Ernst Ludwig Reinhold Persius (27 August 1835,

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

- 12 December 1912,

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 and

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 ...

building official.

Life and work

He was the fourth of six children born to the Royal Architect,

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 ...

, and his wife Charlotte, née Sello. From 1854 to 1856, he studied at 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 ...

with

Ferdinand von Arnim Heinrich Ludwig Ferdinand von Arnim (15 September 1814 – 23 March 1866) was a German architect and watercolour-painter. He was a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel and mainly worked in Berlin and Potsdam. Life Arnim was born in Trep ...

, graduating as a construction site manager. During that same period, he took classes at 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 ...

with

Heinrich Strack Johann Heinrich Strack (6 July 1805, Bückeburg – 13 June 1880, Berlin) was a German architect of the '' Schinkelschule''. His notable works include the Berlin Victory Column. Life and work His father, , was a painter of portraits and vedut ...

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 ...

. From 1856 to 1860, he worked as a manager for

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 1859, he own first prize at the Academy's architecture competition, which enabled him to study in Southern France and Italy. In 1860, he returned to the Bauakademie, where he studied for four years, obtaining the title of

Master Builder A master builder or master mason is a central figure leading construction projects in pre-modern times (a precursor to the modern architect and engineer). Historically, the term has generally referred to "the head of a construction project in the ...

. He then took part in the reconstruction of

Hohenzollern Castle Hohenzollern Castle (german: Burg Hohenzollern ) is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the ed ...

, until 1867. In the winter months, he travelled to Austria, Italy, England and France. In 1867, he was appointed a Court Architect and received a teaching position at the Bauakademie, which he kept until 1876, when he succeeded as head of the Palace Construction Commission; a position he held until 1888. He was named a Conservator of Monuments in 1886; the same year he became a

Privy Councilor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

with the title "Court Architect to His Majesty the Emperor". He also served on the commission overseeing the construction of the new

Reichstag building The Reichstag (, ; officially: – ; en, Parliament) is a historic government building in Berlin which houses the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament. It was constructed to house the Imperial Diet (german: Reichstag) of the ...

. After 1890, he was a Senior Government Councilor. He resigned all of his positions in 1901, for health reasons. Much of his work involved renovations and reconstructions. During the 1870s, he designed several villas, including the and the , on Puschkinallee; both of which are now historical monuments.

Sources

* Oskar Hossfeld: "Reinhold Persius" (obituary) In: ', Vol.33, #5, 1913
Online
* Ulrike Bröcker: ''Die Potsdamer Vorstädte 1861–1900. Von der Turmvilla zum Mietwohnhaus'', 2nd ed., Werdersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2005, pg.292

External links

*
Projects by Reinhold Persius
@ the Architecture Museum,

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Persius, Reinhold 1835 births 1912 deaths 19th-century German architects German builders Prussian Academy of Arts alumni People from Potsdam