Clemens Holzmeister (1886-1983) 1937 Otto Skall

Clemens Holzmeister (27 March 1886 – 12 June 1983) was a prominent

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n architect and stage designer of the early twentieth century. The Austrian Academy of Fine Arts listed his life's work as containing 673 projects. He was the father of

Judith Holzmeister Judith Maria Holzmeister (14 February 1920 – 23 June 2008) was an Austrian actress. Her performances included ''Kunigunde'' opposite Ewald Balser in Franz Grillparzer's ''König Ottokars Glück und Ende'' at the reopening of the famed Vienna ...

Biography

Holzmeister was born in the village of

Fulpmes Fulpmes is a market town and a municipality in Stubaital, Tyrol, Austria. In 2015 it had a population of 4,250, of whom 14.5% did not have Austrian nationality. Fulpmes is the center of iron production in the area, and lies at the base of the Sch ...

in the

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

state of

. He married with Judith Bridarolli in 1913 in Innsbruck. In 1914 His son Guido was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He attended the

Vienna University of Technology TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...

and earned a doctorate in architecture in 1919. His daughter

was born in Innsbruck in 1920. After submitting a prize-winning design, he became the Head of the Architecture Department of Austria's Academy of Fine Arts in 1924. In 1926 he oversaw the remodelling of the Festival Theatre in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, then spent several years erecting government buildings in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. In 1931 Holzmeister became the Director of the Austrian Academy of Fine Arts. Besides building projects in Austria, Germany and Turkey, he remained the Director of the Academy until being removed from this post during the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

by the new

German government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...

in 1938. Although his offices, journals and papers were seized by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

, he had the good luck to be in

on another commission at the time; during which he designed the former

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

building (1938) as well as numerous other state buildings. He remained in Turkey until 1954, then returned to Austria, where his 1950s commissions include the

Großes Festspielhaus The ''Großes Festspielhaus'' (Large Festival House), in its current form, was designed by architect Clemens Holzmeister in 1956 for the Salzburg Festival in Austria. It was inaugurated on 26 July 1960 with a performance of Richard Strauss' ''D ...

. His body of work includes a large number of public and semi-public buildings and churches. He developed a new interpretation of local building traditions between simplicity and expressiveness. He also built monuments and scenery. Holzmeister repeatedly worked as a stage designer beginning in the 1930s in collaboration with

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...

for whom he created the ''Faust-City'' for the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

. In the 1950s Holzmeister returned to stage design and again worked for the Salzburg Festival ('' Don Giovanni'') as well as the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

(''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

'', 1955, for the opening of the renovated State Opera) and the Burgtheater. Holzmeister's stage designs always respected the requirements of stage productions but never concealed the architectonic background of their creator. Petersfriedhof Salzburg - Grave of Clemens Holzmeister 1 - DSC01436

Petersfriedhof Salzburg - Grave of Clemens Holzmeister 1 - DSC01436

He is buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in

Honours and awards

Grand Austrian State Prize The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

for Architecture (June, 1953) * Honorary Ring of Vienna (1955) *

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian ...

(1957) * Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria (1981) *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey The Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Liyakat Nişanı) is awarded by the President of Turkey with approval of the Prime Minister upon the proposal of the relevant members of the Cabinet considering the opinion ...

(1990)

Works

Sacred Buildings * Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Batschuns (1921-1923) * Kloster Maria Hilf with the retreat house of the

Missionaries of the Precious Blood The Missionaries of the Precious Blood ( la, Congregatio Missionariorum Pretiosissimi Sanguinis) is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. The Missionaries of the Precious Bl ...

in Kufstein (1923, 1928) *Extensions of the parish church of Obergurgl in the municipality of Sölden (1924, 1966) *Parish Mariahilf (Heldendankkirche) in Bregenz (1925-1931), Vorarlberg *Parish church Crimea in Vienna Dobling (1931/32) *Reconstruction and extension of the parish church Dornbach in Vienna Hernals (1931/32) *Reconstruction and extension of the parish church of St. Anton am Arlberg (1932) *Filialkirche Erlöserkirche in Wiener Neustadt; Reconstruction of a factory building to the Church (1932)
Seipel-Dollfuss Memorial Church
(now Christ the King Church) Neufünfhaus in Vienna (1933/34) *Parish Church of St. Erhard, Mauer (Vienna) (1934–36) *Christ Evangelical Church in Kitzbühel (1962) *Parish Church of All Saints -St. George, Hoetting, Innsbruck (completed in 1964) *Parish

Pertisau Pertisau is a small village on the Achensee Lake in the Tyrol region of Austria. Pertisau is in the Schwaz (district). It is located in the Karwendel Alpine Park, one of the oldest, cross-border, protected areas of the Eastern Alps. The town was ...

