Moritz Ziller

The Zillers - A clan of master builders from Lößnitz. Shapers of the Radebeul cityscape

German television keeps delighting us with stylish, three-part clan films with snappy titles such as "The Adlon. A family saga" or "Krupp. A German Family" The Wagners may finally be next. Why not also "The Zillers. A clan of master builders from Lößnitz"? Perhaps because Lößnitz was too tranquil and the family ties were less dramatic. But the family's influence on the face of the town was dramatic, and in an entirely edifying sense. Without them, the face of the villa and garden city would look completely different. Without them, this characteristic predicate might not even exist.

In addition to blood, stone also flowed through the veins of the well-known family of master builders. The urge to build houses was inherited. Moritz was the second child to be born into this sphere of activity in September 1838, with eight more siblings to follow. His older brother Ernst was the first to spend his summer holidays on the numerous building sites of his father's company. Moritz followed suit. The talent did not fall far from the tree, it brought both of them to the Royal Building School in Dresden. They studied in Leipzig and then moved to Vienna, where Moritz took a job as a carpenter. Back in Dresden in the winter quarter, they continued their research at the Academy of Fine Arts. In the summer of 1859, Moritz took over the company from his father Christian Gottlieb, who in turn had taken it over from his father, the founder of the family business, Johann Christian Ziller. In 1867, under the new name "Gebrüder Ziller", the practical-minded Moritz finally brought his younger and artistically gifted brother Gustav on board. The founding years of Lößnitz saw a veritable building boom, from which the brothers profited enormously. Magnificent villas sprang up like mushrooms, many of them under the direction of the Zillers. Entire streets were built on their desks. After the phylloxera catastrophe, a number of vineyards, which at that time still extended far into the lowlands, lay fallow. Why not build houses on them? Especially as the town of Lößnitz was to become home to more and more people. In 1871, the original communities had a combined population of just under 7,400, but by 1880 this had risen to 11,739 and by 1890 to 16,100. The Saxon Nice flourished, as did the Ziller company. They bought up many brownfield sites, designed Swiss-style villas, realised their plans, marketed and sold the new buildings with the help of their merchant brother Heinrich Otto Ziller - all from one family. Not only the buildings themselves, but also the public spaces around them received special attention. Whether fountains, statue architecture or garden planting, everything was designed attractively and harmoniously. Whether for private or public use, the Ziller profession was built on many pillars. Would we have a castle of peace without them (would we have a castle peace with them)? The Luisenstift, a place of learning not only for the mind; the Bilz Sanatorium, a healing centre not only for the body? Where would Karl May have lived? And would he have stayed in Radebeul at all, could he have become the most widely read author of his time without his Villa Shatterhand? It is impossible to find concise answers to these questions. Impossible to list all the buildings that form the foundation stone of Radebeul as we know it and have thus walled the Ziller family into the town's memory - at least until there is no stone left standing on another.

Moritz Ziller died 120 years ago, on 11 October 1895 in Oberlößnitz. His obituary honours him as a shaper of Lößnitz and praises his tireless commitment. His many years as chairman of the "Verschönerungsverein" (beautification association) deserve special mention. To honour his life's work, a street was named after him in 1890. Unfortunately, he later had to relinquish this honour to Hölderlin, an important master builder of verse. The Moritz Ziller Prize, which has recently been awarded, honours his achievements and also promotes innovative urban planning ideas for the future by talented architects.

Ernst Ziller himself ended up in Greece, where he built a large number of magnificent buildings, including the residential palace of his friend Heinrich Schliemann. How did this come about? That's another story. Perhaps soon on television.

Maren Gündel, City Archive

Published in: Official Gazette Radebeul October 2015