Simon Louis du Ry (13 January 1726 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

- 23 August 1799 in Kassel) was a classical

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 ...

Biography

Simon Louis du Ry was the son of the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

Charles du Ry and grandson of

Paul du Ry Jean Paul du Ry (1640 – 21 June 1714) was a French architect and Huguenot refugee who was responsible for a number of baroque buildings in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. Origins Jean Paul du Ry came from a family of French architects. His father was ...

of Kassel. He was from a French refugee family, who after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

had to leave France and went to Hessen under Landgrave Charles. After beginning studies in Stockholm, Sweden, from 1746 to 1748 he was disappointed in his teacher

Carl Hårleman Baron Carl Hårleman (27 August 1700 – 9 February 1753) was a Sweden, Swedish architect. Biography Hårleman was born in Stockholm, son of the garden architect and head of the royal parks and gardens Johan Hårleman, who had been Ennoblemen ...

and left for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to attend the architectural school of

Jacques-François Blondel Jacques-François Blondel (8 January 1705 – 9 January 1774) was an 18th-century French architect and teacher. After running his own highly successful school of architecture for many years, he was appointed Professor of Architecture at the Acad� ...

(École des Art) in 1748–52. After further educational trips in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

he returned to

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 ...

and became chief architect on the court after the death of this father. In 1766 he was installed as professor architectura civilis at the Collegium Carolinum in Kassel. Under Frederic of Hessen he was responsible for the transformation of the old and partly destroyed town of Kassel into a modern capital. The Königsplatz (Kings square) and the Friedrichsplatz (Frederics square) remain the main squares in Kassel.

Works

* Kitchen Pavilion of the

Orangerie An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...

in the Karlsaue, 1765–66, completed in 1770 * Garde du Corps Barracks * Auebridge * Opera house in Kassel, 1766–69 * Königsplatz (Royal Square), 1767 * Palace of Jungk, 1767–69 * Weißensteiner gate, from 1768–70 *

Fridericianum The Fridericianum is a museum in Kassel, Germany. Built in 1779, it is one of the oldest public museums in Europe.

, 1769–76 * Friedrichsplatz (Kassel), 1769 * Palais Waitz, from 1770 * Comedy House * Opera Square (Kassel), 1770 * Elizabeth Church (Kassel), c. 1770 * (Old) Royal Gate (Kassel), from 1775 * Friedrichstor / Auetor, 1779–82 * Brothers Grimm-Platz (Wilhelmshöher Platz), 1781 * William Bridge, from 1788 * Model house, after 1789 * Parish, Kirchditmold, 1790–92 * Bellevue Palace (Draft Paul du Ry ), conversion to 1790 Simon Louis du Ry designed and executed many

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s and

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

s including: * Castle Wilhelmsthal, Calden, (1749), 1756–58 * Well Windhausen, Niestetal district Heiligenrode, 1769 * Wabern hunting lodge, extension 1770 * Castle Hüffe, Prussian Oldendorf Lashorst district, 1775–84 * Fürstenberg Castle, 1776–83 * Castle Mountain Home (Eder), 1785–86 * Wilhelmshöhe Castle, Kassel, 1786 * Schönburg castle, Hofgeismar, 1787–89 * House Kassel and landgrave house, bath nominal village, 1790/91

Biography

Works

References

Further reading