Anna-Victoria Bognár

Neuentdeckte Quellen zum Wirken Balthasar Neumanns in Ellwangen. Die Planungsabläufe für das ehemalige Stiftsrathaus und das ehemalige Priesterseminar auf dem Schönenberg

This article deals with the work and inventions of Balthasar Neumann for his purchaser, the princely provost of Ellwangen. Rediscovered letters and plans in the Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg prove the thesis of art historical research that he was the main inventor of the new town hall. They also document clearly that he was the sole planner of the seminary on the Schönenberg. The local building administrator Arnold Friedrich Prahl thus only shines up as a construction manager and general foreman. In his plans, Neumann referred to his typical system of invention and social classification of buildings. This means, that the complexity of the structure of the facades referred to the rank of their owner or resident. Hence, the facade of the town hall in Ellwangen is comparable to the facade of the ‘Dikasterialgebäude’ in Ehrenbreitstein near Koblenz and the facade of the seminary is comparable to the monastery of Heidingsfeld in Frankonia. As the architect Neumann often let his assistants plan the decor, he allowed the building manager Prahl to realise some details to his taste. Prahl otherwise feared the juristic and financial consequences of aberation of major structures.

Anna-Victoria Bognár: anna-victoria.bognar@geschichte.uni-giessen.de

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