The Church of the Sacred Heart stands as a primary example of the ecclesiastical work produced by Christoph Hehl, a specialist in Romanesque Revival architecture. Operating primarily within the German Reich during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he balanced a career as a private practitioner with a long-standing academic appointment at the Technische Hochschule in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Early Development and Training
Born in 1847 in Kassel, Christoph Carl Adolf Hehl was the son of Johannes Hehl, an inspector at the Höhere Gewerbeschule. Between 1862 and 1866, he attended this same school, focusing his studies on building construction under the instruction of Georg Gottlob Ungewitter and Paul Zindel. Following his period of military service, he gained international experience through study in England. He later joined the office of Edwin Oppler in Hanover, an architect whose methodology was shaped by the principles of Conrad Wilhelm Hase and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
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In 1872, Hehl established his independent architectural firm in Hanover. His professional reach expanded significantly when he accepted a professorship for medieval architecture at the Technische Hochschule in Berlin-Charlottenburg. He maintained this academic position until 1910. As a Catholic architect in the German capital, he became a prominent figure in the field alongside contemporaries such as August Menken and Max Hasak. His collaborative network included sculptors Carl Dopmeyer and Ferdinand Hartzer, and he mentored students who would later influence the field, including Heinrich Jennen, Carl Kühn, Otto Lüer, and Stephan Mattar.
Architectural Portfolio
Hehl's body of work spans both religious and secular buildings, with many of his designs favoring the Romanesque Revival style. Notable religious commissions include St. Godehard in Hanover-Linden, St. Bernward in Hanover-Döhren, St. Elisabeth in Hanover, and the Rosenkranz-Basilika in Berlin-Steglitz. His secular contributions included the 1880 residence for Adalbert Grüter in Bünde, the Old Linden town hall, and the Harburg town hall, the latter constructed in the Weserrenaissance style. At the time of his death in Charlottenburg on 18 June 1911, the church of Mater Dolorosa in Berlin-Lankwitz remained unfinished, a project subsequently completed by his successor, Carl Kühn.
Fast facts
- Born: 1847, Kassel
- Died: 18 June 1911, Charlottenburg
- Citizenship: Grand Duchy of Hesse; German Reich
- Academic Employer: Technische Universität Berlin
- Primary Style: Romanesque Revival
- Professional Collaborators: Carl Dopmeyer and Ferdinand Hartzer
- Notable Student: Carl Kühn
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Christoph Hehl teach?
He served as a professor of medieval architecture at the Technische Hochschule in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Which architectural styles did he commonly employ?
He focused primarily on Romanesque Revival for his church designs, though he also worked in the Weserrenaissance style for secular projects like the Harburg town hall.
Achievements
- Notable work: Church of the Sacred Heart
