Carol Benesch (January 9, 1822, Jägerndorf,

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, today

Krnov Krnov (; , or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Krnov consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

October 30, 1896,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) was a

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

n architect of

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

and

Eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

orientation established in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. He was the father of Oscar Benes (1866-1925), chief architect of Bârlad. In different documents his name is spelled ''Carl Benesch'', ''Carol Benisch'', ''Carl Benisch'', ''Carol Beneș'', ''Carl Beneș'', ''Carol Beniș'', ''Carl Beniș''.

Education and career

Benesch studied architecture in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Shortly after graduation he was asked by Prince Nicolae Bibescu-Brâncoveanu to come to

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, where he became an architect in

. In 1865 he was nominated Chief Architect of the City of Bucharest. Benesch was founding member and first vice-president of The Architects Society in Romania (Societatea Arhitecților din România) (1891-1892).

Significant buildings

Peleș Castle Peleș Castle ( ) is a Neo-Renaissance palace in the Royal Domain of Sinaia in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914 ...

Sinaia Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after ...

* St. Joseph's Cathedral (Catedrala Sfântul Iosif),

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Cathedral - Bucharest - 1873-1884 * Domnița Bălașa Church - Bucharest 1885 * Brâncovenesc Hospital (Spitalul Brâncovenesc) - Bucharest 1881-1885 * Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Constanța - 1883-1885 * Asylum Elena Doamna (Azilul Elena Doamna) and Saint Elizabeth Chapel - Bucharest 1862-1870, 1870-1875 * Reconstruction of Tismana Monastery -

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...

- 1855 * Reconstruction of

Bistrița Monastery The Bistrița Monastery (, ) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located 8 km west of Piatra Neamț. It was dedicated in 1402, having as original ctitor the Moldavian Voivode Alexandru cel Bun whose remains are buried here. The church is h ...

Vâlcea County Vâlcea County (also spelt ''Vîlcea''; ) is a county (județ) that lies in south-central Romania. Located in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt (river), Olt River), it i ...

- 1855 * Reconstruction of Arnota Monastery - Vâlcea County - 1851 Arnota Monastery
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Awards and honors

In recognition of his personal service to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and the Church, for his works of the St. Joseph's Cathedral (Catedrala Sfântul Iosif), in 1881, Benesch was awarded by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

with the Pontifical Equestrian

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

, Knight Commander KCSG, being named ''Carol Vallaquiensi'' (Carol of/from Wallachia). Benesch received his Romanian citizenship by decree from King

Carol I of Romania Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

, who waived the usual lengthy process.

Death

Benesch died on October 30, 1896. He is buried in the Catholic wing of the

Bellu cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

in Bucharest.

Notes

References

*Paul Constantin, ''Universal Dictionary of Architects '' ''(Dicționar Universal al Arhitecților)'', București, Editura Stiințifică si Enciclopedică, 1986 p. 39.

External links

Monuments of the Old Bucharest

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benesch, Carol 1822 births 1896 deaths Romanian architects Burials at Bellu Cemetery 19th-century Romanian architects People from Krnov