The Marian column is currently covered with fences. She is being restored. Among others, by Katharina Höll, 22, journeyman stonemason at the Munich company Pfanner. Höll is standing by the column with pliers and paperclip-thick wire in his hand and explains what needs to be done and why.
Ms. Höll, what are you actually doing at the Marian column?
Katharina Höll: We are currently doing the reinforcements in the places where old additions to the stone have broken out.
What is armor?
It’s like a house, where steel rods are placed on the concrete. Kind of like a skeleton. Together they are the most stable. We use stainless steel because it doesn’t rust.
You just twist the wire into little lace eyelets, what do you do with them?
They are placed in drill holes and then another wire is pulled through the eyelets. This is the framework, and you can then model the additions over it and around it.
The stone is sanded down carefully and gently.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
What is this material at the foot of the pillar?
Stone is not just stone. This is Adnet marble.
Oh, marble.
Yes, but you have to be a bit careful with the term marble. Basically, this is a limestone.
But marble sounds a lot better.
Yes, but that also has a little to do with the story. Marble is basically a metamorphic rock, one of many rock types. Each type of rock was formed differently, sandstone, limestone or granite rock for example. Marble, especially of course the famous Carrara marble from the Italian region, has always been so popular because it is partly completely white. And that was desired. But there is also black marble.
The stonemasons add loose or missing parts to the base.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
You don’t seem that confident in marble.
(laughs) When you work with stone, you realize: It’s stupid to look after because it pulls in everything. It really sucks. And fashion changes too.
Namely how?
Today marbling is very fashionable, or inclusions. In the past people wanted their stone to be even and equal, today they would like to have ammonites, i.e. a snail, or a thunderbolt in it.
The red Adneter here on the pillar has no snails, you’ll beautify him now.
Exactly. In places where rock has already flaked off and been added, we try to make them beautiful and harmonious again, in terms of color and structure.
The weather and the change in temperature bother the marble.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
Why is something cracking?
This is a completely normal process when rock is exposed to the weather and temperature fluctuations for decades. Like last week, for example, first there was still snow, then 20 degrees, the stone contracts and expands again.
And burst off and fall down?
No, this is extremely slow. We see when something like this happens and fix it. We then make the whole thing beautiful again.
What about exhaust fumes? Which hardly ever exist here.
That actually works, they are deposited on the surface and you can polish them off.
There are some yellow areas on the pillar. What is that?
These are also additions, but with a kind of plastic, the color does not exactly match. We consider the best mixture for our application, in terms of color and physical properties, and these mineral mixtures can also be patinated more easily, i.e. the color can be adjusted with dabbed pigments.
How long will it take to restore the column to its former glory?
Before Easter we will be ready at the latest, also depends on the weather.
In such works, do you also know exactly which figure is representing whom?
Honestly no (laughs). On top of that is Maria. But we have nothing to do with the bronze figure or figures, the metal restorers are responsible for that. But we look closely at the writings of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. and her visits to Munich. We will also renew and adjust the font.
The writings on the foundation are traced. This one commemorates the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. in 2006.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
So you make additions, what else?
Put. They have to be renewed regularly, from a different material than for the supplements, of course. They are also there to ensure that the whole thing has play, so they are more elastic. And at the end there is waxing.
waxed?
Wax is let into the stone, so it’s an advantage that the stone is so absorbent. After the final polish, the red marble regains its bright color.
Do you also do static repairs?
There are already quite a few cracks in one corner, which will be made optically nice again, but also fixed with screws in such a way that they will last for a few decades again.
How physically demanding is this work?
We still learn everything manually, with a hammer and chisel. But today you do a lot with machines, for example a bevel, i.e. a bevel, which is cut with the Flex. It’s much faster.
Was there also graffiti on the pillar when you inspected it?
No, but of course lots of chewing gum (laughs). Although that’s not so bad, they don’t damage the stone.
Exactly how long does the cosmetic surgery last on the column?
40 years would be nice.