Johann Balthasar Neumann (; c. 27 January 1687 – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German
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 ...
and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...
, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Italian, and French elements to design some of the most impressive buildings of the period, including the
Würzburg Residence and the
Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
The Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (German: Basilika Vierzehnheiligen) is a church located near the town of Bad Staffelstein near Bamberg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The late Baroque (Rococo) basilica, designed by Balthasar Neumann, w ...
(called ''Vierzehnheiligen'' in German).
The Würzburg Residence is considered one of the most beautiful and well proportioned palaces in Europe
and the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers is considered by some as the crowning work of the period.
Early life

Neumann is believed to have been born on 27 January 1687 in
Eger
Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...
,
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...
(today
Cheb
Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River.
Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...
,
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 ...
), the seventh of nine children of cloth-maker Hans Christoph Neumann (d. 1713) and his wife Rosina (1645–1707). Neumann was baptized on 30 January 1687. His first apprenticeship was spent working at a bell and gun
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
in Eger. However, during his
Journeyman years he came to
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
in 1711. In 1712, he attended lessons on geometry, architecture and land surveying and joined the local military, in which he remained until his death, then holding the rank of colonel of the artillery. He created measurement instruments (1712, Deutsches Museum/Munich and 1713, Mainfränkisches Museum, Würzburg), a map of Würzburg (1715, copy at the War Archive, Munich) and some drawings for a new abbey at
Ebrach Abbey (1716, now lost).
In 1717, he served in the
Austro–Turkish War, advancing with his unit from Vienna to Belgrade. In 1718, he travelled through northern Italy to study buildings and briefly worked on civilian construction projects at Milan (details not known).
Service for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg
Neumann's career as an architect took off under
Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn,
Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, who asked the young engineer in 1719 to plan, and in 1720 to lead construction of, his new palace, the
Würzburg Residence. Although other architects participated, Neumann was able to give the project his personal imprint, which became his life's work.
The second task for the Prince-Bishop was the ''Schönbornkapelle'' of
Würzburg Cathedral
Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...
(from 1721). In 1723 Neumann traveled and studied in France. At Paris and Versailles he met with royal architects
Germain Boffrand
Germain Boffrand () (16 May 1667 – 19 March 1754) was a French architect. A pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Germain Boffrand was one of the main creators of the precursor to Rococo called the ''style Régence'', and in his interiors, of the ...
and
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte (; 1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo, Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of ...
and consulted them on the Würzburg projects. Back at Würzburg, Neumann started to build a hunting lodge known as Mädelhofen (1724, unfinished, demolished in 1725).
In 1725, Neumann married Maria Eva Engelberts (b. 1704 – d. 1745); they had three sons and 5 daughters.
Under von Schönborn's successor,
Christoph Franz von Hutten (1673–1729) he was less busy at Wurzburg and mainly worked for various abbeys. His new church at
Münsterschwarzach Abbey (after 1727, demolished after 1821) laid the groundwork for his fame as a builder of churches. Another work of this period was the church at Kloster Holzkirchen (1728–30) where he combined features of the French, Italian and German Baroque.
The next Prince-Bishop was
Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (1674–1746), who also was
Prince-Bishop of Bamberg. As ''Reichsvizekanzler'' von Schönborn lived at the imperial court at Vienna until 1734. He named Neumann director of all military, civilian and ecclesiastical construction in both bishoprics and in 1729 and 1739 ordered him to Vienna, where he exchanged views with
Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, von Schönborn's architect, whose influence is visible in some parts of the Residence and also at the hunting lodge of
Werneck (after 1733).
As chief engineer of the joint ''
Hochstift
In the Holy Roman Empire, the German language, German term (plural: ) referred to the territory ruled by a bishop as a prince (i.e. prince-bishop), as opposed to his diocese, generally much larger and over which he exercised only spiritual auth ...
s'', Neumann was responsible for overseeing fortifications, transport and water engineering and for improving urban planning in practical and aesthetical terms. From 1731, he also taught military and civilian architecture at Würzburg University.
Neumann also worked for
Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn (1676–1743) and
Franz Georg von Schönborn
Franz Georg von Schönborn (15 June 168218 January 1756) was a German nobleman who served as Archdiocese of Trier, Archbishop and Electorate of Trier, Elector of Trier from 1729 until his death in 1756. He was also Bishopric of Worms, Prince-Bis ...
(1682–1756). Neumann built the ''Corps de Logis'' of the
Schloss Bruchsal (after 1731), with its notable stairway. In the same town, he also designed the church of St. Peter (1740–1746) which was to be the burial site for the Prince-Bishops of Speyer. Among his work for the Elector of Trier are the ''Dikasterialgebäude'' of
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (, ) is a fortress in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz.
Occupying the position of an ea ...
(1739–1748) and the summer palace
Schönbornslust (1748–1752, demolished 1806) at Kesselheim, also near
Koblenz
Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
.
This work, in turn, led to Neumann being contacted for further work in the west of Germany. Out of many mooted projects only the stairway and New Apartments of the
Brühl Palace (from 1743). Plans he made for the ducal palace at
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
(after 1747), for
Schwetzingen Palace (1749) and the
Residence at Karlsruhe (after 1750) were never implemented.

