Johann Heinrich Strack (6 July 1805,

Bückeburg Bückeburg (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bückeborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It is located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge. Population: 21,0 ...

– 13 June 1880,

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 ...

) was a German architect of the '' Schinkelschule''. His notable works include the

Berlin Victory Column The Victory Column (german: , from ''Sieg'' ‘victory’ + '' Säule'' ‘column’) is a monument in Berlin, Germany. Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Second Schleswig War, by the time it was i ...

Life and work

His father, , was a painter of portraits and

vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre ...

. His mother's brother was Johann Heinrich Tischbein, a famous portrait and

history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

. Between 1824 and 1838, he studied at both the

Bauakademie The Bauakademie (''Building Academy'') in Berlin, Germany, was a higher education school for the art of building to train master builders. It originated from the construction department of the Academy of Fine Arts and Mechanical Sciences (from ...

and the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

. During that time, he passed the surveyor's examination (1825), the construction manager examination (1827) and the Master Builder's examination (1838), which qualified him to be an inspector. He also assisted

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 ...

, furnishing an apartment for Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm at the

Berliner Schloss The Berlin Palace (german: Berliner Schloss), formally the Royal Palace (german: Königliches Schloss), on the Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin, was the main residence of the House of Hohenzollern from 1443 to 1918. Expanded by order of ...

; and

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

, in renovating the

Ordenspalais The Ordenspalais ("Palace of the Order f Saint John) was a building on the northern corner of Wilhelmplatz with Wilhelmstraße in Berlin (now in Berlin-Mitte). Erection of the building at Wilhelmplatz No. 7/8 began in 1737 as the residence o ...

. The latter resulted in a lifetime friendship. His first independent employment was as a construction manager, for renovating the

Prinz-Albrecht-Palais The Prinz-Albrecht-Palais was a Rococo city palace in the historic Friedrichstadt suburb of Berlin, Germany. It was located on Wilhelmstrasse 102 in the present-day Kreuzberg district, in the vicinity of Potsdamer Platz. History The building was ...

(1829–1830). He worked as an freelance manager and architect from 1832 to 1837. He began teaching at the Prussian Academy in 1839, and was appointed a Professor there in 1841. The following year, he became a building inspector for the Court, in service to then-Prince

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

. In 1850, he became a member of the new "Technical Building Deputation". He succeeded Stüler as a Professor at the Bauakademie in 1854. He also taught drawing to Wilhelm's son,

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

, and accompanied him on a trip to Italy. In 1862, during excavations in Athens, Strack,

Ernst Curtius Ernst Curtius (; 2 September 181411 July 1896) was a German archaeologist, historian and museum director. Biography He was born in Lübeck. On completing his university studies he was chosen by C. A. Brandis to accompany him on a journey to ...

and

Karl Bötticher Karl Gottlieb Wilhelm Bötticher (29 May 1806, Nordhausen – 19 June 1889, Berlin) was a German archaeologist who specialized in architecture. Biography He was born in Nordhausen. He studied at the Academy of Architecture in Berlin, and was af ...

discovered the

Theatre of Dionysus The Theatre of Dionysus (or Theatre of Dionysos, el, Θέατρο του Διονύσου) is an ancient Greek theatre in Athens. It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus (Di ...

, near the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

. Three years later, he was accepted as a foreign member of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

, and began writings texts on architectural subjects. When he retired in 1876, then-Emperor Wilhelm I appointed him "Architect to the Emperor". His tomb at

Dorotheenstadt Cemetery The Dorotheenstadt Cemetery, officially the Cemetery of the Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder Parishes, is a landmarked Protestant burial ground located in the Berlin district of Mitte which dates to the late 18th century. The entrance to the ...

was designed by two of his students;

Reinhold Persius Ernst Ludwig Reinhold Persius (27 August 1835, Potsdam - 12 December 1912, Berlin) was a German architect and Prussian building official. Life and work He was the fourth of six children born to the Royal Architect, Ludwig Persius, and his wife ...

and .

Selected works

* 1845–1849:

Babelsberg Palace Babelsberg Palace (german: Schloss Babelsberg) lies in the eponymous park and quarter of Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg, near Berlin. For over 50 years it was the summer residence of Prince William, later German Emperor ...

, completion after the death of

Ludwig Persius Friedrich Ludwig Persius (15 February 1803 in Potsdam – 12 July 1845 in Potsdam) was a Prussian architect and a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Persius assisted Schinkel with, among others, the building of the Charlottenhof Castle an ...

* 1854: Refurbishment of the Old Palace,

Unter den Linden Unter den Linden (, "under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Running from the City Palace to Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden (lime in England and Ireland, not re ...

, Berlin * 1853–1856: St. Andrew's Church, formerly Stralauer Platz,

Friedrichshain Friedrichshain () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin, it is adjacent to Mitte, Prenz ...

* 1856–1858: Expansion of the Kronprinzenpalais,

, Berlin * 1867–1868: Gatehouses of the

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...

* 1869–1873:

, now in

Großer Stern Der Große Stern (''The Great Star'') is the central square of the Großer Tiergarten park in Berlin; the Berlin Victory Column The Victory Column (german: , from ''Sieg'' ‘victory’ + '' Säule'' ‘column’) is a monument in Berlin, G ...

in the Tiergarten in Berlin * 1866–1875: Construction of the

Alte Nationalgalerie The Alte Nationalgalerie ( ''Old National Gallery'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussi ...

, Berlin * 1853–1856: Flatow Tower in

Babelsberg Park Babelsberg Park (german: Park Babelsberg) is a 114 hectare park in the northeast of the city of Potsdam, bordering on the ''Tiefen See'' lake on the River Havel. The park was first designed by the landscape artist Peter Joseph Lenné and, af ...

* 1870/1871: Redesign of the Berlin Gerichtslaube in the park of Babelsberg Palace

Sources

* * Franz Jahn, Hans Vollmer; "Strack, Johann Heinrich", In: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol. 32: Stephens–Theodotos, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig, 1938 * ''Wochenschrift d. Architekten-Vereins zu Berlin'', Vol.2, 1907, Heymanns

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strack, Heinrich 1805 births 1880 deaths People from Bückeburg Prussian Academy of Arts faculty Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) 19th-century German architects