Maximilian Hegele (25 May 1873 – 12 March 1945) was an Austrian architect, regarded as one of the leading exponents of Vienna's Secessionist architecture.
After practicing with established architects in Vienna, in 1899 Hegele debuted with a plan for the renovation of the city's Central Cemetery in which he applied the principles of Vienna Secession. His most famous work, the St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery Church, was developed within this project and is regarded as an example of Art Nouveau church. In the subsequent years he continued to work in Vienna and Lower Austria, sometimes incorporating historicist elements in his style. From the 1910s he concentrated mostly on residential buildings and in his later years he moved towards a simpler style.
A prolific architect, Hegele produced a great number of designs, among them: churches, museums, private houses, bridges and monuments; but many remained on paper.
Life and career Early life and education Maximilian Hegele was born in Vienna on 12 March 1873, the son of Karl Hegele, a goldsmith, and Maria Hegele. From 1889 he studied at the State Trade School of Civil Engineering, where he attended the Building of Constructions course, graduating in 1893. He subsequently enrolled in Vienna's Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) where, between 1893 and 1896, he specialised in architecture under Victor Luntz and Karl von Hasenauer. After having successfully completed his studies there, as a gifted student he earned the prestigious "Prix de Rome", a scholarship that allowed him to study for a year in Italy.
Back in Vienna, the following year he practiced with several architectural firms, among them Franz von Neumann, a prominent historicist, and the brothers Anton and Josef Drexler, who at the time were moving from historicism towards Secessionstil. In 1899 he became member of the architects association "Wiener Bauhütte" and participated at the competition for redesigning Vienna's Central Cemetery. In 1900 he was announced as the winner of the first prize and, after having revised and adapted his plans, he received the opportunity bring his project to life. Among the jury members sat Otto Wagner, one of the pioneers of Viennese Art Nouveau architecture, whose work had played a great influence on the young Hegele.
Vienna's Central Cemetery (1903–1911) The cemetery halls The commission for the Central Cemetery's redevelopment was a turning point in Hegele's life and career. The plan consisted of a monumental entrance, two funerary halls and the central church, all designed in the Secession style. Work lasted from 1903 to 1911 and proceeded in stages. The first buildings to be finished were the two funerary pavilions (Aufbahrungshallen) on both sides of the Cemetery path, which were completed in 1905. The pavilion 1 today is still used for ceremonies, while the pavilion 2 now hosts the Funerary Museum (Bestattungsmuseum) The two halls show similarities as both are shallow buildings, with a central tower covered by a pyramidal copper roof. They are white on the exterior with geometric decorations. Each entrance is surmounted by anornamental arch with a clock placed at its center. The main hall of the first pavilion is lavishly decorated, with metallic chandeliers and matching sconces on the walls. A huge mosaic behind the altar stands out from the white interiors.
The cemetery gate Next came the main entrance or 2nd Gate (2° Tor), built in 1905‒1906. It stands out for its high secessionist obelisks; at the base of each, facing the street, is a couple of statues holding Vienna's coat of arms. Each figure has a funerary symbol in its hand: a skull, meaning death, an hourglass, for time passing, a laurel wreath, symbolising immortality, and a palm branch, representing resurrection. On both sides of the gate is placed a relief: the one on the left (Christ receives the Dead) was realised by Georg Leisek, the other one on the right (People at the Gate for a Place of no Return) is the work of Carl Anselm Zinsler. At the back of the obelisks are two inscriptions reading "Erected during the reign of Franz Josef" and "Built under mayor Karl Lueger". The already existing administrative buildings on each side of the gate were also remodeled to harmonize with its style.
The central Cemetery Church
The St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery Church (Friedhofskirche zum heiligen Karl Borromäus) is considered to be Max Hegele's masterpiece and it is probably the most renowned work by him. It is regarded as well as one of the best examples of Secessionist Church, along with Wagner's St. Leopold Church. Hegele's project for the church was already well defined in 1899, though it needed some improvement, but construction did not start until eight years later. Groundbreaking took place on 11 May 1908, with Vienna's Mayor Karl Lueger laying the first stone, and the building was ultimated in October 1910, opening the following year. Lueger, who had died in the meantime, was buried in the crypt; for this reason the church is sometimes referred to as "Dr. Karl Lueger's Memorial Church" (Luegerkirche). The church is an imposing building, reaching the height of 58.5 meters and occupying an area of 2231 square meters. Hegele was probably influenced by the historical architecture of Vienna since he chose an elliptical plan, typical of the city's baroque churches, and the structure is reminiscent of the Karlskirche (also dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo). The exterior is painted white and richly decorated with geometric patterns. Two towers topped with a pyramidal roof flank the entrance while two higher belltowers are placed at the back of the church. An impressive copper dome (its diameter being of 22.7 meters for a height of 39) dominates the whole structure. Hegele designed the interiors as well, collaborating with several decorative artists: sculptors Georg Leisek and Hans Rathausky provided reliefs for the lobby, stained glass windows and mosaics were created by Leopold Forstner and artworks by Anton Kaan, Franz Klug, Karl Philipp and Adolf Pohl enrich the main altar; a Last Judgement was painted by Hans Zatzka in the lunette above it. Lamps, chandeliers, and wall ornaments are notable examples of secessionist metalwork. The ceiling of the dome is painted blue, dotted with golgen stars and with stylized rays all around the oculus.
