Edwin Oppler (18 June 1831, in Oels – 6 September 1880, in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

) was a German architect of Jewish ancestry,Arno Herzig: ''Jüdische Geschichte in Deutschland. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart'', C. H. Beck Verlag, 2002, and , pg. 179; and a major representative of the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style. He designed several

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s, throughout Germany, all of which were destroyed by rioters on

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

Biography

He was the second son of Saloh Oppler, a wine merchant, and his wife Minna, née Seldis. Very little is known about his childhood, except that he attended primary school in Oels from 1837 to 1840, then went to school in Breslau.Peter Eilitz: "Leben und Werk des königl. Hannoverschen Baurats Edwin Oppler". In: ''Hannoversche Geschichtsblätter'' new edition, Vol.25, 1971, pgs.127–310; In 1849, he went to Hanover, where he studied with Conrad Wilhelm Hase at the

Technical University An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

until 1854. This was followed by an apprenticeship as a carpenter. After becoming a member of the in 1856, he spent the next four years in Brussels and Paris, where he worked in the offices of Hoffmann & Massenot, with the

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

artist, and, primarily, with the architect

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author, famous for his restoration of the most prominent medieval landmarks in France. His major restoration projects included Notre-Dame de Paris, ...

. It was in the latter capacity that he became involved in the restoration of Notre Dame, and acquired his knowledge of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

. He returned to Hanover in 1861. In 1866, the year he was appointed a building officer, he married Ella Cohen, daughter of the Royal Physician, Hermann Cohen. They had four sons: Ernst, a painter and etcher;

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

, a sculptor; , a doctor; and , a jurist.Jochen Bruns: ''Ernst Oppler (1867-1929). Leben und Werk.'' LIT, Münster 1993, pp. 5, 160 He established himself in the Jewish community through numerous commercial and residential buildings, designed for noble and

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

clients, but mostly through his synagogues and designs for Jewish cemeteries. From 1872 to 1878 he published a magazine, ''Die Kunst im Gewerbe'' (Commercial Art) and operated a studio together with . Many of his buildings were destroyed by bombing in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. One of his largest and most familiar, the in Hanover, was burnt during the anti-Jewish riots known as "Kristallnacht", in 1938. He died from what was apparently a rapid onset of heart disease, aged only forty-nine.

Selected projects

File:Neue Synagoge in Breslau.jpg, Neue Synagoge, Breslau File:Halberg SR 19 (fcm).jpg, File:Zedler & Vogel PC 04408 (1905) Hannover, Synagoge, Bildseite.tiff, Neue Synagoge, Hanover File:2013-08-05 Ehem. Jugendhof Rheinland- Haus Heisterberg, Königswinter-Niederdollendorf IMG 4977.jpg,

References

External links

Data on Edwin Oppler
@ '' Architekten und Künstler mit direktem Bezug zu Conrad Wilhelm Hase'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oppler, Edwin 1831 births 1880 deaths 19th-century German architects Synagogue architecture Jewish architects Leibniz University Hannover alumni People from Oleśnica

Biography

Selected projects

References

Further reading

External links