IXNARD, Pierre-Michel d'

French architect, regarded as the pioneer of early Classicism in southern Germany. He initially worked as a carpenter, but also as a bricklayer, stonemason, locksmith and mirror-maker, and was trained by the Paris architect Jacques-François Blondel (1681-1756). He followed his teacher Jean Nicolas Servandoni (1695-1766) to Stuttgart in 1763.

In the same year, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Hechingen commissioned him to renovate his residence in Hechingen. It was the first independent commission for d’Ixnard, and he executed it to full satisfaction of the prince. In 1764, he was appointed Director of the Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and created with the Stiftskirche an important building of early Classicism.

This work earned him a reputation as a master builder in the Königsegg forest in Upper Swabia, where he built the Schloss Königseggwald in 1765 and redesigned the outer façade of Aulendorf Palace. For the Elector of Trier, he planned the electoral palace in Koblenz (1777-80). He also led the conversion of the residence of Ellingen (1772-75) and made the plans for the construction of the town castle of the lords of Speth in Gammertingen.

In addition to the princely residences, d’Ixnard also made a name for itself as a church and monastery architect. Among his most famous works is the Benedictine abbey church of St. Blasien, built in 1768-83. In 1780-83 d’Ixnard built the town and monastery church of St. Jakob in Hechingen.

Exterior view

Thanks to mainly to their belfries, church buildings were the most visible urban structures. During the process of urban improvement and the construction of new suburbs, they remained among the leading construction jobs of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Benedictine church of St. Blasien in the Black Forest, constructed by Pierre-Michel d’Ixnard in 1768-83, had a round central plan with a portico in front. It derives, like so many Neoclassical churches, from the Pantheon in Rome. It features a huge dome rising behind a massive portico on Tuscan columns.

Exterior view

Interior view