Rudolf Burnitz (6 December 1788 - 28 January 1849) was a German

neo classical Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

and early

historicist 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 ...

architect. Burnitz was born in

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...

Education and military career

Burnitz was a student of

Friedrich Weinbrenner Friedrich Weinbrenner (24 November 1766 – 1 March 1826) was a German architect and city planner admired for his mastery of classical style. Birth and education Weinbrenner was born in Karlsruhe, and began his career apprenticed to his father, ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, where he studied mathematics and technical sciences. In 1810 he joined the

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

Corps of Engineers from 1810 to 1816 during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, in which time he was stationed at the

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 ...

and

garrisons. During his military career, Burnitz was involved in the reconstruction of the

Ludwigsburg Palace Ludwigsburg Palace, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is the largest palatial estate in the country. T ...

. In 1816 he resigned at the rank of lieutenant.

Career

In an abandoned site, Burnitz was in charge of construction from 1816-1819 of

Hohenzollern Castle Hohenzollern Castle ( ) is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castle, hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Hohenzollern (mountain), Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechin ...

in Hechingen which was never finished due to lack of funds. From 1820 and 1821 he travelled through

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. By the end of 1821 he went to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, where he gained citizenship in 1822. Burnitz belonged to a group of city architects including , and Friedrich Hull who shaped the classical Frankfurt cityscape of the 19th century. Despite his career as an architect, he undertook further travel within Germany, and also to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Burnitz was appointed in 1824 to Inspector and Technical advisor by the Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Anton Aloys. In 1831, with the partnership of Frankfurt entrepreneur Johann Hermann Osterrieth, Burnitz founded "Kronthaler Actien Club", also called "Cur-Anstalt of Crone Thal near Cronberg joint-stock company". He then began work surveying and preparing a parcel of land. After obtaining a building permit Burnitz and Osterrieth built a spa and bath house with catering from 1832–33, to offer a luxury bath house to customers. However, by 1845 the company was resold due to a lack of profit. In 1832 he requested from the Senate of the Free City of Frankfurt to establish a steam mill. It would have become the first stationary steam engine of Frankfurt. The Senate approved its construction as a grain, board, and grinding mill, but Burnitz renounced his involvement due to this amendment. It was not until four years later that Senator Johann Adam Beil approved the first steam engine in Frankfurt to be constructed. From 1834 to 1837 he constructed the French Reformed Church in Friedrichsdorf. Then, from 1842–43, he constructed his most famous work, the Burnitz court hall, now part of the Historical Museum of Frankfurt. It is also the only one of his works in which he left his usual strict classic style in favor of a more neo-Romanesque historicism.

Personal life and death

Burnitz married on May 2, 1823, Maria Sophia Saltzwedel (born 1788). The marriage produced six children, including their eldest son and later architect Rudolf Heinrich Burnitz. Burnitz since 1833 also was guardian of his orphaned nephew, the lawyer and painter Peter Burnitz (born 1824). Rudolf Burnitz died on January 28, 1849, in Frankfurt am Main. His grave is located in the Frankfurt's main cemetery in the Masonic Lodge of Frankfurt.

Architectural works

*New Castle in Hechingen (1816-1819), unfinished *Supply Depot of Wiesenhüttenplatz (1824, demolished in 1884 for the courthouse still located there today) *Orphanage (1826, demolished before 1900) *Metz Palais Lersches, Alt-Bonames 6 (1827) *Israelite Hospital in Rechneigrabenstraße, 1829-31 (probably destroyed in the war) *Atelier-cultivation of his own home at Untermainkai (1831, later lost in war) *French Reformed Church in Friedrichsdorf (1834) *House of Alexander du Fay in the Neue Mainzer Straße (war loss) and Manskopf cal residence on Untermainkai (war loss) *Residence of the Leerse-Bernus family, known as the Burnitz Hall Court (1842/43), now part of the Historical Museum of the City of Frankfurt am Main

Literature

* Albert Dessoff: ''Biographisches Lexikon der Frankfurter Künstler im neunzehnten Jahrhundert''. In: Heinrich Weizsäcker: ''Kunst und Künstler in Frankfurt am Main im neunzehnten Jahrhundert''. Verlag von Joseph Baer, Frankfurt am Main 1909, S. 22-24 *Wolfgang Klötzer (Hrsg.): ''Frankfurter Biographie. Personengeschichtliches Lexikon''. Erster Band. A–L (= ''Veröffentlichungen der Frankfurter Historischen Kommission''. XIX, Nr. 1). Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1994, .

Bibliography

* Albert Dessoff: ''Biographisches Lexikon der Frankfurter Künstler im neunzehnten Jahrhundert''. In: Heinrich Weizsäcker: ''Kunst und Künstler in Frankfurt am Main im neunzehnten Jahrhundert''. Verlag von Joseph Baer, Frankfurt am Main 1909, S. 22-24 {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnitz 1788 births 1849 deaths 19th-century German architects Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery