BURGHAUSEN, Hans von - b. ~1355 Burghausen, d. 1432 Landshut

German architect, also known as Hanns Purghauser. In the past, he has been incorrectly called Hans Stethaimer or Hans Stethaimer the Elder. He is considered the most important architect of the German-speaking area in the late 14th and the early 15th centuries, and the founder of the tradition of Late Gothic hall churches in southern Germany that lasted for more than a century.

Nothing is known about his origin and apprenticeship, not even when he settled in Landshut. The places of his activities were Landshut (Martinskirche and the hospital with the hospital church), Salzburg (Franciscan church), Ötting (parish church of St. Nicholas), Straubing (Basilica of St. Jacob and the Carmelite Church and the associated monastery) and Wasserburg (parish church St. Jakob).

His nephew was the painter and architect Hans Stethaimer the Younger (c. 1400-c. 1460).

Interior view

In the main parish church in Salzburg, a cylindrical column was placed in the middle of the polygonal choir space. This allows several vault elements to converge on the column but blocks the view of the axis window. This changes the perception of the space greatly. Burghausen applied the same solution in the hospital church in Landshut.