Dientzenhofer Wolfgang

Son of Georg Dientzenhofer, a farmer on the Oberulpoint farm near Litzdorf in Upper Bavaria, and Barbara née Thanner, the second eldest of the first generation of Dientzenhofer brothers, architect and builder of many important monastic buildings in Amberg, the capital of the Electorate of the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria, monasteries, churches and profane buildings throughout the Upper Palatinate, court architect of the Electorate of Amberg, husband of Maria Isabella, father of eight children, none of whom were involved in building or architecture.

Wolfgang was born in 1648 as the third child of the marriage of Georg Dientzenhofer and Barbara Thanner on the Oberulpoint estate near Litzdorf in Upper Bavaria. He was baptised in the church in Au on 16 March 1648. Like his other siblings, he attended school in Flintsbach (see Common Beginnings of the Dientzenhofer family).

Probably in the period after the death of his father Georg on 20 February 1673, Wolfgang sets out with his brothers and sister Anna on a journey from the family farm in search of an apprenticeship and work. The Dientzenhofer siblings gradually made their way to the metropolis of Prague, which was experiencing a Baroque building fever with the onset of the Recatholization after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. And Prague can be described as the first major turning point in the lives of the Dientzenhofer brothers.

In 1677, the first of the Dientzenhofer brothers, Georg, the eldest, is recorded in Prague as Georg Pinzenhover at the baptism of Dorothy Susanna, daughter of the Bavarian mason Sebastian Sock, in the Church of St. Thomas in the Lesser Town. He is also listed as a witness at the baptism of the daughter of master mason Johann Georg Mayer in the Church of Our Lady under the Chain in Prague in 1681.

The sister of the Dientzenhofer brothers, Anna, married Wolfgang Leuthner, who can be assumed to have been a relative of the prominent Prague builder and architect Abraham Leuthner, on 11 January 1678 in the Church of St. Thomas in the Lesser Town. All six brothers of the builders were to be present at the wedding. The witness was Katharina Dinzenhofer (perhaps Barbara's middle name).

In the following years Abraham Leuthner employed Georg, Christopher and Leonhard, Johann apprenticed under him. The question of whether the Dientzenhofer family came to Prague on purpose to see Abraham Leuthner, or whether they worked with him in Passau, has not been answered.

In 1677, the construction of the Franciscan monastery in Hostinné (Arnau) in eastern Bohemia is started according to the project of the builder Martin Reiner. Wolfgang is demonstrably mentioned on the building from 1680, but whether he was active there earlier is not directly confirmed. However, a document of "proper procreation" (proof of conjugal origin, birth certificate) of Wolfgang Dientzenhofer survives from 27 February 1679, on the basis of which Wolfgang settles in the town of Hostinné on the Elbe, where he works as a polisher on the construction of the Franciscan monastery.

Due to lack of funds, the construction is stopped in 1679 and on 22 April 1680 the builder Martin Reiner dies. On 11 March 1681, Wolfgang, as the previous building polisher, signs a contract with the Franciscans at Our Lady of Sněžná in Prague, in which he undertakes to complete the work exactly according to Reiner's original plans. Construction of the convent began again in 1683, was completed in 1684 and consecrated on 8 August 1684. Construction of the last wing is completed in 1687.

In 1683 Wolfgang is listed as a citizen of the Lesser Town in Prague. At this time he also meets and marries Maria Isabella, but whether this is in Prague is not confirmed.

In 1683, Georg, Wolfgang's brother, takes over the construction of the Jesuit college in Amberg in the Upper Palatinate. The construction of the Jesuit college was originally started in 1665 by the builder Wolfgang Hirschstetter.

Amberg is the historic centre of the Upper Palatinate, a historic trading centre and iron ore processing centre. In addition, it is also the site of a strong recatholization in the 17th century. This was associated with the arrival of Catholic religious orders and strong building activity associated with the construction of monasteries and churches.

Georg drew up and implemented plans for the construction of the north wing in 1684 and plans for the extension of the west wing of the Jesuit college in 1686. Probably at Georg's invitation, Wolfgang, who had been working on the construction of the Jesuit college since 1688 as a master mason, also moved to Amberg to work. After the untimely death of Georg in 1689, Wolfgang completes the building in the same year.

In the same year, 1689, Wolfgang gives birth to his first son Joseph Antoninus Augustus, who is baptised on 28 August 1689 in the church of St. Martin in Amberg.

From 1689 Wolfgang is involved in the construction of the new monastery buildings of the Benedictine monastery Michelfeld near Auerbach near Bamberg in the Upper Palatinate, which were destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. Construction work begins in 1690, by 20 April 1692 the priory and sub-priory buildings are standing, and by 5 September 1695 the rear part of the monastery building is completed. The construction of the church, begun in 1692, is completed in rough construction in 1695. In the following years, the front part of the monastery building and the church tower are built. The monastery is completed in 1700. Wolfgang is mentioned in writing as the main builder from 29 March 1697. The church is consecrated in 1697.

