Historical figure

Elias Holl

Stadtwerkmeister of Augsburg (1602–1631)

Elias Holl (Augsburg, 28 February 1573 – 6 January 1646) is the most important architect of the late German Renaissance. Son of the master builder Hans Holl, he became Stadtwerkmeister (city master builder) of Augsburg in 1602 and designed the Zeughaus (1602–1607), the Perlach Tower (1614–1616) and, above all, the Town Hall (1614–1620), the pinnacle of German civic architecture before the Thirty Years' War. A Protestant, he lost his post in 1631. His name is linked to Wellenburg: Jakob III Fugger, who bought the castle in 1595, commissioned the gatehouse from him. His buildings, drawings and family chronicle (Hauschronik) have been the subject of substantial university studies.

Portrait of Elias Holl
Birth28 février 1573, Augsbourg
Death6 janvier 1646, Augsbourg
RoleStadtwerkmeister of Augsburg (1602–1631)
HouseFamille de maîtres d'œuvre Holl
EraLate Renaissance (Spätrenaissance)
History & heritage

A master builder trained within the family

Elias Holl was born into a dynasty of builders in Augsburg. His father, Hans Holl, taught him the trade; the Neue Deutsche Biographie notes that he was working on building sites from 1586, passed his master's examination in 1596 and spent time in Italy in 1600–1601. He was appointed Stadtwerkmeister in 1602, responsible for the whole of the city's public building works.

Schloss WellenburgSchloss Wellenburg
Timeline

Key moments in their life

28 février 1573

Born in Augsburg into a family of master builders; his father, Hans Holl, trained him.

1596

Passed the master's examination.

1600-1601

Study trip to Italy; back in Augsburg at the end of January 1601.

1602

Appointed Stadtwerkmeister after the Gießhaus (1601) and the Beckenhaus.

1602-1607

Construction of the arsenal (Zeughaus), his first major work.

après 1595

Jakob III Fugger, who had just bought Wellenburg, commissioned him to build the castle's gatehouse.

1614-1620

Construction of the Town Hall of Augsburg, his major achievement; the Perlach Tower was heightened in 1614–1616.

1631

Loses his post as Stadtwerkmeister because of his Protestant convictions.

6 janvier 1646

Died in Augsburg.

Associated heritage

Castles linked to this figure

1 place
Historical network

Linked personalities

Portrait of Hans Holl
Hans Hollfather and masterMaster builder from whom Elias took over rendering and building-site techniques.→
Portrait of Jakob III Fugger
Jakob III Fuggerpatron of the gatehouse at Wellenburg→
Portrait of Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg
Matthäus Lang von WellenburgShared castle→
Portrait of Leopold Fugger de Babenhausen
Leopold Fugger de BabenhausenShared castle→
Explore further

Elias Holl in history

Augsburg, Holl's city

The arsenal (1602–1607), the Siegelhaus, the butchers' hall (1609), the St Anne gymnasium (1613), the Perlach Tower (1614–1616), the Town Hall (1614–1620) and the Holy Spirit hospital (1626–1631) form a body of work that blends Swabian traditions with Italian references. The art historian Werner Hager saw in the Rathaus one of the peaks of German civic architecture before the Thirty Years' War.

The gatehouse at Wellenburg

Shortly after Jakob III Fugger bought the castle in 1595, Holl was commissioned to build the gatehouse at Wellenburg. This work forms part of the castle's development under the Fuggers, between the campaign of Matthäus Lang (around 1513) and the later Baroque and Neo-Gothic alterations.

Disgrace and posterity

Removed from his post in 1631 because of his Protestant convictions, Holl left an illustrated Hauschronik and drawings that informed Eva Haberstock's monograph (2016). The Stadt Augsburg today maintains his legacy, notably in the Zeughaus he designed.

Documentation

Sources for this entry

This summary cross-references several sources to document the places, events and historical relationships.