Carl Gangolf Kayser (or Carl Gangolph Kaiser; born 12 February 1837, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

; died 2 September 1895) was an Austrian architect at the service of Emperor

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (german: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, link=no, es, Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena, link=no; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who reigned as the only Emperor ...

, during the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

. In the later part of his life he returned to Austria and worked on restoring medieval castles.

Life

Carl Gangolf Kayser was enrolled in the sculpture class of the Academy of Fine Arts of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and in that of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. So far, we do not know about any formal architectural studies of Kayser. He was an auditor to architecture with

Friedrich von Schmidt Friedrich von Schmidt (October 22, 1825 – January 23, 1891) was an architect who worked in late 19th century Vienna. Life and career Von Schmidt was born in Frickenhofen, Gschwend, Württemberg, Germany. After studying at the technical hig ...

in Vienna and specialized later on in Mediaeval and Gothic revival architecture. After several trips during the

, he was appointed court architect by Emperor

in 1866. After arriving in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, he planned various architectural projects in the Palacio Nacional and the

Castle of Chapultepec Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has ...

, and continued the work of the architects Julius Hofmann and Ramón Rodríguez Arangoiti, who were the main builders of Chapultepec Castle, in Mexico. The Prefect of the Court officially notified Kayser of his appointment as Court Architect in February 1866, almost two years after the arrival of emperor Maximilian in Mexico. Drawings of other Mexican projects exist in archives in Mexico City, but they were not realized. He also had to abandon most of his plans for Chapultepec Castle after the execution of Emperor Maximilian. Kayser is an interesting figure in part because of all the drawings of projected buildings he left behind in Mexico, while only a few were completed. After the collapse of the Mexican Empire in 1867, Kayser returned to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, where he restored several medieval castles, such as Kreuzenstein, Hardegg and Liechtenstein Castle near Vienna.

Selected works

* Plans for

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has s ...

* Kreuzenstein Castle * Hardegg Castle * Liechtenstein Castle

Gallery

Castillo de chapultepcec.jpeg, Chapultepec Castle, Mexico Maria Enzersdorf - Burg Liechtenstein (1).JPG, Liechtenstein Castle, Austria Leobendorf - Burg Kreuzenstein (5).JPG, Kreuzenstein Castle, Austria Hardegg - Burg (2).JPG, Hardegg Castle, Austria

References

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