Church Design from the Richter Villa

As modified and built by Ludwig Kesselring


While building the Anchor exhibition in the Richter Villa, Rudolstadt, Thüringen, Germany, in 1994, we discovered four sets of building plans in a cabinet plans.  Two sets were for Gothic churches.  Copies of all of these plans were made, and three Anchor friends have built the smaller of the two Gothic churches.  (No builder has yet attempted the larger one, which is about 90 inches (2.25 meters) long.)  Ludwig Kesselring, Hannover, Germany, has modified the building to fit the limitations of his collection and his sense of architectural style.  His version is much more attractive than the original design, which I will show at some time in the future.  The most obvious changes are the use of Romanesque arches and an almost total reversal of the red and yellow color scheme.

Next month I will feature the best of the American builders, Julius Lauth.

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A magnificent building by another excellent builder.  Ludwig Kesselring has sent me pictures of some of his other buildings, all of which show a talent for building one might not expect from a former director of the Bundesbank.  And anyone who has taken photographs of Anchor buildings will admire his photographic technique as well as his Anchor construction ability.  Ludwig Kesselring is noted for his mixed use of GK and KK (large and small caliber) stones.  Few builders attempt this very difficult technique, but his results show that it is worth the effort.

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