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

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

) 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, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. He designed several synagogues, throughout Germany, all of which were destroyed by rioters on

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung, (SA) paramilitary and Schutzstaffel, (SS) paramilitary forces along ...

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 Conrad Wilhelm Hase (2 October 1818, Einbeck28 March 1902, Hanover) was a German architect and Professor. He was a prominent representative of the Neo-Gothic style and is known for his preservation work. Biography He was one of ten children ...

at the

Technical University An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

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 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 who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...

. It was in the latter capacity that he became involved in the restoration of

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

, and acquired his knowledge of

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

. 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 Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975 ...

, a painter and etcher;

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. 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 are Aleksandar, Al ...

, 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 ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 University of Hanover alumni People from Oleśnica

Biography

Selected projects

References

Further reading

External links