Max Berg (17 April 1870 – 22 January 1947) was a German
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
urban planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...
.
Biography
Berg was born in Stettin (now
Szczecin, Poland) in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
, then part of the
German Empire. He attended the
Technical University in Charlottenburg, where he was taught by
Carl Schäfer who favoured
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
. Berg was also taught by
Franz Adickes (1846–1915), an important urban planner.
In 1909 Berg was appointed senior building official in Breslau (now
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
, Poland), in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. His most notable contribution to architecture is the Jahrhunderthalle (
Centennial Hall Centennial Hall (german: Jahrhunderthalle) may refer to:
in Canada
* Centennial Hall (London, Ontario), London, Ontario, Canada
* Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
* Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, former name of TCU Place
in ...
) built between 1911 and 1913 as part of a series of works commemorating the 100th anniversary of the
1813 War of Liberation against
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
.
The Hall, an important early landmark of European reinforced concrete buildings, survived World War II, and in 2006 was designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
.
Other works in
Breslau (Wrocław) include the market hall (a huge concrete structure of elliptical arches, but appearing more traditional externally) and a large office building on the SW corner of the
Main Market Square.
In 1925, the year he retired from his architectural career for Christian mysticism, Berg moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and then to
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...
, where he died in 1947, aged 76.
See also
*
References
Literature
* Iwona Bińkowska, Marzena Smolak: ''Nieznany portret miasta.'' Wrocław 1997.
* Jerzy Ilkosz, Beate Störtkuhl (Hrsg.): ''Wieżowce Wrocławia 1919-1932.'' Wrocław 1997, .
* Jerzy Ilkosz: ''Die Jahrhunderthalle und das Ausstellungsgelände in Breslau. Das Werk Max Bergs.'' München 2006, .
* Otto Schubert: ''Berg, Max Paul Eduard.'' In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (NDB). Band 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, , S. 75 f. (Digitalisat).
* Eckhard Wendt: ''Stettiner Lebensbilder'' (= ''Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Pommern.'' Reihe V, Band 40). Böhlau, Köln/Weimar/Wien 2004, , S. 56–57.
External links
*
**
biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Max
1870 births
1947 deaths
People from Szczecin
19th-century German architects
Concrete pioneers
People from the Province of Pomerania
Technical University of Berlin alumni
20th-century German architects