Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves

The later Oberhofbaudirektor Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves was born on 17 December 1788 as the son of a pastor in Uslar. He studied at the Kassel Art Academy and in Göttingen and in 1809 became a builder under his uncle Heinrich Christoph Jussow in Kassel.

In 1814 he was appointed court building administrator in Hanover. His most important buildings include the Porticus of the Leineschloss, the Wangenheim Palace, the Opera House, the Mausoleum and the Library Pavilion in Herrenhausen as well as the Waterloo Column. Even more decisive for Hanover's future, however, were Laves' plans for the streets in and around Hanover's city centre.

Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves died on 30 April 1864 in his home on Friedrichswall and rests in a grave of honour in the Engesohde city cemetery.