Johann Friedrich Grael

Johann Grael (9 January 1708 - 27 September 1740) was a German architect, one of the most important architects working under Frederick William I of Prussia.[1]

Life

Born in Quilitz, he studied under Philipp Wihelm and Martin Heinrich Böhme. His first work in Berlin was a design for the church tower of the Petrikirche, but in 1730 - when construction was almost complete - a lightening storm hit it and he could not complete it.[2] Grael was put in charge of rebuilding the structure but in 1733 it was reassigned to Gerlach, citing his failure to meet deadlines.[2] The bell tower collapsed in the following years and Grael was left in a difficult situation, forcing him to flee the country.[2] The church was damaged during the Second World War and demolished in 1964.

Before his exile he managed to complete the towers at the Sophienkirche in Berlin and the Heilige-Geist-Kirche in Potsdam, in a style consistent with the Dutch school.[1] In his last years Grael worked as a consultant and a designer to various projects but -thanks to his sudden death in Bayreuth - these were completed by J. G. Weise.[2]

Other works

  • Design of the fountain on the Roßmarkt in Stettin (1730);
  • Interior of the Stadtschloss Berlin (1732), destroyed in the Second World War;
  • Schwedt riding hall and dining hall (directed works 1735-1736);
  • Reconstruction of the old castle in the Eremo in Bayreuth (1736);
  • Design for the Kaiserhammer hunting lodge (1739);
  • Private buildings in Berlin:
    • Kameke Palace (later the Rederns Palace; 1729-1736) and Borck-Saldern Palace, both at the corner of Pariser Platz / Unter den Linden (;
    • Palazzo Grumbkow, Königsstraße (now Rathausstraße);
    • Eberbach House, Königsstraße (now Rathausstraße);
    • Weizel House, Spandauer Straße;
    • Creutz Palace, Klosterstraße.

References

  1. ^ a b (in Italian) Johann Friedrich Grael entry (in Italian) in the Enciclopedia Treccani
  2. ^ a b c d (in Italian) le muse. Vol. V. Novara: De Agostini. 1964. p. 360.

Bibliography (in German)

  • Hermann Heckmann, Baumeister des Barock und Rokoko. Brandenburg Preußen, Berlino 1998.
  • Uwe Kieling, Berlin – Baumeister und Bauten, Berlin-Lipsia 1987, ISBN 3-350-00280-3.
  • Ekhart Berckenhagen (1964). "Grael, Johann Friedrich Jacob". Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German). VI. Berlino: Duncker & Humblot: 714.
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