Philipp Holzmann AG was a German construction company based in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

History

Early years

The company was founded in 1849 by Johann Philipp Holzmann (1805-1870) at Sprendlingen in present-day Dreieich near Frankfurt am Main as Philipp Holzmann & Cie. Initially, the former

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

company was concentrating on the supply of ties for railway construction, but then began to expand into building construction and civil engineering. In 1856, the headquarters moved to Frankfurt where in the late 19th century the company experienced rapid growth. The first large building contract to be finished was the

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

completed in 1880,Groß, p. 50 followed by the central station in Frankfurt am Main completed in 1888 and the

Amsterdam Centraal railway station Amsterdam Centraal Station ( nl, italic=no, Station Amsterdam Centraal ; Railway stations in the Netherlands, abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international Rail transport, r ...

in 1889. Holzmann also built the original

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 ...

completed in 1894, the Hamburg city hall completed in 1897 and several railway projects in East Africa and Asia, especially the Bagdadbahn built from 1903 which incorporates the Istanbul Haydarpaşa railway station finished in 1908, as well as the Varda Viaduct at

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...

in southern Turkey completed in 1916. Furthermore, the company participated in the construction of the Elbe Tunnel of 1911 and the Hindenburgdamm completed in 1927, and also the modernist Riederwald housing estate in Frankfurt. In 1917, Philipp Holzmann & Cie merged with the Internationale Baugesellschaft and became the publicly traded ''Philipp Holzmann

Aktiengesellschaft (; abbreviated AG, ) is a German word for a corporation limited by share ownership (i.e. one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (where it is equ ...

''. In 1938, the company had 20,800 employees and contributed to several major building projects like the new

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared ...

in Berlin, the Nazi party rally grounds in Nürnberg, the

Prora The Colossus of Prora, commonly known as simply "Prora", is a building complex in the municipality of Binz on the island of Rügen, Germany. It was built by Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1939 as part of the Strength Through Joy (Kraft durc ...

complex as well as the ''

Westwall The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the wes ...

'' and numerous sections of the '' Reichsautobahn''. In World War II, Holzmann constructed large parts of the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...

by order of the Organisation Todt.

Post-war years

In the post-war period, the company soon recovered with the rebuilding of Frankfurt, the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

and several public infrastructure projects. Post-war projects included the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

completed in 1962, the AfE-Turm in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

completed in 1972, the Westend Gate in Frankfurt completed in 1976, the Eurotower in Frankfurt completed in 1977 and the

Silberturm Silberturm (Silver Tower), formerly known as Dresdner-Bank-Hochhaus and Jürgen-Ponto-Hochhaus, is a 32-storey, futurist skyscraper in the Bahnhofsviertel district of Frankfurt, Germany. It was the tallest building in Germany from 1978 until ...

in Frankfurt completed in 1978. These projects enabled Holzmann to expand into the United States and in 1979 it acquired J.A. Jones Construction, a major US contractor. More recent major projects involving Holzmann included the

Frankfurter Büro Center Frankfurter Büro Center (German for ''Frankfurt Office Centre''), also known as FBC, is a 40-storey, skyscraper in the Westend-Süd district of Frankfurt, Germany. It was designed by architect Richard Heil from Frankfurt. The building's anch ...

in Frankfurt completed in 1980, the Eurotheum in Frankfurt completed in 1999, the Main Tower in Frankfurt completed in 2000, the Trianon in Frankfurt completed in 2003 and the Western Scheldt Tunnel in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

also completed in 2003.Western Scheldt Tunnel at Structurae database
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Decline

At its peak in 1994, the company had 43,000 employees and was with a revenue of 13.1 billion DM the largest German construction company. Despite public efforts for a recapitalization, the company filed for insolvency in 1999 and was finally liquidated in 2002.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Former official Philipp Holzmann website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holzmann, Philipp Defunct construction and civil engineering companies Construction and civil engineering companies of Germany Defunct companies of Germany Companies based in Frankfurt Design companies established in 1849 German companies established in 1849 Companies involved in the Holocaust Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1849 Construction and civil engineering companies disestablished in 2002 German companies disestablished in 2002