August Soller

• Name — August Soller • Birth Name — Johann August Karl Soller • Born — 14 March 1805 • Birthplace — Erfurt, Principality of Erfurt • Died — 6 November 1853 • Place of death — Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia • Education — Bauakademie • Spouse — Friederike Wilhelmine • Children — 8 • Significant Buildings — Luisenstädtische Kirche St. Michael's Church, Berlin

August Soller was born in Erfurt, Principality of Erfurt, in 1805. He worked as a land surveyor from 1820–1822 and completed his surveyor's examination on June 22, 1822 at the E. S. Unger Mathematical Institute. Soller then completed two and a half years of practical experience as a building inspector. To prepare for his master builder's examination, he moved to Berlin and lived with the family of his nephew Richard Lucae. • Illustration — The Bauakademie in Berlin, where Soller studied under Karl Schinkel In 1829 Soller was licensed as a Prussian state architect. He then served in the provinces, particularly in the Province of Silesia. From 1830 to 1833 he worked as a royal construction foreman for the District Government in Liegnitz and for a time served as a construction inspector in Posen. His focus became the design of churches and the supervision of their construction. On June 1, 1833, he became a master builder for the Prussian Higher Council of Architecture (Preußische Oberbaureputation) in Berlin and also became a member of the Berlin Academy of Architecture, known as the Bauakademie. During this period Soller was assistant to Karl Friedrich Schinkel, one of the most prominent architects in Germany. Soller took over the Department of Churches in the Construction Commission in 1841, and in 1843 was made Senior Privy Councillor (Geheimer Oberbaurat) for Infrastructure. From 1851 onwards he served as Lead Councillor for construction in the Prussian Ministry of Trade. His first completely independent work was the nearly three meter high tomb of General Ernst Ludwig von Tippelskirch in the Old Garrison Cemetery) in Berlin (1844). Soller also designed Berlin's second oldest Catholic Church constructed after the Reformation, the almost forgotten church St. Marien am Behnitz in Spandau (1848). In 2002 that church was transferred into private ownership and completely renovated. He led construction of the Invalidensäule war monument in Berlin's Invalidenpark (1851–1853) and designed the tower of the Luisenstädtische Kirche. As a curator of monuments, Soller was also involved in the construction of Cologne Cathedral and the restoration of Erfurt Cathedral and the Cathedral of Trier. • Illustration — St. Michael's Church, Berlin in 1880 Soller's most important work is St. Michael's Church, Berlin (Sankt-Michael-Kirche), the parish church of St. Michael and the city's third oldest Catholic church built after the Reformation. It was constructed between 1851–1861 to plans Soller had already completed in 1845 and occupies a dramatic position on the Luisenstadt Canal. After his early death in 1853, church financial difficulties then caused a break in construction in 1855. Soller was buried there in 1856 and the building was finally completed in 1861 by Andreas Simons, Martin Gropius and particularly Soller's nephew, Richard Lucae. The church was consecrated on the 28 October 1861, by the Bishop of Breslau in the presence of the King of Prussia, William I, the future Emperor of Germany.

• Illustration — Church of St. Marien am Behnitz, Berlin-Spandau (1848) • Illustration — Church of St. Marien am Behnitz as restored in 2006 • Illustration — Luisenstädtische Kirche (1845), memorial plaque at the site • Illustration — Invalidensäule (1853), front elevation • Illustration — St. Michael's Church, Berlin

August Soller is recorded as architect.