Wenceslas Citizen

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Wenzel Bürger (born September 27, 1869 in Gabel , † April 25, 1946 in Hochweitzschen near Döbeln ) was an architect who lived and worked in Chemnitz from 1893 . The typical stylistic development from historicism to the beginning of modernism can be seen in his wide-ranging work, which includes a wide variety of building tasks. Many of his early buildings are part of the recognized architectural heritage of the city of Chemnitz.

Life

Wenzel Bürger was born in the Bohemian town of Gabel in 1869 as the son of a master bricklayer. He probably completed his architecture studies in Berlin. In 1893, Bürger began his professional activity in Chemnitz, initially opening a “Atelier for Architecture” in the house at Zwickauer Strasse 75. Later he moved his office to the ground floor of his own house in the street Stollberger 19 times he was with from Vienna coming architect Karl Johann Benirschke (1877-1941) associated .

In the spring of 1897, Wenzel Bürger won first prize in the architecture competition for the Chemnitz synagogue , in which 78 architects took part. The synagogue was built under his construction management until March 1899 in the neo-Romanesque style. In May 1897 he married Hulda born in Dresden. Vespers, two children emerged from this union.

In the years up to the First World War, a series of representative buildings resembling castles were built, partly in collaboration with Benirschke, initially in the national romantic style, later in a moderate Art Nouveau style . Strongly structured facades, galleries, stair towers and tower-like bay windows were typical of the buildings.

An interesting contribution by citizens to Chemnitz's building history has also been preserved in the field of school construction, for example the three-storey building of the then 2nd Catholic Citizens School on the Sonnenberg can be traced back to its design submitted in 1902. The construction time for this Art Nouveau building, which was one of the most modern new school buildings in Germany at the time, was less than a year. The traditional school building has housed the Evangelical School Center since 1999 . At the same time he designed a new school building in Einsiedel (today a district of Chemnitz).

Together with Benirschke, Bürger built the new factory building for the Becker brothers, founded in 1883, on Annaberger Strasse; this monumental building was later transferred to Schubert & Salzer AG and was largely destroyed in the heavy air raids in spring 1945. A factory building for Pöge Elektrizitäts-AG in the Altchemnitz district, built by Bürger in 1918, has also not been preserved .

The new office building of the publishing house of the newspaper “Chemnitzer Latest News” on Annaberger Straße, which was inaugurated on July 1, 1908, was built with the collaboration of the Dresden architect Rudolf Bitzan (1872–1938). A few years later, the Art Nouveau building of the Metropol Theater on Zwickauer Strasse was built according to Bürger's design. He had already gained experience with building a theater in 1909 when he took part in the competition for the German Theater in Dorpat (today: Tartu , Estonia).

Various mansions designed and built by the bourgeoisie have also been preserved. The Villa Am Feldschlösschen in Chemnitz-Kappel, built in 1906 and stylistically attributed to Art Nouveau, was freestanding in an elevated position on a 3000 square meter property and served as the residence of the director of the nearby brewery until 1945. In collaboration with Benirschke, Wenzel Bürger built a villa in Parkstrasse 13 in 1907 for the foundry owner Gustav Krautheim. In 1909 the Villa Hempel (today Villa Oscar Freiherr von Kohorn zu Kornegg ) at Parkstrasse 35 and the Villa Riemann at Dietzelstrasse 25 (today Hofer Strasse) were completed.

Far outside the Chemnitz region, an imposing savings and post office building was built in 1906–1907 based on a winning competition design by Wenzel Bürger in Kufstein (Tyrol, Austria).

In addition to his professional activity, Bürger also developed a far-sighted concept for relieving inner-city traffic, which was published in a supplement to the Chemnitzer Anzeiger on December 13, 1925 under the title "A bold plan - The relief of the inner city".

After the destruction of his house on the Kapellenberg on March 5, 1945, Wenzel Bürger moved to Döbeln, where his daughter lived. He died on April 25, 1946 in the Hochweitzschen sanatorium.

Buildings and designs

(incomplete)

  • 1897–1899: Synagogue in Chemnitz, Stephanplatz (after winning the competition; set on fire in the pogrom night of November 9/10, 1938 and later demolished)
  • 1903–1904: 2nd Catholic Citizens School in Chemnitz, Amalienstraße (today Tschaikowskistraße) 49 (restored in 1999)
  • 1904: Competition design for the city theater in Gablonz (awarded 2nd prize, not executed)
  • 1904: German secondary school in Teplice (today Teplice grammar school)
  • Competition design 1904, execution 1906–1907: Post office and savings bank in Kufstein (with Benirschke)
  • 1907: House for the manufacturer Gustav Krautheim in Chemnitz, Parkstrasse 13 (with Benirschke) (destroyed in 1945)
  • 1907–1908: Director's villa Am Feldschlösschen in Chemnitz-Kappel (restored in 1996, today Villa Hueber)
  • before 1908: Building of the Becker brothers glove factory in Chemnitz, Annaberger Strasse 77 (with Benirschke) (largely destroyed in 1945)
  • 1908: Publishing house of the "Chemnitzer Neuesten Nachrichten" in Chemnitz, Annaberger Strasse 24 (with Bitzan) (changed; today "Weltecho")
  • 1909: House for the manufacturer Hempel in Chemnitz, Parkstrasse 35 (from 1918 Villa Kohorn, restored 2004–2007)
  • 1909: House for the manufacturer Riemann in Chemnitz, Dietzelstrasse (today Hofer Strasse) 25 (with Benirschke)
  • 1912–1913: “Metropol-Lichtspiele” cinema in Chemnitz, Zwickauer Straße 11
  • 1918: Factory building for the auxiliary equipment factory of Pöge Elektricitäts-AG in Chemnitz-Altchemnitz (largely destroyed in 1945)
  • 1920: Competition draft for the design of the front sides of the market square and wood market in Chemnitz (purchased)

literature

  • Birgit Schubert: Citizen, Wenzel. In: From Alberti to Zöppel. 125 biographies on Chemnitz's history. (= From the Chemnitz City Archives , volume 4.) Radebeul 2000, p. 23.
  • W. Paede (preface): W. Bürger. Atelier for architecture Chemnitz. Ernst R. Laurig Verlagsanstalt, Berlin undated (around 1915). (= Special edition of the illustrated monthly books for house construction, apartment art, applied arts and related areas .)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Old Synagogue Chemnitz on the website www.historisches-chemnitz.de , last accessed on December 31, 2011
  2. ^ Deutsche Bauzeitung , Volume 38, 1904, No. 26 (of March 30, 1904), p. 160.
  3. ↑ Gymnasium Teplice (accessed on August 23, 2018)
  4. ↑ Website of the Metropol cinema in Chemnitz  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on December 31, 2011@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.kinoton.de  
  5. ↑ Deutsche Bauzeitung , Volume 54, 1920, No. 64 (from August 11, 1920), p. 328.
personal data
SURNAME Citizen, Wenceslaus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German architect
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Jablonné v Podještědí , Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH April 25, 1946
Place of death Hochweitzschen near Döbeln, Saxony