JUAN DE COLONIA
(b. ca. 1410, Köln, d. 1481, Burgos)

Biography

Juan de Colonia or Johannes (Hans) von Köln, German architect active in Spain. About 1440, he was invited by Alfonso de Cartagena, then bishop of Burgos, to work on Burgos Cathedral. He also worked on the reconstruction of Miraflores Charterhouse.

While working in Burgos Juan got married to a local woman María Fernández and inaugurated a whole dynasty of artists who brought German features with them. Johannes himself was the creator of the pierced steeple in Burgos, which closely follows predecessors in Ulm and Esslingen and later became a model for other Spanish steeples.

After his death his son Simon de Colonia succeeded him as master builder of Burgos Cathedral.