Friedrich Weinbrenner
b. Karlsruhe, 1766;
d. Karlsruhe, 1826.

Friedrich Weinbrenner was the dominant figure within the German school of Neo-Classicism at the beginning of the c19. After studying mathematics and architecture at the Academy in Vienna, Weinbrenner travelled to Berlin and Italy, returning in 1797 to take up the position of building inspector in Karlsruhe, where his influence became considerable. His works included several important civic buildings and also a series of model dwellings which private contractors were obliged to copy. Weinbrenner shared with Goethe an unshakable faith in the Classical ideal, believing that Truth and beauty could be found only in antiquity. His vision of a new German architecture, founded on early Greek and Roman examples, was instrumental in his decision to open a private architecture school at his Karlsruhe home in 1800. Many of his students, such as Wimmel and Hubsch, were to become influential in their own right and the school was later incorporated into the main University.

Major buildings / works:
Ettlinger Tor, Karlsruhe, 1803. Margrave’s Palace, Karlsruhe, 1803-14. St Stephen’s Church, Karlsruhe, 1808-14. Town Hall, Karlsruhe, 1811-25.

Bibliography:
Friedrich Weinbrenner, Architectonisches Lehrbuch, Tubingen, 1810-17.
Arthur Valdenaire, Friedrich Weinbrenner, Karlsruhe, 1926, 1976.
David Watkin and Tilman Mellinghoff, German Architecture and the Classical Ideal, London, 1987.