Ludwig Christian Friedrich (von) Förster (8 October 1797 – 16 June 1863) was a German-born Austrian architect. While he was not Jewish, he is known for building Jewish synagogues and churches. Ludwig Förster studied in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He founded the '' Allgemeine Bauzeitung'' in 1836. From 1842 to 1845 he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and influenced a generation of Viennese architects through his architectural studio. From 1839/40 he worked as a freelance architect, Otto Wagner, among others, was a member of his studio. 1846–52 Förster worked with his son-in-law Theophil Freiherr von Hansen. He contributed to the

Ringstraße The Ringstrasse or Ringstraße (pronounced Help:IPA/Standard German, �ɪŋˌʃtʁaːsə:File:De-Ringstraße.ogg, ⓘ, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic city centre, ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

-educated Ignaz Wechselmann became his friend and assistant. Förster superintended the construction of the

Dohány Street Synagogue The Dohány Street Synagogue ( ; ; ), also known as the Great Synagogue () or Tabakgasse Synagogue (), is a Neolog Judaism, Neolog Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Dohány utca, Dohány Street in Erzsébetváros (VIIth dis ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, which along with the Leopoldstädter Tempel and the Synagogue of Miskolc is his most important work. Forster and Hansen designed the structure — the largest synagogue in Europe — based on

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

style as shown features such as the polychromic building with onion domes and arched gates. 1861–63 he was a member of the Viennese city council (''Gemeinderat'').'' Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels-'' Band III, Band 61 der Gesamtreihe, Limburg an der Lahn 1975, S. 317. Förster's sons, Heinrich and Emil, were also architects. The latter worked for his father and then for the government, completing the renovation of the Hofburg and Burgtheater.

Notable works

* Theater Reduta, Bürgerhäuser,

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

(1831) * Evangelische Kirche

Gumpendorf Mariahilf (; ; "Mary's help") is the 6th municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna, Austria (). It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850. Mariahilf is a heavily populated urban area with many residential bui ...

(1849) * Villa Pereira, Königstetten (1849) *

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

(1849-1856) * Maria-Hilf-Kirche,

(1854) *

(1854-1859) * Augarten-Casino,

(1855) * Leopoldstädter Tempel, Vienna (1858) * Elisabethbrücke,

(1858, demolished 1897) * Synagogue of Miskolc,

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

, 1863 * Palais Todesco,

(1863)

References

External links

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ÖBL
Austrian architects Synagogue architecture Austrian people of German descent People from Ansbach 1797 births 1863 deaths Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna {{Jewish-hist-stub