Johannbau

At its time, the Johannbau was one of the first and most important castle buildings of the early German Renaissance. One of its characteristic features was the round-arched gable. Such round arched gables, also called “Welsche gables”, are among the “trademarks” of the early Renaissance; In central Germany they first appeared on castle buildings in 1524 at Hinterglauchau Castle. The gables on the Johannbau are structured by cornices and pilasters. Windows originally illuminated two attic floors. Quarter circle arches close the recessed corners. The upper end of the gable is formed by three-quarter circle arches in which there are small round inlets made of sandstone. The sandstone arches of the gables are accompanied by lily tracery friezes, which can also be found on St. Mary's Church in Dessau. Balls that were originally gilded are placed on the gable arches. The round arched gables are attributed to Ludwig Binder. Their spheres, pilasters, cornices and plaster lily friezes are considered typical features of Binder's work.A special feature are the serially prefabricated terracotta pieces with which the pilasters of the gable are filled. The narrow bas-reliefs each show a baluster column above a rosette of leaves, above which is a dolphin-like structure and various vegetable ornaments. Winged putti in different poses decorate the pilaster bases. Decorative elements made of terracotta, cast serially in models, became widespread in castle buildings in central Germany from around 1528. Wing C of Torgau Castle, built from 1533, also has terracotta pilasters.
Source verwaltung.dessau-rosslau.de/kultur-tourismus/museum-fuer-stadtgeschichte/der-johannbau.html

The Johannbau was built between 1528 and 1533 on the remains of a previous medieval building as the west wing of the former residential palace of the princes and dukes of Anhalt-Dessau. The builder was Prince Johann IV of Anhalt (1504 - 1551) with his younger brothers Georg III. and Joachim.For a long time, Ludwig Binder (1512 - 1556), who probably came from Halle and was proven to have worked as a stonemason for the princes in Anhalt between 1531 and 1554, was considered the master builder of the Johannbau. His stonemason's mark was in six prominent places in and on the stair tower of this building; three of them can still be discovered today. Today we know that Ludwig Binder was only 16 years old when construction began, so he was still too young to be the sole builder. According to the latest research, it is assumed that the Johannbau was a joint work between Bastian Binder and his son(?) Ludwig. Bastian Binder was, among other things, an archbishop's master builder and foreman in the service of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg. According to evidence, he also stayed in Dessau several times in 1531/32. However, his stonemason's mark is missing from the Johannbau.In 1998, during restoration work in the base of the stair tower, a sandstone relief of a man's head, dating from around 1530, was found, which is marked on the left and right with the initials B (?) and B. This may be the first time we are dealing with a portrait of the master builder Bastian Binder.
Source verwaltung.dessau-rosslau.de/kultur-tourismus/museum-fuer-stadtgeschichte/der-johannbau.html