Packh, János

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Packh, János (1796–1839). Hungarian Neo-Classical architect, trained in Vienna. He assisted his uncle, Pál or Paul von Kühnel (d. 1824), in the design and erection of the monumental Cathedral of St Adalbert, Esztergom. Packh was responsible for the crypt (1823), and after his uncle's death he took over as sole architect to oversee the building of the greatest architectural project within the Habsburg domains at the time. The Cathedral was completed (1840–56) by József Hild, and has a vast polychrome dome and a huge portico. Among Packh's other designs may be cited the Church of St Anne, Esztergom (1828–31—a rotunda with a Doric portico), the additions (tower of 1828–32) and extension to the Library (1833–6) at the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma, and his unrealized proposals for Eger Cathedral (1829), again Neo-Classical, should be cited.

Bibliography

W. Papworth (1852);
Jane Turner (1996)