As a builder of churches, Neumann recurred to
Guarino Guarini
Camillo Guarino Guarini (17 January 16246 March 1683) was an Italian architect of the Piedmontese Baroque architecture, Baroque, active in Turin as well as Sicily, Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal. He was a Theatines, ...
, the architecture of his native Bohemia and its transmittance to Franconia by
Johann Dientzenhofer. He emphasized the use of the
rotunda as a central feature of his churches. This reached its pinnacle at ''
Vierzehnheiligen'' (after 1742) and
Neresheim (after 1747).
One of his last large projects was a rebuilding of the
Hofburg Palace at Vienna (after 1746), which was not put into practice, however.
Neumann worked on
St. Paulinus' Church in
Trier
Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
, designing most of the internal elements.
Death and legacy
He died in Würzburg on 19 August 1753 and is buried at the ''
Marienkapelle'' there. The final German 50
Deutsche Mark
The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...
note showed a picture of him together with the famous staircase located in the Residence of Würzburg. Neumann was also depicted by
Tiepolo in the ceiling fresco above the stairway of the Residence, in pseudo-military uniform, leaning over a cannon. He had boasted that the ceiling was so well constructed that not even the roar of a cannon would make the roof fall.
Other works

*
Heidenheim, ''Propsteigebäude'' of the ''Augustinerchorherren'', 1723–33;
* Bamberg, ''Katharinenspital'', 1729–38;
* Bamberg, ''Domkapitelhaus'', 1730–33;
* Bamberg, ''Klerikalseminar'', 1731–37;
* Gößweinstein, ''Wallfahrtskirche'', 1730–39;
* ''
Schloss Seehof'', Orangerie, 1733–37;
* Worms, high altar of
Worms Cathedral, 1738–40;
*
Heusenstamm
Heusenstamm () is a town of over 19,000 people in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Heusenstamm is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district. The town li ...
, parish church, 1739–44;
* Würzburg, several buildings after 1719, incl. ''Geschäftshaus am Marktplatz'', 1739-41;
* Würzburg, ''
Augustinerkirche'', 1741–44;
* Würzburg, ''
Käppele'', 1748–49;
*
Kitzingen-Etwashausen, Kreuzkapelle, 1741–45;
*
Gaibach, parish church, 1742–45;
* Mainz, ''Jesuitenkirche'', 1742-46 (demolished 1805);
* Oberzell, abbey and convent building, 1744–60;
* Maria Limbach, pilgrimage church, 1751-55 (final project).
References
Further reading
* Manuel Weinberger: "Verschollen geglaubtes Planmaterial von Balthasar Neumann und seinem Baubüro, und eine unbekannte Zeichnung aus dem Umfeld Johann Dientzenhofers", in: RIHA Journal 0003
4 April 2010 http://www.riha-journal.org/articles/2010/weinberger-planmaterial-balthasar-neumann (accessed 15 April 2010).
External links
* Online edition of Balthasar Neumanns ''Briefe der Reise nach Frankreich'' (1723) by the research projec
ARCHITRAVE
*
ttp://www.bookrags.com/biography/balthasar-neumann/ Encyclopedia of World Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Johann Balthasar
1687 births
1753 deaths
18th-century German architects
German Baroque architects
German Bohemian people
German people of German Bohemian descent
German Roman Catholics
People from Cheb
18th-century German engineers
Rococo architects
Engineers from Bavaria
Architects of Roman Catholic churches