DOI article:
Tomaszewicz, Agnieszka: Antiquity in residential architecture of Wrocław in the nineteenth century
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.51712#0088
then to the sitting room which was dosed by a terrace
leading to the garden [Fig. 2], From the front, the
layout of rooms was completed by an ‘impluvium’ sid-
ed by pergolas. The main residential building was
joined with éléments of the ‘villa rustica’ — a coach
house and stables from the west and an orangerie and
gardener’s house from the east. Apart from recogniz-
able references to the layout of the ancient Roman
villa, motifs derived from the ancient Greek and Ro-
man architecture were also used in the building’s déco-
ration. The front risalit of the Eichborn villa was fin-
ished with a tympanum resting on a simple entabla-
ture, the simple window frames resembled the aper-
tures of Erechteion, the Windows in the middle part
of the building’s front were divided by caryatids on
the first floor and the porticus extending outward from
the face of the building was equipped with Corinthi-
an columns [Fig. 3]- The garden façade, which was
of a less représentative character, was also designed
with the use of ancient forms — apart from simple
window frames, sills and flat tympanum already
known from the front of the building, the architect
used a motif of arches from the Athenian Agoranomi-
on [Fig. 4], Similar décorations were used in the inte-
rior of the building — the walls with délicate divisions
in the third Pompeian style were painted in intense,
saturated colors, which served as a background for these
‘ancient’ works of art. The value of the Eichborn resi-
dence was increased by its skilful fitting into the land-
scape garden, which also had numerous ‘ancient’ ac-
cents — pavillons, exedras, statues, bowls and fountains.
The choice of style for the building undoubtedly
confirmed high aspirations of the Eichborn family,
and as one of the founder’s sons said, he desired to
build ‘a middle dass bouse worthy ofa palace, a town house
resembling a residence; in no case, however, was this middle
dass residence to Imitate a palace and it was not ahout ex-
posing the wealth accumulated by six générations ofa family
related to the history of great trade of Wroclaw. There was
no place for pride or splendour, nor for false ostentation. In
those interiors y ou will only find abjects of true artistic val-
ue and perfect authenticity. And these collections had not
21 EICHBORN, W. von: Das schlesische Jahr-Landschaften der Se-
hensucht. Frankfurt 1982, p. 31-32; quot. after BOBER, A.:
Wroclawska willa Eichborn i jej motywy antyczne (The
Wroclaw Eichborn villa and ist ancient motifs). In: Dylematy
klasycyzmu. O sztuce Wroclawia XVIII. — XIX. wieku i jej euro-
been accumulated as in a museum and are not a collection
meant for long-term Investment, but belang intrinsically to
the beautiful and splendid décoration and fumishings of the
inhabited dwelling and create an adéquate environment for
the sublime lifestyle that cultivâtes knowledge and beau-
ty’.2X It is worth mentioning that Waesemann’s de-
sign was exceptional not only on the scale of Wroclaw
— such designs with a multitude of inspirations from
the ancient house were not built from the funds of
the middle dass. The majority of works mentioned
were executed on request of the successor to the thro-
ne, later Friedrich Wilhelm IV. or other members of
the reigning family. Among the Contemporary build-
ings, only the villa designed by August Hahnemann
for a famous antiquity lover Fritz von Fahrenheid of
Beynuhnen could match the Wroclaw edifice in terms
of artistic quality. The ancient refuge of the Eichborn
family did not last until today, in 1907 the villa was
demolished and in its place a complex of tenement
town houses was erected.
Quite a different concept of ancient motifs can be
seen in the architecture of residential houses designed
after the publication of Carl Boetticher’s Tectonics of
Hellenes. ‘Greek’ rules of building were implemented
in Wroclaw by two graduâtes of the Berlin Building
Academy - Carl Luedecke (1826 - 1894) and Carl
Schmidt (1836 - 1888). The older, Luedecke, stud-
ied at Berlin Academy in the years 1847 — 1849, four
years later he was awarded the title of Master of Build-
ing, and in 1856 he opened a design practice in the
capital of Silesia.21 22 The architect designed municipal
residential developments mainly in the initial period
of his work in Wroclaw, i.e. in the 1860s. His most
important works were public facilities — the stock
market, the central station, as well as the renovation
works in the town hall and the Cathedra! of Wroclaw.
Schmidt, ten years younger than Luedecke, graduat-
ed from the Building Academy in 1863 and immedi-
ately moved to Wroclaw, where in 1866 he erected
his greatest work — the belvedere on one of the former
bastions, which was incorporated into the composi-
tion of the new city promenade as a sightseeing hill.
pejskich kontekstach (Dilemmas of Classicism. On the Art of Wroclaw
in the 18th and 19th Centuries and Ils European Contexts). Ed.
