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Nikolaus Gromann (c. 1500 – 29 November 1566) was an
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
of the German Renaissance who served at the court of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony. He also worked for John Frederick's descendants residing in the cities of
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
,
Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
and Altenburg, thus spending more than 30 years in the service of the
House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...
.


Background

For over 30 years he was in the service of the
Ernestine branch The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...
of the Wettin family. A letter addressed to John Frederick I dating from 1536 is the earliest written proof of Gromann's service. The letter was signed as "stonemason" (). His teachers were Konrad Krebs (also known as Kunz Krebs, died 1540 in Torgau) and Andreas Günter (died 1542 in Torgau), whose work he continued. While his first residence was located in Weida, Gromann referred to
Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
as his home in 1544. Six years later, in 1550, Gromann moved to
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
where he built his own house. In order to move back to Gotha, he sold it in 1563. A few years earlier, in 1553 Gromann had been allocated some acres of farmland in Gotha by John Frederick I. It was also the Elector of Saxony who appointed Gromann as master builder for life. Gromann first received special attention when he built the first
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
church, the chapel at Schloss Hartenfels in Torgau, in the period from 1543 to 1544. The "Emperor's Room" () church was added skillfully into the medieval structure.
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...
sanctified the church in person upon completion. The model of the Torgau Castle Church formed the basis for the designs of the castle chapels of protestant princes in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
,
Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...
, Stettin (today
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
),
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
and
Augustusburg Augustusburg () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 12 km east of Chemnitz. Augustusburg is known for its ''Jagdschloss'', the hunting lodge of the same name. The town includes the ortsteil or t ...
. In 1552 Gromann applied a similar design to the chapel of the castle Grimmenstein, which unfortunately was not preserved. Gromann supervised many construction sites in the
Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose num ...
. In addition he built castles, town halls, churches, fortifications, roads, bridges and fountains. Nikolaus Gromann is credited with introducing of renaissance design to the Ernestine duchies. In his early work he expressed this by adding decorative renaissance ornaments to gothic buildings. In his late work he constructed buildings in the renaissance style, which are considered his masterpieces: the Town Hall in Altenburg, the "new buildings" in
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
, the Green Castle () and the French Building () of the
Veste Heldburg Heldburg Fortress (german: Veste Heldburg) is a high medieval hilltop castle. In the 16th century it was rebuilt into a renaissance castle. It rises on a former volcanic region to ' Heldburger Gangschar' counted, 405-metre-high volcanic cone, 113 ...
. Gromann implemented his design for the bay windows in the living apartments of the elector on the north wing of the Castle Torgau and at the Französischer Bau of the Veste Heldburg. Today, the two bay windows are called the "Men's bay window" and "Women's bay window". His design of the Gera town hall could not be finished by himself. The project was continued by Nikolaus Theiner in 1573.


Buildings

* 1536/37 Conversion of Osterburg of Weida (rebuilt) * 1543-1545 Schloss Hartenfels and the church of the palace in Torgau, together with Kunz Krebs, Gromann built the north wing of the castle and the palace church, which was the first Protestant church (extant) * 1548-1552 Hunting lodge "Happy Return" ( ) in the forest of Wolfersdorf (rebuilt) * 1549 Palace Stadtroda in
Stadtroda Stadtroda (Roda until 1925) is a town of 6,653 people (2017), located in Thuringia, Germany. Stadtroda lies on the river Roda, a tributary of the Saale. The former municipalities Bollberg and Quirla were merged into Stadtroda in January 2019. H ...
(destroyed by fire in 1638) * 1549 Cranachhaus in Weimar (restored, faithful to the original reconstruction after bomb damage in 1945) * 1550 reconstruction of the palace of Wartburg in Eisenach (rebuilt) * 1550 reconstruction of the Weimar Stadtschloss (portal of the gatehouse extant) * 1554-1560 alterations at the Veste Coburg Coburg (rebuilt) * 1552 construction of the 80 m deep castle well on the Leuchtenburg * 1552/53 fortifications and castle Grimmenstein in Gotha (destroyed in 1567) * 1554 Schloss Ehrenburg in the Coburg (south wing and stair tower extant) * 1554
Duchess Anna Amalia Library The Duchess Anna Amalia Library (German: ''Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek'') in Weimar, Germany, houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. In 1991, the tricentennial of its opening to the public, the Ducal Library ...
in Weimar, then known as the French building (rebuilt) * 1555 grave plate for Lucas Cranach the Elder (situated in the Herderkirche) * 1555-1557 expansion and strengthening of the castle walls of Schloss Herbsleben * 1557-1559 Colleges in Jena (Jena University halls of residence) * 1560 Old Castle of Dornburger castles in Dornburg / Saale (extant) * 1560-1564 expansion of the
Veste Heldburg Heldburg Fortress (german: Veste Heldburg) is a high medieval hilltop castle. In the 16th century it was rebuilt into a renaissance castle. It rises on a former volcanic region to ' Heldburger Gangschar' counted, 405-metre-high volcanic cone, 113 ...
, construction of the French building of the fortress in the Heldburg (destroyed by fire in 1982, faithful to the original reconstruction since 1990, 2013: restored; furnishings with the Deutsches Burgenmuseum (German Castle Museum), Opening: 8 September 2016) and construction of the 114 meter deep castle well * 1562 Rathaus(town hall) in Altenburg (extant) * 1563 reconstruction of the Leuchtenburg near Kahla (rebuilt) * 1573-1576 Rathaus in
Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of cit ...
, designed by Grohman, construction by Nikolaus Theiner (extant)


Secondary literature

* Lutz Unbehaun: Nikolaus Gromann und der Schlossbau unter den Ernestinern im 16. Jahrhundert.. In: Heiko Laß (Hrsg.): Von der Burg zum Schloss. Landesherrlicher und Adeliger Profanbau in Thüringen im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert (=Palmbaum Texte. Kulturgeschichte 10). 2001, S. 133-150. * Norbert Klaus Fuchs: Das Heldburger Land–ein historischer Reiseführer (The Land of Heldburg – a Historical Guide); Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza 2013,


References

* Die Veste Heldburg - Fränkische Leuchte siehe: Norbert Klaus Fuchs: Das Heldburger Land–ein historischer Reiseführer; Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza, 2013, {{DEFAULTSORT:Gromann, Nikolaus 1500 births 1566 deaths 16th-century German architects