, Tirol (1966-1970) *Parish Don Bosco (Großfeldsiedlung) in Vienna Floridsdorf (1971 built) *Guardian Angel Chapel (Schutzengel-Kapelle) in the Schlickeralm in the municipality of Telfes *Parish Erpfendorf, Tirol *Parish Bruckhäusl in Wörgl, Tirol *Christ the King Church in Gloggnitz *Mortuary Grafstein (Carinthia) (1965) *Church of St. Stephan in Gmünd (Lower Austria), 1981-1982 Expansion *Parish church in Zwölfaxing (1966-1967) *Filialkirche Holzhausen, community Sankt Georgen bei Salzburg, 1985 Extension Civil Buildings *Elementary school in Marbach an der Donau (debut) * Feuerhalle Simmering in Vienna (1921–22) *Sanatorium Mehrerau in Bregenz (1922-1923) *Hotel Steinbock in Steinach am Brenner (built in 1923; demolished 1986) *Council Blathof in Vienna (1924-1925) *Hotel Post in St. Anton am Arlberg (1927/28) *Th
Berghaus on the Hahnenkamm
Kitzbühel (1929/30) *Cardinal Piffl dormitory of Akademikerhilfe in Vienna (1931/32) *New spa / therapy center in Bad Ischl (1932, today: Euro Therme Bad Ischl ) *2 houses in the Werkbundsiedlung Vienna (1932) *Memorial at Fuschertörl, Grossglockner High Alpine Road (1933) *Broadcasting House Argentinierstraße in Vienna (1935–39) *Festspielhaus in Salzburg (1 reconstruction in 1926; 2 reconstruction 1936/38) *State Theatre in Linz (1953-1958) *Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg (1955-1960) *Schülerheim Don Bosco in Fulpmes *Leopold Figl waiting on Tulbingerkogel Lower Austria (1966–67; opened in 1968) *Elementary school Grafstein (Carinthia) (1969/71) *Elementary school Jenbach, Tirol *Cultural Hall at the elementary school Himmelberg, Carinthia (1978/80) *Andreas Hofer monument in Vienna-Wieden on Südtirolerplatz (design, executed by Jacob Adlhart) Germany Sacred Buildings *Parish Church of St. Mary of the Assumption, Mary Green, Blankenese, 1929–30 *St. Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin, expressionist remodeling of the interior of the episcopal church, (destroyed in war) *Parish Church of St. Peter, Mönchengladbach -Waldhausen, 1933 *Church of St. Adalbert, Berlin-Mitte, 1933 *Parish Church of St. Agatha, Merchingen *Catholic parish church of St. Martin, Nuremberg, 1934-1935, reconstruction after the planned by Rolf Behringer 1946-1948 *Christ the King Church in Kleve (1934), (destroyed in war in 1944) *

St. Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

, Brotdorf *Franciscan monastery, Hermes wedge *Reconstruction in the Romanesque church of St. Georg (Cologne) *Parish Church in Augsburg-Hochzoll, 1964–66 Civil Buildings * Schlageter National Monument, Dusseldorf-Golzheim, 1931 Italy *Hotel Drei Zinnen, Sexten, 1929-1931 *Hotel Adler, St. Ortisei, 1926 *Villa Dr. Runggaldier, Ortisei, 1926 *Villa Pretz, Bolzano, 1926-1928 *Settlement Klösterlegrund, Bolzano, 1925 *Reconstruction of the parish church of San Vigilio, Untermais, Merano Turkey *Ministry of Defence 1928 *The Office of Commander in Chief 1929-1930 *Ankara Officers’ Club 1930-1933 *War Academy 1930-1935 *Çankaya Mansion 1931-1932 *Central Bank 1931-1933 *Ministry of Interior 1932-1934 *Court of Appeal 1933-1934 * Property Credit Bank 1933-1934 *Embassy of Austria 1935-1936 *Turkish Grand National Assembly 1938-1960

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holzmeister, Clemens 1886 births 1983 deaths People from Innsbruck-Land District Austrian architects TU Wien alumni Istanbul Technical University faculty Academics of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize Austrian expatriates in Turkey Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey