Jürgen Kröger (1856 – 1928) was a German architect. He was an architectural advisor to the German Emperor, Wilhelm II and in 1908 he was awarded the title of Building Advisor to the Emperor. Kröger is most notable for his construction of Protestant church buildings and Metz Train Station in the now French region of Lorraine. The poet Timm Kröger was his uncle.
Early life and education
Kröger was born on 6 November 1856 in Haale, Germany. Kröger began his training in 1873 at the Göttsche master carpentry school in Hohenwestedt. He passed his architecture exams with honors in 1880 from a school in Eckernförde.
Career
Kröger worked as a construction specialist in the construction division of the War Department in Altona, Hamburg. In 1882, he was hired to work in the Berlin office of the famous architect Johannes Otzen.
In 1888, Kröger went into private practice and, in the following decades, was responsible for the construction numerous Protestant churches, especially in the neogothic style. One of his most well-known works was the Metz Train Station in Alsace-Lorraine[1] built in 1908.[2] When it opened on 17 August 1908, Kaiser Wilhelm II appointed him "(Kaiserlicher) Baurat" or Building Advisor to the Emperor.
Death and legacy
Kröger died on 27 February 1928 in Aukrug.
Work
For a complete listing, see the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia.
References
- Deiss, Richard (2020-09-09). The cathedral of the winged wheel and the sugarbeet station: Trivia and anecdotes on 222 railway stations in Europe. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 56. ISBN 978-3-7519-9706-5.
Kaiser Wilhelm II took a personal interest in every detail of the design of the station, as he did in transforming the city's cathedral, and asked for changes in the plans of architect Jürgen Kröger.
- Tange, Ewald (2008). "Metz". Elsass, Lothringen (in German). Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 167. ISBN 978-3-8342-8971-1.
The Neo-Romanesque building was constructed in 1908 by the German architect Kröger, commissioned by Wilhelm II. The new station was intended to replace the old station from 1878... and to handle the transport of the Imperial troops... The architecture employed the symbolism of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, representing both spiritual and secular power