On 5 April 1690, the foundation stone of the rebuilding of the Weissenohe Monastery near Bamberg according to Wolfgang's design is laid by Prior Gregor Dietl. In 1692-1707 the church of St. Boniface is built in the Weissenohe monastery, where Wolfgang is also listed as the main builder from 29 March 1697. The monastery convent and the abbey wing of the monastery, which was not built until 1725 and completed in 1727, were already built according to Johann's plan.

Wolfgang completes the pilgrimage church in Trautmannshofen in 1689 after Georg's untimely death, which Georg built according to the plans of Leonhard Dientzenhofer. The church is consecrated in 1691.

In 1686 Leonhard is mentioned as master mason in the rebuilding of the Premonstratensian monastery in Speinshart in the Upper Palatinate, begun in 1683 according to plans by Johann Schmutzer. Some sources mention Georg as the author of the plans for further building work. After Georg's untimely death in 1689, Wolfgang, referred to in documentary evidence as 'the master builder Wolfgang Dientzenhofer of Amberg', appeared on the site.

In 1692, Wolfgang submitted plans for a convent church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and an abbey residence for the Premonstratensian monastery of Speinshart in the Upper Palatinate. The masonry work began on 22 June 1692. The rough construction of the church is completed in 1698, services begin on 26 September 1699, and it is consecrated on 14 September 1706. The four-winged monastery complex was not fully completed until 1713.

In 1693, Wolfgang loses the burgherhood of the Lesser Town in Prague due to his permanent absence.

From 1693 Wolfgang lives permanently in the monastery quarter in the centre of Amberg.

Between 1693 and 1696, the Salesian monastery in Amberg is built according to Wolfgang's plans. The foundation stone is laid on 23 June 1693. The monastery church of St. Augustine is built between 1697 and 1699. After 1758, the church is considerably enlarged and modified.

In 1694 Wolfgang draws up plans for the construction of a monastery church in Ensdorf in the Upper Palatinate. The construction is led by master masons Martin Funk and Christoph Grantauer and after many delays is not completed until 1717 after Wolfgang's death. The church is consecrated on 8 October 1717.

On 22 June 1695 Wolfgang is granted citizenship of Amberg. A few weeks later, he buys a splendid house in Klostergasse (now Deutsche Schulgasse 11) from the widow Johanna Magdalena Gabler obel von Hofgiebing, who succeeded the provincial judge Georg Gabler.

According to some sources, Wolfgang is listed as the court (provincial) builder in Amberg from 1695 with the task of supervising all building in the Duchy of Upper Palatinate.

At the turn of 1695-1696, Wolfgang was commissioned to draw up plans and supervise the construction of the Pauline monastery and church in Amberg. The construction of the monastery is started on 3 March 1696, the expenses for the building cease in 1702. Wolfgang submits the plans for the church in 1696, but the foundations are not laid until 1708 and construction begins in 1717; the church is consecrated on 29 August 1729.

In 1696 Wolfgang is listed as the owner of a second property in Amberg, the house Remund-Donhauser in Lange Gasse no. 8/10.

In 1697 the construction of the pilgrimage church Maria Hilf on the Mariahilfberg above Amberg is started according to the plans of Wolfgang Dientzenhofer under the direction of Georg Peimble. The building is completed in 1703.

In 1697 Georg Peimbl builds the Rentamt (tax office) in Amberg according to Wolfgang's plans.

In 1700 Wolfgang designs and directs the Baroque rebuilding of the Carmelite Church of the Holy Spirit in Straubing in Lower Bavaria.

In 1700-1702 Wolfgang builds the Church of the Assumption in the village of Kulmain in the Upper Palatinate.

Wolfgang Dientzenhofer dies prematurely on 8 May 1706 in Amberg at the age of 58.

Like all the members of his family who died in Amberg, Wolfgang is buried in the cemetery at the church of St. Katharina.

He had eight children, three boys and five girls, with his wife Maria Isabella, whom he probably married in Prague. All the children were baptised in the church of St Martin in Amberg.

On 23 October 1706 his wife Maria Isabella sold the house in Lange Gass to the Imperial Councillor Johann Grosse von Wald. The house in Klostergasse became the property of the then acting mayor Johann Moritz Löw. In 1707, Wolfgang's widow and her children live in the house of the town clerk, and in 1716-1718 she receives benefits in kind from the court treasury because of her poverty. Maria Isabella dies on 20 October 1740.