Julius Berndt

Julius Berndt (March 18, 1832 – July 13, 1916) was a German American architect, drafter, surveyor, general contractor, and early settler of the city of New Ulm, Minnesota. Many structures in New Ulm were designed by Berndt including both the Hermann Heights Monument and the Grand Hotel.

Early life Berndt was born on March 18, 1832 in Heinrichau, Province of Silesia, then part of Prussia, to Johann and Josepha (Kottvitz) Berndt. Johann was a merchant in Breslau. Seeking to improve his life, he emigrated to the United States around 1850 and worked in Chicago. Johann was later joined in 1853 by two of his sons, Julius and Herman, who helped him as clerks. Brown County courthouse Berndt's first major contract was to build a courthouse and adjoining jail for the local Sheriff Charles L. Roos. This building was completed at the cost of $2,964. According to the Minnesota Judicial Branch "Berndt's 1865 courthouse was a simple two-story Georgian style building with a hipped roof, central doorway, and evenly spaced paneled windows". The three-story Italianate-style brick building is a great example of Berndt's exploration into Italianate architecture. The first iteration of the Union Hotel originally consisted of only two stories. The third story was added in 1899 when it was refurbished and renovated by new proprietors. The distillery was later destroyed during the Battles of New Ulm. Subilia was also the County Auditor from 1863-1864. Berndt was contracted to build Subilia's home in the 1870's-1880's. The Subilia home once stood at 504 S Minnesota Street in New Ulm, but it has since been demolished. The early 20th-century emblem of the Sons of Hermann which features Berndt's Hermann Monument.

Hermann Monument

The Hermann Heights Monument, also called the Hermann Monument, or simply Hermann the German, was arguably Berndt's magnum opus. The idea of Berndt's monument was derived from the Hermannsdenkmal near Detmold by German sculptor, painter, and architect Ernst von Bandel. Bandel's statue of Arminius (German: Hermann), a Cherusci warrior who fought against the Roman Empire in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, became a national symbol of Germany in 1875 which was popular shortly after the Franco-Prussian War and the Unification of Germany. The Hermannsdenkmal was ultimately the greatest influence and inspiration for Berndt to create his own regional monument dedicated to German Americans.

Berndt was the head of the New Ulm lodge of the Order of the Sons of Hermann (German: Orden der Hermann’s-Soehne), which was a patriotic German fraternal organization similar to the Odd Fellows and other organizations during the Golden Age of Fraternalism. In September 1881 Berndt first proposed making an American version of Bandel's Hermann monument at the fifteenth national convention of the Sons of Hermann. Many cities were debated as the host city of the monument including both Milwaukee and St. Paul, both of which had large German populations. New Ulm was ultimately chosen however, as the city was the epitome of deutschtum or "Germanness" in the United States.

Berndt eventually advertised the project nationwide on a campaign to raise money from 1881-1888. The cornerstone for the monument was eventually laid in June 1888. Berndt's Hermann sculpture was contracted by the W. H. Mullins Manufacturing Company of Salem, Ohio which was created by Alfonso Pelzer, a German sculptor. The monument is made of a variety of materials including Kasota limestone, red brick, marble and iron. The Hermann monument stands at 102 feet (31.08 meters), making Berndt's Hermann the third tallest copper statue in the United States following Portlandia and the Statue of Liberty. The copper statue itself stands on a 70 ft (21 m) iron column encircled by a spiral staircase to the cupola, which is supported by 10 iron columns and a Kasota limestone base.

Berndt's monument was completed in 1897 and was unveiled to the public on Sunday September 26, 1897 to a crowd of several thousand people. So many patrons turned out to see the monument that New Ulm was described as the "German Mecca" by the New Ulm Review. The monument underwent several renovations throughout the years including spot repairs, reinforcement of the metal sculpture, and water leaks among others.

Personal life Berndt married Wilhelmina "Mina" Kiesling (1844-1933) whose family was from the Kingdom of Saxony and were among the first of the people to settle New Ulm.

Later life Berndt's later work includes a variety of parade triumphal arches and ice palaces among other projects in New Ulm. Berndt died on July 13, 1916 in New Ulm at the age of 84. His funeral rites were conducted by the Sons of Hermann. The Brown County Courthouse (Minnesota).