Georg Kawerau (born 12 December 1856, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

; died 13 April 1909, in

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

; full name: ''Georg Ferdinand Kawerau'') was a German architect and

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...

Life

Georg Kawerau was the seventh child of sports educator and church musician Martin Kawerau and his wife Emilie. He spent his early life in Berlin, where he received his primary and secondary education. Upon graduating from the

Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium The Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium (or Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium) was a secondary school ( ''Gymnasium'') in Berlin. History The school originated from a Realschule founded by the Pietist Johann Julius Hecker in 1747, the first secondary schoo ...

, a notable high school, he pursued studies at the

Bauakademie The Bauakademie (Building Academy, also known as the ''Schinkelsche Bauakademie'') in Berlin, Germany, was a higher education institution for the art of building to train master builders. Founded on 18 March 1799 by King Frederick William II ...

, a prestigious construction school. Following his education, Kawerau became a government construction supervisor (''Regierungsbauführer'') within the garrison construction administration in the Pomerian city of

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

. His career then took a turn due to health-related issues that led him to move to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and engage in archaeology. In 1885, Kawerau joined renowned archaeologist

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and an influential amateur archaeologist. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeolo ...

in excavations at

Tiryns Tiryns ( or ; Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles was said to have performed his Twelve Labours. It ...

. Between 1885 and 1890, he collaborated with

Panagiotis Kavvadias Panagiotis Kavvadias or Cawadias (; – 20 July 1928) was a Greek Archaeology, archaeologist. He was responsible for the excavation of ancient sites in Greece, including Epidaurus in Argolis and the Acropolis of Athens, as well as archaeolog ...

on significant excavations at the Athens Acropolis. His work in Olympia included the re-erection of two columns of the Heraion. Kawerau later moved to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where his architectural expertise was put to use in several major projects. These included the construction of a waterworks in Skutari, various road construction works, and, between 1893 and 1896, the construction of station buildings for the

Anatolian Railway The Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie (, ), founded on 4 October 1888, was a railway company that operated in the Ottoman Empire.Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

and

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

. He then worked in Stettin for the construction firm ''Wechselmann & Kawerau'', which he cofounded. In August 1907, the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate. Soon after, archaeologist

Theodor Wiegand Theodor Wiegand (30 October 1864 – 19 December 1936) was a German archaeologist. Wiegand was born in Bendorf, Rhenish Prussia. He studied at the universities of Munich, Berlin, and Freiburg. In 1894 he worked under Wilhelm Dörpfeld at th ...

enlisted his skills as an excavation architect for the Berlin Museums' excavations in

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

and

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...

. From April 1, 1908, Kawerau served as a directorial assistant at the Berlin Museums, with his office located in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. His notable works during this period include his collaboration with Hubert Knackfuß on the Delphinion in Miletus and with Alexander Conze on the palaces of Pergamon.

Publications

*with Panagiotis Kavvadias: ''Die Ausgrabung der Akropolis vom Jahre 1885 bis zum Jahre 1890.'' = ''Η ανασκαφή της Ακροπόλεως από του 1885 μέχρι του 1890'' (= ''Βιβλιοθήκη της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας.'' 13). Typographeion Hestia, Athens 1906
Digital copy
. *with Georgios Soteriades: ''Der Apollotempel zu Thermos.'' In: ''Antike Denkmäler'', Volume 2, 1902/08
Digital copy
. *''Gedichte.'' Berlin 1913 (posthumously; with a foreword by Theodor Wiegand. Private print "for his friends"). *with Albert Rehm: ''Das Delphinion in Milet'' (= ''Milet'' Volume 1, 3). De Gruyter, Berlin 1914
Digital copy
. *with

: ''Die Paläste der Hochburg'' (= ''Altertümer von Pergamon'' Volume 5, 1). De Gruyter, Berlin 1930
Digital copy
.

References

Bibliography

*''Amtliche Berichte aus den Königl. Preußischen Kunstsammlungen'' 30, 1908–09, pp. 205–106. * *Jens Andreas Bundgaard: ''The Excavation of the Athenian Acropolis 1882–1990. The Original Drawings edited from the papers of Georg Kawerau.'' Copenhagen 1974. *Ioannis Andreas Panteleon: ''Eine Archäologie der Direktoren. Die Erforschung Milets im Namen der Berliner Museen 1899–1914'' (= ''Mittelmeerstudien.'' Vol. 5). Schöningh, Paderborn 2015, . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawerau, Georg 1856 births 1909 deaths 19th-century German archaeologists 20th-century German archaeologists 19th-century German architects Tiryns Architects from Berlin