Carl Johann Wilhelm Neumann (; ; born 5 October 1849 in Grevesmühlen – died 6 March 1919 in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

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

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

. Neumann's family moved to Kreutzburg (then in

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

) during Wilhelm's childhood. When he was 15 years old, he worked as an apprentice at Paul Max Bertschy's engineering office during the construction of the Riga–Dünaburg Railway. After this he studied at the Riga Polytechnicum, and beginning 1875 at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

in Saint Petersburg. Beginning 1873 Neumann worked as an architect in Dünaburg (Daugavpils), and 1878 he was promoted to be chief architect of Dünaburg. In 1887 he began to publish art historical publications. In 1895 he moved to

, where numerous prominent buildings in the style of

historicism 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 ...

was created, amongst these the Peitav Synagogue. Furthermore, Neumann was the planner of many manor buildings in the

Baltic governorates The Baltic Governorates, originally the Ostsee Governorates, was a collective name for the administrative units of the Russian Empire set up in the territories of Swedish Estonia, Swedish Livonia (1721) and, afterwards, of the Duchy of Courland ...

and public buildings such as Kurland Provincial Museum and Athenaeum. Between 1899 and 1901 Neumann taught at the polytechnicum. In 1905 he became director of the Riga Art Museum, a building that was designed by himself. After 1906 Neumann focused on his art historical works. Neumann died on 6 March 1919 at the age of 69.

Gallery

File:Riga 14 (31511514541).jpg, Building of the Latvian National Museum of Arts (1905) File:2015 03 Pelci (5).jpg,

Pelči Palace Pelči Palace (; ) is a palace located in the Pelči Parish of Kuldīga Municipality, in the Courland region of Latvia. Built during the time of Prince Anatoly Lieven, it is regarded as one of the early Latvian manors which felt the influence of ...

(1903-1904) File:5-Riga Syna-DSC04895.JPG, Peitav Synagogue in Riga (1903-1905) File:Daugavpils Mārtiņa Lutera evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca 3.jpg, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Martin Luther in

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

(1893) File:Daugavpils Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church.jpg, Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary in Daugavpils (1903–1905) File:RigaMatisa16.jpg, Residential building on the Matīsa street 16, Riga. (1902).

Literature

* E. Grosmane. Vilhelms Neimanis Latvijas mākslas vēsturē., Rīga, 1991, 7.-21. lpp. * Jānis Krastiņš. Rīgas arhitektūras meistari 1850–1940, Jumava, 2002 * Peter Wörster: „Der Vater der baltischen Kunstgeschichte“. Wilhelm Neumann – Architekt, Kunsthistoriker und Denkmalpfleger. In: Jahrbuch des baltischen Deutschtums, Bd. 55 (2008), Lüneburg 2007, S. 83-100. {{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Wilhelm 1849 births 1919 deaths Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Architects from the Russian Empire Historians from the Russian Empire People from Grevesmühlen Academic staff of Riga Technical University Latvian art historians Architects from Riga German art historians 20th-century Latvian historians 19th-century Latvian historians