special sense of citizenship when she was the only woman in the Berlin militia to go to the barricades for Berlin and for the Prussian constitution in 1848.
Adolf Heinrich Wimmel
His son Adolf Heinrich Wimmel took over the business and, in addition to existing contacts with Schinkel, also established contacts with other Berlin architects and sculptors such as Carl Ferdinand Langhans , Friedrich August Stüler , Ludwig Persius , Heinrich Strack and the sculptors Christian Daniel Rauch and Friedrich Drake . His greatest achievements included building the palace of Kaiser Wilhelm I , the pillared hall in front of the palace of Prince Albrecht in Wilhelmstrasse and the chapel in Berlin Palace above the Eosander portal . In 1853 he was appointed royal court stone mason for the successful construction of the chapel. In the same year, the master stonemason Johann Gottlieb Zeidler from Frankfurt (Oder) settled in Berlin, who established business and friendly relationships with the Wimmels. This should be of great importance for the company development of Z + W.
Adolf Heinrich Wimmel died early in 1859, leaving behind an underage son named Paul.
Paul Wimmel
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Adolf's widow continued to run the business and Paul Rasche, an architect who had worked with Heinrich Strack and held a leading position in the construction of the Victory Column , had meanwhile joined the Wimmel company, which operates under the company name Paul Wimmel & Co. was continued.
In the meantime, the company premises and the workshop on Lehrter Strasse had been equipped with modern machinery, so that for the first time in Berlin stones were cut with diamond-set saw blades.
In 1886 her son, Paul Wimmel , took over the Wimmel company in the fourth generation. In the meantime, the sons Carl and Otto Zeidler had taken over their father's company as the stonemason company Gebr. Zeidler. Due to the large construction activity, Wimmel and the Zeidlers merged in 1872 and set up a joint plant in Bunzlau next to the sandstone quarries under the new company name Zeidler & Wimmel. This company developed, bought and leased Silesian sandstone quarries in Alt-Warthau , Rackwitz , Sirgwitz, Plagwitz and Hockenau. A workshop was also set up in Löwenberg . This enabled the three companies, the Z + W company in Bunzlau, the stonemason companies Gebr. Zeidler and Paul Wimmel & Co in Berlin not only to satisfy the great demand for stone in competition with other companies, but also to use this competitive advantage. The major orders in Berlin increased, for example the construction of the cathedral on Gendarmenmarkt, the building of the Berlin House of Representatives, the Museum of Applied Arts, the Technical University, the Museum of Ethnology and the Imperial Marstall. But the company was not only successful in Berlin; construction contracts for the Römer in Frankfurt a. M. , for the Rochus Chapel in Bingen , for the palace in Posen and buildings in Potsdam. The construction of the Reichstag building in 1884 began by the Paul Wimmel & Co company, a construction that cost 24 million marks to be completed. In 1884 the Bunzlau company already employed 800 workers, making it one of the largest German stonemasonry companies.
In 1892 the company received the Golden State Medal . In the same year, Z + W was commissioned to build the Goldfinch Museum in St. Petersburg. Other notable foreign orders followed: The Massandra Palace in Crimea, the monument to the Russian Tsar Alexander II , the building of the palace for the Grand Dukes Vladimir, Paul and Alexei Alexandrowitch and other buildings.
Adalbert Metzing
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In 1896 the Zeidler brothers received the Silver State Medal for their stone work . In 1903 Bunzlauer Z + W became the property of the Zeidler brothers. In 1905, master stonemason Adalbert Metzing, a descendant of the traditional stonemason family Metzing, took over the management of these companies. This company Gebr. Zeidler built the Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), the Tietz department store and built other stone buildings.
In 1907 Paul Metzing bought the three stonemasons and continued to run the businesses separately, only to merge them into one company Zeidler & Wimmel in 1920 by Adalbert Metzing. The clever Wimmel had thus created a company that dominated the German-speaking area and also received numerous orders from abroad.
In 1910 Adalbert Wimmel received the so-called Order of the Crown for his successes and he was awarded the title of Royal Court Stone Mason. He rounded off his success with the acquisition of shell limestone quarries in Kirchheim near Würzburg, and established branches in Gdansk and Vienna. Sandstone quarries in Silesia in the Heuscheuergebirge , Wallisfurth and Friedersdorf as well as granite quarries in Jannowitz were acquired tirelessly . Travertine quarries at the Heidenkessel settlement in Dittwar and at two other locations on the Swabian Alb were developed. Workplaces were created in Vienna and Gdansk and a granite factory was built in Jannowitz.
In 1929 Metzing was given the title of Dr.-Ing. Awarded on an honorary basis by the Technical University of Danzig , he became honorary consul of Turkey, he became an honorary citizen in Kirchheim, he was an expert and appraiser at home and abroad.
In 1939, Adalbert Metzing and his Z + W had seven processing plants and 21 stone quarries with around 1,600 employees. This was the climax for this company. At the end of the Second World War, around 8/10 of the property of Z + W was lost, as were the factories and quarries in Silesia, the Vienna office and factory, the quarries in Austria, the branch and workshops in Gdansk.
Hellmut Metzing
Adalbert Metzing rebuilt Z + W in Kirchheim near Würzburg and Riedlingen with the local quarries after 1945 and handed the management over to his son Hellmut Metzing , who later became the sole owner of Z + W. Kirchheim became the headquarters of Z + W. Fritz Metzing managed the branch in Munich and Adalbert Metzing Jun. Managed the branch in Riedlingen with the travertine quarries. A branch with a technical and commercial office was set up in Düsseldorf and another branch existed in Hanover. In 1955 the plant in Kirchheim was modernized. The quarries in Kosseine and Liebenstein in the Fichtelgebirge were developed for granite extraction. A quarry for Londorfer basalt lava was opened up and formed an entry into the monument preservation business fields, because this stone became the substitute stone of the Cologne cathedral for a long time. In 1955 the plant in Kirchheim was brought up to the latest technological standards.
Z + W tied back to the traditional collaboration between architects and sculptors, which was manifested in the first German sculptor symposium , the Kaisersteinbruch sculptor symposium , with international stone sculptors in the company's own Kaisersteinbruch in Gaubüttelbrunn in 1961 . The patrons of this event were the sculptor professor Karl Hartung and Hellmuth Metzing as honorary members of the Symposium of European Sculptors . Metzing became honorary consul of Guatemala , the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1962, in 1969 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with ribbon and in 1971 the Bavarian Order of Merit . From 1979 to 1999 he held the office of President of the German Natural Stone Association.
In 1981 the era of Z + W in the family ownership of the Metzing family ended, because Philipp Holzmann AG took over shares in the company, in order to finally hold 100 percent of all company shares in 1983. In 1989 Hellmut Metzing retired as managing director. He died in 1999 at the age of 80.
Herbert Geiger
In 2004 there was another change of ownership and Z + W became a subsidiary of H. Geiger GmbH Stein- und Schotterwerke . Herbert Geiger , company director and owner of the Geiger Group, decided to expand the Geiger Group's portfolio with the traditional company Z + W. The H. Geiger company, based in Pfraundorf near Kinding, was founded in 1929. Herbert Geiger developed it from small beginnings after the war through entrepreneurial skill into an internationally operating group of companies in the business fields of building materials, traffic route construction and stone. With the strategic takeover of the traditional brand Z + W, the group expanded its expertise in natural stone.
Today (2012) the company Z + W has its headquarters and factory in Kirchheim near Würzburg. The Geiger Group owns quarries in Kirchheimer Muschelkalk, which is mined in Kirchheim / Lower Franconia, Olsbrücker sandstone (Pfalz, near Kaiserslautern), red Eichenbühler Mainsandstein and Warthauer sandstone in Poland, which is managed by the subsidiary Bober. Belonging to the Geiger Group guarantees controlled access to the Group's own quarries in Jura limestone (aka Alte (n) bürger Kalkstein) and Pfraundorfer dolomite. Z + W produces a wide range of natural stone work for facades, floors, wall cladding, stairs, window sills, solid work and gardening and landscaping products.
Managing director after 1983
Managing directors at Z + W after 1983 were: Roland Koster (1983–1989) , Rolf Zubeil (1989–1993), Joachim Grüter (1993–2007), Anton Gerstner (2007–2010), Udo Kiesewalter (2010), Uwe Christian Köhnen (2011–2013) and Rainer Hohenwarter (since 2013).
