Franz Beer (3 July 1659 – 19 January 1726), also known as Franz Beer von Blaichten, was an Austrian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

during the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period, mainly working on

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

buildings at

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, chiefly in

Upper Swabia Upper Swabia ( or ) is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.'' 19. Auflage. Band 16, 1991, p. 72. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Jura, Lake Con ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. His son Johann Michael Beer also was an architect. Born in Au im Bregenzerwald in

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, Beer was apprenticed to

Michael Thumb Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

. His first major project was the monastery church at

Marchtal Abbey Marchtal Abbey ( or ') is a former Premonstratensian monastery in Obermarchtal in the Alb-Donau-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The minster church of Saints Peter and Paul, the former abbey church, located on a prominent elevation, still domin ...

near

Obermarchtal Obermarchtal is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and t ...

which he completed after the death of Thumb in 1690, together with the latter's son, Christian Thumb, also an architect. He also had the churches at

Rheinau Abbey Rheinau Abbey (Kloster Rheinau) was a Benedictine monastery in Rheinau in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, founded in about 778 and suppressed in 1862. It is located on an island in the Rhine. History The foundation of the abbey, on a strategi ...

and the monastery of

Saint Urban Pope Urban I (), also known as Saint Urban (175?–230), was the bishop of Rome from 222 to 23 May 230.Kirsch, Johann Peter (1912). "Pope Urban I" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. He was born in Rome ...

, both in Switzerland, built. Amongst other projects, he was involved in the construction of the churches at

Weingarten Abbey Weingarten Abbey or St. Martin's Abbey ( until 1803, then merely ) is a Benedictine monastery on the Martinsberg (''St. Martin's Mount'') in Weingarten near Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). First foundation Originally founded as a n ...

, which started in 1717, and

Weissenau Abbey Weissenau Abbey (German: ''Kloster Weißenau'', ''Reichsstift Weißenau'') was an List of Imperial abbeys, Imperial abbey (''Reichsabtei'') of the Holy Roman Empire located near Ravensburg in the Swabian Circle. The abbey, a Premonstratensian mona ...

from 1717 until 1724. Together with Michael Thumb, Christian Thumb and Kaspar Moosbrugger, he was one of the main representatives of the so-called Vorarlberg School of architecture (''Auer Zunft''), which continued the Roman Baroque ideal of long edifices with galleries and mainly two bell towers. In 1722, he was ennobled and took the name Franz Beer, Edler von Blaichten. He died in the Austrian town of Bezau.

Works

*Marchtal Abbey, abbey church. *Rheinau Abbey, abbey church. *Saint Urban, abbey church. *Weingarten Abbey, abbey church. *

Salem Abbey Salem Abbey () was a very prominent Cistercian monastery at Salem in the district of Bodensee, about ten miles from Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The buildings are now owned by the State of Baden-Württemberg and are open for tours a ...

, reconstruction of the monastery 1697-1710, including a chapel in nearby Stefansfeld. *

Hauterive Abbey Hauterive Abbey () is a Cistercian abbey in the Swiss municipality of Hauterive in the canton of Fribourg. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire Hauterive area is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. Hi ...

, from 1715 *

Kaisheim Abbey The Imperial Abbey of Kaisersheim (German:''Reichsstift Kaisersheim'' or ''Kloster Kaisersheim''), was a Cistercians, Cistercian monastery in Kaisersheim (now Kaisheim), Bavaria, Germany. As one of the 40-odd self-ruling imperial abbeys of the Ho ...

, from 1716 *

Gengenbach Abbey Gengenbach Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in Gengenbach in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was an Imperial Abbey from the late Carolingian period to 1803. History It was founded by Saint Pirmin sometime after 748 ...

, reconstruction of the monastery and

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

1690-1722.

External links

*
Biography (''in German'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beer, Franz 1659 births 1726 deaths Austrian Baroque architects Edlers of Austria

Works

Further reading

External links