Two curving colonnades embrace the square in front of the entrance, visually extending the wings of arcades on both sides of the church. Those colonnades, erected between 1906 and 1907, host a columbarium and other graves.
The Parish Church of Pressbaum (1906–1908) Hegele's project for Vienna's Cemetery took eight years to be completed and in the meantime he produced several other designs; among them is that for the Parish Church of Pressbaum (Pfarrkirche Pressbaum), the only known example of secessionist church in Lower Austria. The building was meant to replace the old baroque church of Pressbaum and Max Hegele and his assistant August Rehak were appointed to ideate it. After an initial neo-baroque design, they came up with the definitive concept. Construction started in 1906 (Franz Josef attended the laying of the first stone) and ended in 1908, when the church was dedicated as the Kaiser Franz Josef Jubilee Church, in occasion of the Emperors 60th year of reign.Dehio-Handbuch: Niederösterreich, südlich der Donau, Teil 2, S. 1738f; Verlag Berger, Horn/Wien 2003 (German) The structure is a remarkable example of secessionist architecture blended with Austrian traditional architecture. The layout is substantially traditional, with a longitudinal nave and a high steeple on the left of the facade, but Hegele's Secessionstil emerges in multiple aspects: the metallic geometric ornamentation that appears both inside and outside, the disposition of elements on the facade, the Art Nouveau furniture (wooden pews, confessionals and wrought iron chandeliers) and the way the tower adjoins its pointed roof, recalling Hegele's previous creations. Medieval and neo-Gothic features are also present such as pointed arches and neo-medieval stained glass windows.
The Hadersdorf-Weidlingau Cemetery Chapel (1908–1909) The year 1908 was a crucial one for Hegele's career: now a member of the Central Association of Austrian Architects, he presided over the Wiener Bauhütte's Exhibition Committee of Architects, joined the Austrian Society for Christian Art and was appointed professor of structural engineering at the State Trade School of Vienna, his alma mater, a position he would keep for many years.
In 1907 the municipal committee of Hadersdorf-Weidlingau decided to have a chapel for services built in the town cemetery. The chapel had to be funded by private donations and the then mayor Eduard Herzmansky contributed a significant sum for it. A special committee was formed and Max Hegele was selected to design the new building. Work started in 1908 and ended the following year, with the chapel being opened on 31 October 1909. Like in previous occasions, Hegele applied the Secessionstil principles to the building, combining architecture with applied arts. The chapel is cross-shaped, white on the outside, with a copper gable roof culminating in a belltower. A wide semicircular window characterizes the facade. External ornamentation is purely geometric, except for an elaborate crucifix at the top of the back wall. Murals with stylised angels and friezes of vegetal motifs embellish the interiors, while stained glass windows contribute to the lighting. Two family tombs are hosted within the chapel: the one of Eduard Herzmansky, again designed by Hegele in 1909‒1910, and the one of Jean Herzmansky, created by sculptor Theodor Khuen in 1912.
Other public commissions Hegele designed several public buildings in his career, mostly in the years between 1904 and 1911. The March Dam Chapel (Marchdammkapelle) was built in Engelhartstetten, Lower Austria, from 1904 to 1906, and dedicated to St. Florian in the presence of the Emperor. It was meant to celebrate the completion of the Marchfeld Dam, after forty years of works. The chapel, a collaboration with August Rehak, is a historicist stone building where the Secessionstil influence appears only in some details, in particular the entrance. Hegele's Fillgraderstiege is a staircase completed in 1905‒1907 in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, raccording the streets of Fillgradergasse and Theobaldgasse, on different levels. Built in the Secessionist style, with stone and cast iron, in 2004 the staircase was named the fourth most beautiful of Europe in a contest. In 1908 Austrian industrialist Arthur Krupp hired Max Hegele and Baurat Hans Peschl as architects for two school buildings in Berndorf. The schools' exterior display a historicist palace-like design (hence the name Schulpalästen, "School Palaces") while inside each classroom was decorated in a different historical style, from Doric to Empire, by academic painters Franz Wilhelm Ladewig and Robert Jüttner following Krupp's original idea. In the same year, Hegele collaborated once again with Rehak for the Flözersteig Bridge, that links Vienna's 14th and 16th districts. The bridge is an example of functional structure within the Vienna Secession aesthetics. His monument to polish pianist Theodor Leschetizky, in Türkenschanzpark (18th district), was completed in 1911; it consists of a curving wall with a bench. A medallion with a relief by sculptor Hugo Taglang depicts the musician.
From this projects and considering also the ones that were not realized, it appears more clearly that, despite being regarded primarily as a secessionist architect, Hegele's style was nonetheless deeply rooted in historicism and even ancient rural English churches may have had some influence on his style.
Residential buildings and war years