Georg Kawerau

Georg Ferdinand Kawerau
Commemorative plaque in the library of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens
Born	(1856-12-12)December 12, 1856 Berlin
Died	April 13, 1909(1909-04-13) (aged 52) Stettin
Occupation	Architect

Georg Kawerau (born 12 December 1856, in Berlin; died 13 April 1909, in Stettin; full name: Georg Ferdinand Kawerau) was a German architect and archeologist.

Life

Georg Kawerau was the seventh child of sports educator and church musician Martin Kawerau and his wife Emilie. He spent his early life in Berlin, where he received his primary and secondary education. Upon graduating from the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium, a notable high school, he pursued studies at the Bauakademie, a prestigious construction school.

Following his education, Kawerau became a government construction supervisor (Regierungsbauführer) within the garrison construction administration in the Pomerian city of Stargard. His career then took a turn due to health-related issues that led him to move to Greece and engage in archaeology.

In 1885, Kawerau joined renowned archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in excavations at Tiryns. Between 1885 and 1890, he collaborated with Panagiotis Kavvadias on significant excavations at the Athens Acropolis. His work in Olympia included the re-erection of two columns of the Heraion.

Kawerau later moved to Turkey, where his architectural expertise was put to use in several major projects. These included the construction of a waterworks in Skutari, various road construction works, and, between 1893 and 1896, the construction of station buildings for the Anatolian Railway that connected Eskişehir and Konya. He then worked in Stettin for the construction firm Wechselmann & Kawerau, which he cofounded.

In August 1907, the University of Giessen awarded him an honorary doctorate. Soon after, archaeologist Theodor Wiegand enlisted his skills as an excavation architect for the Berlin Museums' excavations in Miletus and Pergamon. From April 1, 1908, Kawerau served as a directorial assistant at the Berlin Museums, with his office located in Constantinople. His notable works during this period include his collaboration with Hubert Knackfuß on the Delphinion in Miletus and with Alexander Conze on the palaces of Pergamon.

Publications

• with Panagiotis Kavvadias: Die Ausgrabung der Akropolis vom Jahre 1885 bis zum Jahre 1890. = Η ανασκαφή της Ακροπόλεως από του 1885 μέχρι του 1890 (= Βιβλιοθήκη της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας. 13). Typographeion Hestia, Athens 1906 (Digital copy).
• with Georgios Soteriades: Der Apollotempel zu Thermos. In: Antike Denkmäler, Volume 2, 1902/08 (Digital copy).
• Gedichte. Berlin 1913 (posthumously; with a foreword by Theodor Wiegand. Private print "for his friends").
• with Albert Rehm: Das Delphinion in Milet (= Milet Volume 1, 3). De Gruyter, Berlin 1914 (Digital copy).
• with Theodor Wiegand: Die Paläste der Hochburg (= Altertümer von Pergamon Volume 5, 1). De Gruyter, Berlin 1930 (Digital copy).

Bibliography

• Amtliche Berichte aus den Königl. Preußischen Kunstsammlungen 30, 1908–09, pp. 205–106.
• Julius Kohte (1909). "Georg Kawerau †". Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung (33): 231–232.
• Jens Andreas Bundgaard: The Excavation of the Athenian Acropolis 1882–1990. The Original Drawings edited from the papers of Georg Kawerau. Copenhagen 1974.
• Ioannis Andreas Panteleon: Eine Archäologie der Direktoren. Die Erforschung Milets im Namen der Berliner Museen 1899–1914 (= Mittelmeerstudien. Vol. 5). Schöningh, Paderborn 2015, ISBN 978-3-7705-5676-2.
• Media related to Georg Kawerau at Wikimedia Commons