Z. OSTROWSKA-KÇBLOWSKA. Wroclaw 1994, p. 174.
22 BECKER, R.: CariLuedecke, Gedächtnisrede. Breslau 1896, p. 2, 3.
82
leading to the garden [Fig. 2], From the front, the
layout of rooms was completed by an ‘impluvium’ sid-
ed by pergolas. The main residential building was
joined with éléments of the ‘villa rustica’ — a coach
house and stables from the west and an orangerie and
gardener’s house from the east. Apart from recogniz-
able references to the layout of the ancient Roman
villa, motifs derived from the ancient Greek and Ro-
man architecture were also used in the building’s déco-
ration. The front risalit of the Eichborn villa was fin-
ished with a tympanum resting on a simple entabla-
ture, the simple window frames resembled the aper-
tures of Erechteion, the Windows in the middle part
of the building’s front were divided by caryatids on
the first floor and the porticus extending outward from
the face of the building was equipped with Corinthi-
an columns [Fig. 3]- The garden façade, which was
of a less représentative character, was also designed
with the use of ancient forms — apart from simple
window frames, sills and flat tympanum already
known from the front of the building, the architect
used a motif of arches from the Athenian Agoranomi-
on [Fig. 4], Similar décorations were used in the inte-
rior of the building — the walls with délicate divisions
in the third Pompeian style were painted in intense,
saturated colors, which served as a background for these
‘ancient’ works of art. The value of the Eichborn resi-
dence was increased by its skilful fitting into the land-
scape garden, which also had numerous ‘ancient’ ac-
cents — pavillons, exedras, statues, bowls and fountains.
The choice of style for the building undoubtedly
confirmed high aspirations of the Eichborn family,
and as one of the founder’s sons said, he desired to
build ‘a middle dass bouse worthy ofa palace, a town house
resembling a residence; in no case, however, was this middle
dass residence to Imitate a palace and it was not ahout ex-
posing the wealth accumulated by six générations ofa family
related to the history of great trade of Wroclaw. There was
no place for pride or splendour, nor for false ostentation. In
those interiors y ou will only find abjects of true artistic val-
ue and perfect authenticity. And these collections had not
21 EICHBORN, W. von: Das schlesische Jahr-Landschaften der Se-
hensucht. Frankfurt 1982, p. 31-32; quot. after BOBER, A.:
Wroclawska willa Eichborn i jej motywy antyczne (The
Wroclaw Eichborn villa and ist ancient motifs). In: Dylematy
klasycyzmu. O sztuce Wroclawia XVIII. — XIX. wieku i jej euro-
been accumulated as in a museum and are not a collection
meant for long-term Investment, but belang intrinsically to
the beautiful and splendid décoration and fumishings of the
inhabited dwelling and create an adéquate environment for
the sublime lifestyle that cultivâtes knowledge and beau-
ty’.2X It is worth mentioning that Waesemann’s de-
sign was exceptional not only on the scale of Wroclaw
— such designs with a multitude of inspirations from
the ancient house were not built from the funds of
the middle dass. The majority of works mentioned
were executed on request of the successor to the thro-
ne, later Friedrich Wilhelm IV. or other members of
the reigning family. Among the Contemporary build-
ings, only the villa designed by August Hahnemann
for a famous antiquity lover Fritz von Fahrenheid of
Beynuhnen could match the Wroclaw edifice in terms
of artistic quality. The ancient refuge of the Eichborn
family did not last until today, in 1907 the villa was
demolished and in its place a complex of tenement
town houses was erected.
Quite a different concept of ancient motifs can be
seen in the architecture of residential houses designed
after the publication of Carl Boetticher’s Tectonics of
Hellenes. ‘Greek’ rules of building were implemented
in Wroclaw by two graduâtes of the Berlin Building
Academy - Carl Luedecke (1826 - 1894) and Carl
Schmidt (1836 - 1888). The older, Luedecke, stud-
ied at Berlin Academy in the years 1847 — 1849, four
years later he was awarded the title of Master of Build-
ing, and in 1856 he opened a design practice in the
capital of Silesia.21 22 The architect designed municipal
residential developments mainly in the initial period
of his work in Wroclaw, i.e. in the 1860s. His most
important works were public facilities — the stock
market, the central station, as well as the renovation
works in the town hall and the Cathedra! of Wroclaw.
Schmidt, ten years younger than Luedecke, graduat-
ed from the Building Academy in 1863 and immedi-
ately moved to Wroclaw, where in 1866 he erected
his greatest work — the belvedere on one of the former
bastions, which was incorporated into the composi-
tion of the new city promenade as a sightseeing hill.
pejskich kontekstach (Dilemmas of Classicism. On the Art of Wroclaw
in the 18th and 19th Centuries and Ils European Contexts). Ed.
Z. OSTROWSKA-KÇBLOWSKA. Wroclaw 1994, p. 174.
22 BECKER, R.: CariLuedecke, Gedächtnisrede. Breslau 1896, p. 2, 3.
82