RY, Simon Louis du
(b. 1726, Kassel, d. 1799, Kassel)

Biography

German architect. He was from a French refugee family of architects, who after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV had to leave France and went to Hesse under Landgrave Charles. He was the son of the Huguenot architect Charles Louis du Ry (1692-1757) and grandson of Paul du Ry of Kassel (1640-1714).

After studying in Stockholm, Sweden and educational trips to France and Italy he returned to his native Kassel, and became chief architect on the court after the death of his father.

Under Frederick of Hesse he was responsible for the transformation of the old and partly destroyed town of Kassel into a modern capital. The Königsplatz and the Friedrichsplatz remain the main squares in Kassel. Among his main works in Kassel are the opera house (1770), the Museum Fredericianum (1769-77), and the Schloss Wilhelmshöhe (1786-99).