Buildings, works (selection)
It is not possible to include all the work of the Zeidler & Wimmel company here, which is why numerous buildings, castles, communal buildings, churches and church interiors are missing. It is just a small selection. The stone materials used are indicated accordingly. Different dates of buildings are explained by the information published by Zeidler & Wimmel, which often only relates to the execution or delivery of the stone carvings.
1776 to 1945
Germany
Berlin
- Tower of the French Cathedral on Gendarmenmarkt (1780–1785, based on a design by Carl von Gontard ): Elbe sandstone
- Brandenburg Gate (1789–1791, based on a design by Carl Gotthard Langhans ): Elbe sandstone
- Extension of the pillared hall on the zoo side of the Brandenburg Gate (1868, based on a design by Heinrich Strack and Hermann Blankenstein ): Elbe sandstone
- Reconstruction of Hedwig's Church on Opernplatz (1886–1887, Max Hasak based on a design by Johann Gottfried Büring and Johann Boumann ): Elbe sandstone
- Neue Wache (1818, based on a design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel ): Elbe sandstone
- Altes Museum am Lustgarten (1824–1828, based on a design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel ): Elbe sandstone
- Prussian mansion (1900–1904, based on a design by Friedrich Schulze ): Silesian sandstone
- Prussian Landtag , today House of Representatives (1892–1898, based on a design by Friedrich Schulze): Silesian sandstone
- New Marstall on Schlossplatz (1897–1900, based on a design by Ernst von Ihne ): Rackwitzer and Plagwitzer sandstone
- Schauspielhaus am Gendarmenmarkt (1818–1821, based on a design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel ), Elbe sandstone and Silesian sandstone
- Reichstag building (1884–1894, based on a design by Paul Wallot ): Silesian sandstone
- Central building of the Technical University in Charlottenburg (1879–1883, based on a design by Julius Carl Raschdorff ): Silesian sandstone
- Berlin Cathedral at the Lustgarten (1893–1900, based on a design by Julius Carl Raschdorff ): Old Warthauer and Rackwitzer sandstone
- Restoring addition to the royal colonnades (1910–1911): Silesian and Elbe sandstone
- State Opera Unter den Linden (1844, restored after a fire according to a design by Carl Ferdinand Langhans )
- Palace of the later Emperor Wilhelm I. Unter den Linden (1834–1836, ramp access and stairs built according to a design by Carl Ferdinand Langhans )
- Armory , renovation of the hall of fame with a flight of stairs (1877–1880, based on a design by Friedrich Hitzig )
- State Library , Unter den Linden (1908–1914, based on a design by Ernst von Ihne): Rackwitzer and Cottaer Sandstein
- Bendlerblock ( Reichsmarineamt ), Königin-Augusta-Straße 38–42 (1912–1913, based on a design by Heinrich Reinhardt and Georg Süßenguth ): Kleinrinderfelder Muschelkalkstein
- Prussian Ministry of Agriculture, Domains and Forests, Königgrätzer Straße (1914–1916): Plagwitz sandstone
- Superior court at Kleistpark (1907–1913): Alt-Warthauer Sandstein
- Berlin Higher Administrative Court , Hardenbergstrasse (1905–1907, based on a design by Paul Kieschke and Eduard Fürstenau ): Hardheimer Muschelkalk
- Criminal Court Moabit : Alt-Warthauer and Rackwitzer Sandstein
- Landesversicherungsanstalt Berlin am Köllnischen Fischmarkt (1903–1905, based on a design by Alfred Messel ): Kirchheimer Muschelkalkstein
- Extension of the Oberpostdirektion Berlin (1910–1911): Tuff stone and Hardheim shell limestone
- Prussian Central Railway Office , Hallesches Ufer 35/36 (1911–1915): Cotta sandstone
- Kaiser Friedrich Museum (Bode Museum) (1898–1903, based on a design by Ernst von Ihne): Old Warthauer and Rackwitzer sandstone
- State art school, Grunewaldstrasse (1914–1920): Plagwitz sandstone
