Johann August Karl Soller (14 March 1805 – 6 November 1853) was a

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

, and later, German architect."Soller, August."
''Deutsche Biographie'' (in German). Retrieved 19 Jan 2017. He was one of the most important of

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassica ...

's pupils and is regarded as a representative of the

Schinkel school The Schinkel school (''Schinkelschule'') was a German architectural style active from 1840 to the end of the 19th century. It is named after its head, Karl Friedrich Schinkel. See also * Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a nineteen ...

. Soller became an influential proponent of , a

Romanesque revival architectural style Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

that became popular in German-speaking lands and among German diaspora during the 19th century.

Life and work

August Soller was born in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

Principality of Erfurt The Principality of Erfurt (german: Fürstentum Erfurt; french: Principauté d'Erfurt) was a small state in modern Thuringia, Germany, that existed from 1807 to 1814, comprising the modern city of Erfurt and the surrounding land. It was subordi ...

, in 1805. He worked as a land surveyor from 1820–1822 and completed his surveyor's examination on June 22, 1822 at the ''E. S. Unger Mathematical Institute''. Soller then completed two and a half years of practical experience as a building inspector. To prepare for his master builder's examination, he moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and lived with the family of his nephew

Richard Lucae Richard Lucae (12 April 1829 – 26 November 1877 ; full name: ''Johannes Theodor Volcmar Richard Lucae'') was a German architect and from 1873 director of the Berliner Bauakademie. Early life Richard Lucae came from an old Berlin pharmacy fami ...

In 1829 Soller was licensed as a Prussian state architect. He then served in the provinces, particularly in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. From 1830 to 1833 he worked as a royal construction foreman for the District Government in

Liegnitz Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 ...

and for a time served as a construction inspector in Posen. His focus became the design of churches and the supervision of their construction. On June 1, 1833, he became a master builder for the Prussian Higher Council of Architecture (german: Preußische Oberbaureputation) in Berlin and also became a member of the Berlin Academy of Architecture, known as the . During this period Soller was assistant to

, one of the most prominent architects in Germany. Soller took over the Department of Churches in the Construction Commission in 1841, and in 1843 was made Senior Privy Councillor (german: Geheimer Oberbaurat) for Infrastructure. From 1851 onwards he served as Lead Councillor for construction in the Prussian Ministry of Trade. His first completely independent work was the nearly three meter high tomb of General Ernst Ludwig von Tippelskirch in the ) in Berlin (1844). Soller also designed Berlin's second oldest Catholic Church constructed after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the almost forgotten church St. Marien am Behnitz in

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

(1848). In 2002 that church was transferred into private ownership and completely renovated. He led construction of the war monument in Berlin's (1851–1853) and designed the tower of the

Luisenstädtische Kirche The Luisenstädtische Kirche was a church building in Berlin, in the former Luisenstadt district (now part of the Berlin-Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg districts), on Alte Jacobstraße between Sebastianstraße and Stallschreiberstraße. It was ...

. As a curator of monuments, Soller was also involved in the construction of

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of ...

and the restoration of

Erfurt Cathedral Erfurt Cathedral (german: Erfurter Dom, link=no, officially ''Hohe Domkirche St. Marien zu Erfurt'', English: Cathedral Church of St Mary at Erfurt), also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is the largest and oldest church building in ...

and the

Cathedral of Trier The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier (german: Hohe Domkirche St. Peter zu Trier), or Trier Cathedral (german: Trierer Dom), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the oldest church in Germany and the l ...

Soller's most important work is St. Michael's Church, Berlin (german: Sankt-Michael-Kirche), the parish church of St. Michael and the city's third oldest Catholic church built after the

. It was constructed between 1851–1861 to plans Soller had already completed in 1845 and occupies a dramatic position on the

Luisenstadt Canal The Luisenstadt Canal, or Luisenstädtischer Kanal, is a former canal in Berlin, Germany. It is named after the Luisenstadt district and ran through today's districts of Kreuzberg and Mitte, linking the Landwehr Canal with the Spree River, and s ...

. After his early death in 1853, church financial difficulties then caused a break in construction in 1855."Geschichte der St. Michael Kirche"
(in German). ''Der Förderverein zur Erhaltung der Katholischen Kirche St. Michael'' (Foundation for the Preservation of the Catholic Church of St. Michael's). Retrieved 19 Jan 2017. Soller was buried there in 1856 and the building was finally completed in 1861 by Andreas Simons,

Martin Gropius Martin Carl Philipp Gropius (11 August 1824, Berlin – 13 December 1880) was a German architect.Wirth, Irmgard (1966).Gropius, Martin Carl Philipp. In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie''. Band 7. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. . p. 132-133 retriev ...

and particularly Soller's nephew,

. The church was consecrated on the 28 October 1861, by the

Bishop of Breslau A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the presence of the King of Prussia, William I, the future Emperor of Germany.

Legacy

Since his health was poor and he died at only 48 years old, Soller's oeuvre is not as extensive as it might have been. His designs for the spire of the (1837) and the (1844), for instance, were never carried out. However, he is regarded as the best among the state architects of the period. He sought neither fame nor honors, instead dedicating himself to principles of sound architectural design. As Soller's work became known through publications, it influenced American architects Richard M. Upjohn and James Renwick Jr. in the mid-1840s, effectively initiating a

Romanesque revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

in the United States. Soller's work also influenced

Miklós Ybl Miklós Ybl (6 April 1814 in Székesfehérvár – 22 January 1891 in Budapest) was one of Europe's leading architects in the mid to late nineteenth century as well as Hungary's most influential architect during his career. His most well-known wo ...

, one of Europe's leading architects and Hungary's most influential during the mid to late 19th century. A number of Soller's significant works were damaged in World War II and demolished in its aftermath. St. Michael's was heavily damaged on the night of Feb 3, 1945 during the bombing of Berlin. It was stabilized and partially restored between 1948 and 1953, with the installation of a worship space in the transept. More repair and restoration work continued between 1976 and 1998, although the front façade and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

remain a ruin. The survived the war without significant damage, but it became overshadowed by more pressing events surrounding the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...

. It was demolished by the city on August 19, 1948. The

burnt during the bombings of February 3, 1945, with Soller's west tower still standing. However, by 1961 the church's ruins were located in the boundary strip of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

and it too was demolished in 1964. The foundations still remain in the former cemetery, which is now a park."Luisenstädtische Church"
Berlin Lexicon, Edition Luisenstadt 2002 (in German). Retrieved 20 Jan 2017.

Gallery

File:Behnitz2.jpg, Church of St. Marien am Behnitz, Berlin-Spandau (1848) File:Behnitz8a.jpg, Church of St. Marien am Behnitz as restored in 2006 File:Relief Alte Jakobstr 56 (Mitte) Luisenstadt-Kirche.jpg, Luisenstädtische Kirche (1845), memorial plaque at the site File:Berlin Invalidensaeule ZfB.jpg, (1853), front elevation File:Berlin, Germany (April 2016) - 035.JPG, St. Michael's Church, Berlin

Writings

* Soller, August: ''Entwürfe zu Kirchen, Pfarr- und Schul-Häusern'' zum amtl. Gebr. bearb. u. hrsg. von der Kgl. Preuss. Ober-Bau-Deputation. Potsdam: Riegel Lfg. 1 (1844) bis Lfg. 13 (1855)

References

External links