Antonín Wiehl (26 April 1846,

Plasy Plasy (; german: Plass) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is known for its former monastery. Administrative parts Villages of Babina, Horní Hradiště, Lomnička, Neb ...

– 4 November 1910,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

) was a Czech architect, museum official, and patron of the arts. He helped create the first system of

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Biography

His father was an Austrian forestry official, assigned to the estates of

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

. He attended the

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

, then received his secondary education in Prague. From 1863 to 1868, he was enrolled at the

Polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

. He began his

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

course with Professor , who retired in 1864, then continued with

Josef Zítek Josef von Zítek (18321909) was a Czech architect best known for two Neo-Renaissance landmarks in Prague, the National Theatre and the Rudolfinum. From 1869 to 1870, he was in Slatiňany, working for a construction company owned by the architect, , who did restorations and was a regional conservator for the Vienna Central Commission that oversaw the preservation of monuments. During Wiehl's time with the company, he gained invaluable experience doing restorative work on a number of churches. Following his employment there, he returned to the Polytechnic and was an assistant to Professor

Josef Niklas Josef Niklas (11 March 1817, Volyně – 10 October 1877, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech architect. He one of the most important Czech architects in the 19th century. In 1873–1874 he was a rector of the Czech Technical University in Prague. Ex ...

until 1873. After that, he took an extended study trip to Italy; what would be the first of many such trips throughout his career. Upon returning, he opened his own architectural practice. In 1876, he married Maria Lukasová, from

Slaný Slaný (; german: Schlan) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administr ...

. Their marriage would remain childless. From 1881, he was a member of the founding committee for the

City of Prague Museum The City of Prague Museum is located in Prague, Czech Republic. Langweil's Model of Prague is exhibited in the main building of the museum. Museum buildings include: Main Building, Podskalí Custom House at Výtoň, Ctěnice Chateau, Prague Towe ...

. He also drafted a design for the museum, which was not chosen. In 1883, he became the first Chairman of the Association of Engineers and Architects. He was also a member of the , where he sat on the archaeological commission, and was involved in the study of

museology Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education. Terminology The w ...

. In 1891, he made trips to the Bohemian countryside, preparing his folk-motif concepts for a pavilion at the

General Land Centennial Exhibition The General Land Centennial Exhibition was a List of world's fairs, World's fair held in 1891 in Prague, then in the Austria-Hungary, Austria-Hungarian Empire. Many buildings were erected for this exposition, including the ''Průmyslový palace ...

. The architect, , and the writer,

Alois Jirásek Alois Jirásek () (23 August 1851, Hronov, Kingdom of Bohemia – 12 March 1930, Prague) was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a high school history teacher in Litomyšl and later in Prague until his retirement in ...

, worked with him to create the project. Although it received praise from the critics in Prague, visitors from the countryside were less impressed. The writer, Svatopluk Čech, satirized it in one of his novels. From 1892, he focused on designing rental homes and conservation; serving on a committee dedicated to identifying historical architectural elements and transferring them to museums, during a period of redevelopment known as the "", that resulted in the demolition of many old neighborhoods. As he grew older, he became increasingly deaf, and gradually retired from active work; devoting himself instead to gardening, collecting art and antiques, and pursuing his lifelong interests. He also worked on developing ideas for what he called the "Institute of National Economy". His will included numerous endowments for scientific, technical and educational organizations. His home was bequeathed to the Academy of Sciences and Arts. Since 1953, they have used it for their bookstore and publishing division, . He also donated some of his property for the establishment of his proposed Institute. His art collection, books and photographs were given to various museums. He is buried in a tomb of his own design at

Vyšehrad Cemetery Vyšehrad (Czech for "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basilica ...

. His sculptural models and sketches were donated to the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

by his widow Maria. Prag Wiehluv Haus 2

Sources

* Kateřina Boháčová, "Antonín Wiehl a jeho pražské novorenesanční stavby" (Antonín Wiehl and his neo-renaissance buildings in Prague), in: ''Stavba'', Vol.18, #3, 2011, pp. 69 - 71 * Irena Bukačová, ''Antonín Wiehl'', City of PLasy, 2010, * Milan Kašpar, Alena Michálková
"Architekt Antonín Wiehl, tvůrce a představitel české neorenesance (1846–1910)"
(Architect Antonín Wiehl, creator and representative of the Czech Neo-Renaissance) @ Stavebnictvi3000 * Markéta Kudláčová
"Architekt souladu: Antonín Wiehl a jeho cesta k české renesanci"
(Antonín Wiehl and his journey to the Czech Renaissance) @ Dějiny a současnost * Pavel Vlček, Věra Naňková; Vítovský, "Antonín Wiehl", In: ''Encyklopedie architektů, stavitelů, zedníků a kameníků v Čechách'', Jaroslav Havel, Běla Trpišovská (Eds.), Academia, 2004 pp. 712-713 * Jindřich Vybírla. "Česká versus italská neorenesanãní vila: Antonín Wiehl, Antonín Barvitius a jejich mecenáši" ("Czech" versus "Italian" Neo-Renaissance villa. Antonín Wiehl, Antonín Barvitius and their patrons), in ''Zprávy památkové péče'', Vol.74, #3, pp.83-90
Online
*Zdeněk Wirth, ''Antonín Wiehl a česká renesance'' (Antonín Wiehl and the Czech Renaissance), Jan Štenc, 1921

External links

Works by and about Wiehl
@ the

National Library of the Czech Republic The National Library of the Czech Republic ( cs, Národní knihovna České republiky) is the central library of the Czech Republic. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture. The library's main building is located in the historical Clementinum b ...

Biographical notes and works
@ ArchiWeb {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiehl, Antonin 1846 births 1910 deaths Czech architects Architectural conservation Museum associations and consortia People from Plasy