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 façadeGLOSSARYthe front or principal face of a building, especially one elaborately constructed; a blind façade is a façade that is purely decorative and does not relate to the structure of the building. of Aulendorf Palace. For the ElectorGLOSSARYone of the German princes who elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the middle of the 14th century there were seven Electors; the king of Bohemia, the duke of Saxony, the count Palatine of the Rhine, the margrave of Brandenburg, and the archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne. 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 monasteryGLOSSARYthe complex of buildings used by a community of monks. Among the main elements of the complex are the church, cloister, chapter house (used by the governing body), refectory (dining room) and dormitory (sleeping quarters). 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.