Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (14 November 1668 – 16 November 1745) was an Austrian baroque architect and military engineer who designed stately buildings and churches and whose work had a profound influence on the architecture of the Habsburg Empire in the eighteenth century. After studying in Rome under Carlo Fontana, he constructed fortresses for

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. H ...

during his Italian campaigns, becoming his favorite architect. In 1700 he became court engineer in Vienna, and in 1711 was named head of the court department of building. He became court architect in 1723. His designs for palaces, estates, gardens, churches, chapels, and villas were widely imitated, and his architectural principles spread throughout central and southeast Europe. Among his more important works are

Palais Schwarzenberg Palais Schwarzenberg is a Baroque palace in front of Schwarzenbergplatz, Landstraße, the 3rd district of Vienna, Austria. It is owned by the princely Schwarzenberg family. Construction started in 1697 under the architect Johann Lucas von Hilde ...

, St. Peter's Church, and Belvedere in Vienna, Savoy Castle in

Ráckeve Ráckeve (Serbian: Српски Ковин / Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are Magyars, with minority of Serbs. The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and one of two in the Dioces ...

, Schönborn Palace in Göllersdorf, and

Schloss Hof Schloss Hof is a palace located in Marchfeld, Austria near the border of Slovakia. It once belonged to Prince Eugene of Savoy who purchased it late in his life in 1726. He had it enlarged in the Baroque style by the architect Johann Lukas von H ...

Life

Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt was born on 14 November 1668 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of G ...

( Italy). Hildebrandt was the son of an Italian mother and a German father. Hildebrandt studied under C. Fontana in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and he studied civil and military engineering under

also in

, and military engineering in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Hildebrandt became the favorite architect of Prince Eugène. In 1696, Hildebrandt established himself thereafter in the

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 populou ...

n capital,

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

, where he worked for such noble families as the Dauns, Harrachs, Schönborns, and Starhembergs, and also Prince Eugene himself. Wien Unteres Belvedere

In 1700, Hildebrandt became

Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrun ...

court engineer, in 1711, head of the Court dept. of building, and in 1723, Hildebrandt became Hofburg Court architect. At the Hofburg, however, Hildebrandt could not assert himself against the rivalry of the two Fischer von Erlachs (father

Johann Bernhard Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

and son Joseph Emanuel) and worked mainly for aristocrats. Unlike the monumental works of

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His infl ...

, Hildebrandt's works seem more committed at a personal level and include more decorative elements. This helped his popularity spread to the middle class. Hildebrandt united Italian and French elements and shaped the development of the

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style in south Germany and

Hildebrandt was also involved in many great projects which were developed by other architects (e.g. Würzburg,

Göttweig Abbey Göttweig Abbey (german: Stift Göttweig) is a Benedictine monastery near Krems in Lower Austria. It was founded in 1083 by Altmann, Bishop of Passau. History Göttweig Abbey was founded as a monastery of canons regular by Blessed Altmann (c ...

Pommersfelden Pommersfelden is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg in Germany. Geography The community lies north of Höchstadt an der Aisch on the river Reiche Ebrach. Constituent communities The community of Pommersfelden is subdivided ...

). From 1713 to 1716, he was employed by the wealthy and powerful

Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; german: Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau) is a prominent Czech noble family originating from the Kingdom of Bohemia. During t ...

family of Austria, building their residence, the

Palais Kinsky Palais Kinsky is a Baroque palace in central Vienna, Austria. It was originally built for Count Wirich Philipp von Daun, the garrison commander whose son Leopold became a Field Marshal of Empress Maria Theresa. The palace was later bought by the K ...

, 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 ...

. From 1723 on, he was inspector-general of the imperial buildings. His two best known works, the Upper Belvedere (1721–1722) and the Lower Belvedere (1714–1716), were both commissioned by

. Hildebrandt also worked in Bavaria on the

castle known as

Schloss Weißenstein Schloss Weißenstein is a ''Schloss'' or palatial residence in Pommersfelden, Bavaria, southern Germany. It was designed for Lothar Franz von Schönborn, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Archbishop of Mainz, to designs by Johann Dientzenhofer a ...

. Hildebrandt built numerous city palaces in Vienna (e.g. Daun-Kinsky, 1716), his religious buildings are also of great importance ( St. Peter's Church and Maria Treu Piaristenchurch in Vienna, Teutonic Church in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

, or Dominican Church in Gabel,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

). Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt died on 16 November 1745 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 ...

Selected works

* Stadtpalais des Prinzen Eugen, * Sankt Laurentius, * Loreto Chapel, * Palais Starhemberg-Schönburg, *

Palais Auersperg Palais Auersperg, originally called Palais Rosenkavalier, is a Baroque palace at Auerspergstraße 1 in the Josefstadt or eighth district of Vienna, Austria. History Palais Auersperg was built between 1706 and 1710 on the plot of the former ''Ro ...

, * Lower Belvedere, * Piarist Church of Maria Treu, * Schönborn Palace, * Geheime Hofkanzlei (Bundeskanzleramt), * Imperial Crypt, * Savoy Castle, *

, * Upper Belvedere, * Deutschordenskirche Heilig Kreuz (Priesterseminarkirche), *

, *

Hofburg Palace The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrun ...

, Reichskanzleitrakt, * St. Peter's Church, * Palais Harrach, Pavillon and Januariuskapelle, * Parish Church, * Würzburg Residence, * Haus zum Goldenen Adler,

Gallery

File:Palais Schönburg-Rainergasse 11.JPG, Palais Schönburg-Rainergasse File:Wien - Palais Auersperg (4).JPG, Palais Auersperg File:Wien - Unteres Belvedere (2).JPG, Lower Belvedere File:Josefstadt (Wien) - Piaristenkirche.JPG, Piarist Church File:Wien - Bundeskanzleramt1.JPG, Bundeskanzleramt File:Schloss Rackeve.jpg, Savoy Castle File:Kapuzinergruft Wien 068.jpg, Imperial Crypt File:Palais Schwarzenberg.jpg, Palais Schwarzenberg File:AT-68612 Oberes Belvedere Außenansicht 05.JPG, Upper Belvedere façade File:Upper Belvedere, Vienna.jpg, Upper Belvedere at night File:Priesterseminarkirche Linz mit Priesterseminar.jpg, Priesterseminarkirch with Priesterseminar, Linz File:Palais Kinsky Vienna June 2006 104.jpg, Palais Kinsky File:Engelhartstetten - Schloss Hof (3).JPG, Schloss Hof File:Reichskanzleitrakt Hofburg Vienna June 2006 415.jpg, Hofburg Palace, Reichskanzleitrakt File:Wien - Peterskirche (3).JPG, St. Peter's Church File:Palais Harrach Vienna Oct. 2006 002.jpg, Palais Harrach File:Palais Bartolotti-Partenfeld Vienna June 2006 373.jpg, Palais Bartolotti-Partenfeld, Vienna File:Alsergrund (Wien) - Lichtentaler Kirche.jpg, Pfarrkirche Lichtental

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hildebrandt, Johann Lukas Von 1668 births 1745 deaths Austrian Baroque architects Austrian people of Italian descent Italian people of German descent Austrian untitled nobility Architects from Genoa Architects from Vienna