Carl Fieger (1893–1960) was a German architect, designer, and teacher at the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

Life

Early life

Carl Fieger was born in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

on 15 June 1893. Beginning in 1908, Fieger studied at the Mainz Art and Vocational School (). After completing his studies in 1911, he worked at the studio of

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading Germany, German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG turbine factory, AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, desi ...

where he became acquainted with

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

and

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

. In 1912, Fieger began working for

, with whom he would collaborate until 1934. Among the designs Fieger was involved with at Gropius' studio were the

Fagus Factory The Fagus Factory ( German: ''Fagus Fabrik'' or ''Fagus Werk''), a shoe last factory in Alfeld on the Leine, Lower Saxony, Germany, is an important example of early modern architecture. Commissioned by owner Carl Benscheidt who wanted a radical ...

(1922) and

Bauhaus Building The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 2009), , pp. 64� ...

(1925). In 1921, Gropius appointed Fieger as a teacher of

architectural drawing An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building (or building project) that falls within the definition of architecture. Architectural drawings are used by architects and others for a number of purposes: to deve ...

at the Bauhaus, Weimar. In 1929, Fieger submitted his design for an architectural contest by the city of Dessau and the Schultheiss-Patzenhofer for a restaurant located on the

Elbe River The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Germany and flo ...

in Dessau. His design was selected and the restaurant, the Kornhaus, was completed in 1930. In 1934, Fieger was

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

by the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, though he continued to produce architectural work anonymously.

Das Kornhaus

Carl Fieger had been working with Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius since 1921 and followed him to

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

. In March 1929, the city of Dessau and the Schultheiss-Patzenhofer brewery announced a competition to design a restaurant on the Elbe. Although Fieger did not originally win the competition, his design was eventually selected likely due to economic reasons. The name comes from an 18th century

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

which once stood at the site ("Kornhaus" means granary in German) and there was also a restaurant called "Kornhaus" which once occupied the site, utilizing the old granary structures. The original granary was built in 1781 under Leopold I of Anhalt Dessau and stood five stories and was demolished in the early 1800s. The granary and original restaurant were demolished so new construction plans could begin. The Kornhaus is notable for being the only Bauhaus building constructed along a waterfront. It was intentionally built to resemble the

steamships A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

which would have been a common sight on the Elbe especially since it was located near a steamship pier. The restaurant is two-stories with the first floor holding a beer hall and the second floor featuring the kitchen, restaurant seating, a dance hall, a stage, and a large terrace which faces the river. The dance hall and seating flank the central kitchen. One of the most recognizable elements of the Kornhaus is the semi-circular room encased in glass which gives visitors a good view of the Elbe. The large windows are a notable aspect of Bauhaus design and the curves are sculptural curves of the design are also a signature element of Fieger's designs. This room was originally designed as an open balcony before it was later decided to enclose it in glass. The white color of the buildings with the blue and red accents are meant to invoke a maritime feeling. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the restaurant was used as a temporary hospital. Starting in the 1950s, and throughout the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

period, it was run by the

Handelsorganisation The Handelsorganisation (“Trading Organisation”, or HO) was a national retail business owned by the central administration of the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany and from 1949 on by the state of the German Democratic Republic. It was crea ...

and was renovated on different occasions until 1996 when it was renovated with the purpose of protecting its historical significance. It reopened again in 2012 and being run by Kornhaus Betreiber GmbH with cooperation from the city of Dessau. The renovations in 2012 worked to restore the interior of the building to how it was originally when it opened and according to Fieger's plans. It remains open as a restaurant today.

Postwar

Following World War II Fieger participated in the rebuilding of Dessau and was involved in Hubert Hoffmann's efforts to reopen the Bauhaus. In 1952, he began working as a research fellow at Deutsche Bauakademie in East Berlin. Carl Fieger died on 21 November 1960 in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

at age 67.

Gallery

File:Dessau-Roßlau,Haus Fieger.JPG, Haus Fieger in Dessau (1926) File:Carl Fieger Stuhl mit Tisch.jpg, Fieger Chair and Table (1928) File:Kornhaus Dessau, Straßenseite.jpg, Kornhaus,

(1929) File:Frontseite des Kornhauses in Dessau, 2019.jpg, The front of the Kornhaus File:Das Kornhaus in Dessau - Blick in den Tanzsaal.jpg, Inside the Kornhaus

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fieger, Carl Academic staff of the Bauhaus 20th-century German architects 1893 births 1960 deaths Modernist architects from Germany People from Mainz