- Pergamon Museum on Museum Island (1909–1930, based on a design by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann ): Graubüttelbrunner Muschelkalkstein
- Extension buildings of the Berlin University (1914–1920): Alt-Warthauer and Rackwitzer Sandstein
- Elephant gate at the main entrance to the zoological garden (1896, based on a design by Carl Zaar and Rudolf Vahl): Alt-Warthauer and Rackwitzer sandstone
Berlin Palace
- Interior of the chapel (1845–1853, based on a design by August Stüler and Albert Dietrich Schadow ): various types of marble
- Dome of the Eosander portal (1845–1983): Elbe sandstone and Silesian sandstone
- Reconstruction of the White Hall and staircase (1901–1904, based on a design by Ernst von Ihne): Pavonazzo and Statuario
- Expansion of the Queen's Chamber (1912–1913, based on a design by Ernst von Ihne): Verde-Antico and Calacatta ( Carrara marble )
Churches
- Catholic garrison church (1895–1898, based on a design by August Menken ): Silesian sandstone
- American Church, Motzstrasse (1898–1900, based on a design by Otto March ): Cotta sandstone
- Evangelical Paul Gerhardt Church, Schöneberg (1908–1910, based on a design by Richard Schultze): Plagwitz sandstone
Wroclaw (Wroclaw)
- Technical University of Wroclaw (1903–1911, based on a design by Ludwig Burgemeister ): Plagwitz sandstone and Silesian sandstone
Danzig (Gdansk)
- Entrance building for Gdansk Central Station (1900–1901): Alt-Warthauer sandstone
- Administration building of the Royal Railway Directorate in Gdansk (1912–1914): Plagwitz sandstone
eat
- Guesthouse to Villa Hügel (1914–1915, based on a design by Samuel Marx): French limestone
Frankfurt am Main
- Restoration of the "Römer" (1896–1900, based on designs by Max Meckel ), complete renewal of the facades: red Main sandstone and basalt lava
Goerlitz
- Hall of Fame (1900–1901, based on a design by Hugo Behr)
Hamm (Westphalia)
- Reception building for Hamm main station (1915–1920): Rüthener Sandstein
Hanover
- Central building of the New Town Hall (1907, based on a design by Hermann Eggert ): Rackwitzer sandstone
Magdeburg
- Palace of Justice (1901–1904, based on a design by Paul Thoemer ): Alt-Warthauer and Rackwitzer Sandstein
Oldenburg ok
- Ministerial building (1914–1916, based on a design by Paul Bonatz ): Kleinrinderfelder dolomite
Posen (Poznan)
- imperial residential palace (1906–1909, based on a design by Franz Schwechten ): Old Warthauer and Rackwitzer sandstone
Potsdam
- Facade repairs to the New Palace in the Sanssouci Palace Park (1900–1907): Old Warthauer and Rackwitz sandstone
- Marble Palace (1900–1907): Silesian marble
Stettin (Szczecin)
- Regional council of Stettin and "shipping building" (1905–1912, based on a design by Paul Kieschke): Silesian sandstone
foreign countries
Amsterdam
- Administration building of Holländischer Lloyd (1918–1920): Alt-Warthauer Sandstein
Rotterdam
- Main telegraph office (1917–1920): Kleinrinderfelder dolomite
- Town Hall (1916–1918): Delivery of 2,500 m³ work pieces made of sandstone
St. Petersburg
- Goldfinch Museum (1900): Facade made of Rackwitz sandstone , columns in the atrium made of Untersberg marble and other marbles
After 1945
Germany
Aachen
- Aachen and Munich insurance: Leggiuna
Bad Neustadt (Saale)
- Sanatorium of the Hanover State Insurance Institute: Roman travertine
Berlin
- National Gallery Berlin (architect Mies van der Rohe): Striegauer granite
- Congress hall (1957): Anröchter Grünstein and Botticino
- Bell tower at the Olympic Stadium: Kirchheimer Muschelkalk ("Blue Hole")
- Dorotheenblocks, houses 1-8 (2002): facades, interior work, various natural stones
- DomAquarée (2004), architect nps Tchoban-Voss: Pietra Elda facade
- Galeria Kaufhof (2007): Facade Riedlinger Kalkstein - German Natural Stone Prize 2007
- Andelshotel (2008): Altenbürger limestone facade
- State Library magazine building (2012): facade in San Francisco granite
Bonn
- Kennedy Bridge (1948/49): Rhenish basalt lava river pillar , other external cladding Franconian shell limestone
Dusseldorf
- State central bank: Labrador dark, Trigaches
- North Rhine-Westphalian Parliament (1989)
- IKB Industrie- und Kreditbank (1997): Façade in Jura limestone and interior floor coverings in various natural stones
- District and District Court (2009): Façade in Kirchheimer Muschelkalk
eat
- RWE high-rise: Cristallina, diabase, granite
- Rathaus Galerie / City Center (2010): Floor coverings in Jura limestone and Kirchheim shell limestone
Frankfurt am Main
- Städel Museum (extension) Architect Prof. Peichl (1989): Facade
- Museum of Modern Art, architect Hans Hollein (1991): facade
- Johannes-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Westend campus, law and economics and House of Finance (2008): facade in Roman travertine and floor and step coverings in Kirchheim shell limestone
Hall
- City Archives (2008): Kirchheimer Muschelkalk - German Natural Stone Prize 2007
Hamburg
- Internationaler Seegerichtshof (2000): Facade in various natural stones
- State Opera Hamburg (2002): facade in Roman travertine
Herne
- Marien Hospital Herne - University Hospital of the Ruhr University Bochum, Herne (increase, completion in 2016, based on a design by Krampe Schmidt Architects): Facade in Jura
Karlsruhe
- L-Bank, Karlsruhe (2008): Façade in Magny Limestone and floor coverings in Kirchheimer Muschelkalk - German Natural Stone Prize 2009
Cologne
- Headquarters of the insurance group Gerling (construction period over 15 years, based on designs by Arno Breker ): Trosselfels
- German health insurance (1970–1971): Maggia- Gneis
Munich
- National Theater Foyer (1963): Calacatta and Statuario
Stuttgart
- Wall and floor design of the Neue Liederhalle (1955–1956)
foreign countries
London
- Peterborough Court (1990-1991)
Edinburgh
- Royal Bank of Scotland (2007)
literature
- Zeidler & Wimmel (Eds.): 1776–1926. On the one hundred and fifty year anniversary of the establishment of the business by master stonemason Johann Heinrich Wimmel under the government of Frederick the Great, oA (1926)
- Zeidler & Wimmel (ed.): 175 years of Zeidler & Wimmel. In memory of master stonemason Johann Heinrich Wimmel in 1976 in Berlin , Bruckmann, Munich undated (1951).
- Zeidler & Wimmel (ed.): Building in natural stone. 200 years of Zeidler & Wimmel. Quarries, stonemasons, stone industry , Bruckmann, Munich 1976
Web links
- Zeidler & Wimmel website
- Website of the Holding H. Geiger Stein- und Schotterseite
- Advertisement Zeidler & Wimmel , Anzeiger zum Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , May 20, 1882, p. 5
Individual evidence
- ↑ Welt am Sonntag, June 7, 1964, p. 23
- ↑ Zeidler & Wimmel: 150 Years, p. 38, see Ref.
- ↑ Der Tagesspiegel, May 7, 1967, p. 31
- ↑ Quoting from a letter from the great Prussian master builder Schinkel on January 11, 1830 to Philipp Heinrich Wimmel: Should your time allow me to give me an hour to do preliminary rollovers with me for some large projects, I would love it very much if they want to try to see me at around half past three. (Die Welt am Sonntag, June 7, 1964, p. 23)
- ↑ Welt am Sonntag, June 7, 1964, p. 23
- ↑ Zeidler & Wimmel: 175 Years, p. 16, see Ref.
- ↑ Zeidler & Wimmel: 200 Years, p. 14, see Ref.
- ↑ Zeidler & Wimmel: 200 Years, p. 100, see Ref.
- ↑ Zeidler & Wimmel: 175 Years, p. 33, see Ref.
- ^ City of Bonn (ed.): Die Neue Rheinbrücke , Dümmler Verlag, Bonn 1949 (pp. 88–91)
- ↑ Increase in the Marienhospital University Clinic - Architectural Objects - heinze.de. Retrieved December 15, 2019 .