Berndt was born on March 18, 1832 in Heinrichau, Province of Silesia, then part of Prussia, to Johann and Josepha (Kottvitz) Berndt.[1][2] 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.[1][2] Johann would eventually die from cholera during the 1846–1860 cholera pandemic.[1][2]
Berndt was elected as the first surveyor of Brown County and became a general contractor for the city from 1857 until his retirement in 1899. During the Dakota War of 1862 Berndt was elected as one of the Provost Marshals for the city and was later appointed as a Lieutenant of the Brown County militia's light artillery battery under the command of the 22nd Infantry Regiment.[1]
Architectural career
The first New Ulm Turner Hall c.1857
New Ulm's First Turner Hall
Berndt began his career as a building contractor and architect in New Ulm by drafting and building the first Turner Hall in 1857 which was later burned during the Battles of New Ulm during the Dakota War of 1862.[3]
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.[4] 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".[4] Berndt was later contracted in 1873 to make a larger courthouse, this time at the cost of $10,000.[4] Berndt's final 1889-1891 courthouse was inspired by German Renaissance Revival architecture and was built at the cost of $12,855. It still stands today at 14 South State Street.[4][5] Local contractor Henry Hanschen provided the excavation for $6,740 and Adolph Casimir Ochs constructed the basement for $6,565.[5]
Lady Justice on the Brown County Courthouse in New Ulm, Minnesota.The original Minnesota Haus Hotel, or Union Hotel, which was owned by Phillip H. Gross. The building was later destroyed by a fire on July 5, 1875.The Grand Hotel in New Ulm, built by Berndt in 1876.
New Ulm's Grand Hotel
In 1876 Berndt constructed the Union Hotel, later called the Grand Hotel, in New Ulm's historic business district. The building was once the site of the Minnesota Haus, the only room and board available in New Ulm until 1875 when it was burned in a fire.[6] 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.[6] The Grand Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 1990 and is listed as a culturally significant property to both the city of New Ulm and Brown County.[6]
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.[2][13] 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.[14] 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.[15] Pelzer eventually completed the copper sculpture in 1889. According to the monuments official website:
"The statue was shipped to New Ulm in pieces on a rail gondola in July 1889. However, financial problems hindered completion of the base and the statue was stored in a shed for many years".[15]
The monument is made of a variety of materials including Kasota limestone, red brick, marble and iron.[16] 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.[12][17] The copper statue itself stands on a 70ft (21 m) iron column encircled by a spiral staircase to the cupola, which is supported by 10 iron columns and a Kasota limestone base.[16][18]
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.[19] The monument underwent several renovations throughout the years including spot repairs, reinforcement of the metal sculpture, and water leaks among others.[15]
The Hermann Heights Monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 2, 1973 and is listed as a culturally significant monument to both the city of New Ulm and Brown County, as well as German Americans. In 2000 the 106th United States Congress recognized Berndt's monument as a culturally significant symbol to the contributions of Germans in the United States.[20]
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.[1] In total the Berndt's had 12 children, 7 boys and 5 girls. One of Berndt's daughters, Sophia "Sophie" Berndt, would marry William Pfaender Jr., the son of William Pfaender. Another one of Berndt's daughters, Ida Berndt, married the famous artist Anton Gag but would die at the young age of 23.[1]
Berndt was a very active member in the New Ulm community. He was an original member of the local Turner Hall, the Sons of Hermann, and local Freemason lodge where he held the rank of Tyler.[21]
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.[21]
Notable works
Several of Berndt's works can still be seen in New Ulm, Minnesota including:
The First New Ulm Turner Hall (destroyed by fire during the Battles of New Ulm).
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