Maria Schwarz (1921–2018) was a German architect and professor best known for her

church architecture Church architecture refers to the architecture of Christian buildings, such as Church (building), churches, chapels, convents, and seminaries. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly ...

. Maria Lang was born on 3 October 1921 in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

, Germany. Her father, a contractor sparked her interest in architecture at a young age. In 1941, Lang enrolled in

RWTH Aachen University RWTH Aachen University (), in German ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen'', is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study prog ...

, making her the first woman to study architecture at the school. She graduated for the university with a master's degree in 1946. In 1949, Lang moved to

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

to assist in the rebuilding of the city following World War II. In Cologne, Lang worked with fellow architect Rudolf Schwarz, whom she married in 1952. Following their marriage, Maria Schwartz became a partner in her husband's office, where the couple collaborated on a number of projects until Rudolf's death in 1961. In 1998 Schwartz joined the faculty of the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

. Maria Schwarz died on 15 February 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Maria 1921 births 2018 deaths German women architects 20th-century German architects 21st-century German architects People from Aachen RWTH Aachen University alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich 20th-century German women 21st-century German women