Otto Meitinger (8 May 1927 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 ...

– 9 September 2017) 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

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation u ...

. From 1987 to 1995 he was president of the

Technical University Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a Public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied science, applied and natural sciences. Est ...

Life

Meitinger was born as son of the first municipal architect of Munich Karl Meitinger. He studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at the Department of Architecture of the

, finished his

Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, physical therapists, teachers, research librarians, archivists, pharmacists, food chemists, psyc ...

and got his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

on the building history of the

Munich Residenz The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the House of Wittelsbach, Wittelsbach List of rulers of Bavaria, monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors ...

. From 1953 to 1963 he was Director of the Residenz Building Offices and in charge of the reconstruction of the

, including the

Cuvilliés Theatre The Cuvilliés Theatre () or Old Residence Theatre (''Altes Residenztheater'') is the former court theatre of the Residenz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. History Elector of Bavaria Maximilian III Joseph (reg. 1745–1777) commissioned the co ...

, court chappel, treasure chamber and Ornate Rooms (Reichen Zimmer). At that time the reconstruction of the Residenz was considered as example for the reconstruction of war-destroyed historical buildings all over Europe. From 1963 to 1976 he was head of the building department of the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

and responsible for over 60 new institute buildings, domestic and abroad. In 1976 he became

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

for Design and

Preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

at the Technical University of Munich. In 1987 he was elected President of the University and stayed in office until his retirement in 1995. "He took the chance of generation change and won first class professors to secure the leading position of the TU in teaching and research." Meitinger was member of a variety of professional societies and committees, i.e., at the German Academy of town planning (Deutschen Akademie für Städtebau), the Bavarian State Architectural Art Committee (Bayerischen Landesbaukunstausschuss), the State Memorial Committee (Landesdenkmalrat), the selection committees of the Bavarian State Foundation and the Hypo-Art-Foundation (Bayerischen Landesstiftung/Hypo-Kulturstiftung) and the board of trustees of the Philip Morris Foundation (Kuratorium der Philip Morris Stiftung).

Important work

* Recreation of the

Residenz ''Residenz'' () is a German word for "domicile", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, ''Residenzstadt'', denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, and thus carries a similar meaning to the contemp ...

, Munich * Palazzo Zuccari, Rome * Kaulbach-Villa, Munich * Rebuilding of

Hammerschmidt Villa Hammerschmidt Villa () is a villa in the German city of Bonn that served as the primary official seat and primary official residence of the president of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1950 until 1994. President Richard von Weizsäcker made ...

, Bonn * Rebuilding of Bellevue Palace, Berlin * Marstallplatz, Munich

Honours and distinctions

Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art The Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art () was first established on 28 November 1853 by King Maximilian II von Bayern. It is awarded to acknowledge and reward excellent and outstanding achievements in the field of science and art. From ...

(1991) *

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

* Commanders Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz) * Medal ''Bene Merenti'' in Silver of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

(1959) * Commanders Cross of the Etoile noir of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Knight of the

Order of St. Sylvester The Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester (, ), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five orders of knighthood awarded directly by the Pope as Supreme Pontiff and hea ...

, * Golden Honorary Coin of the City of Munich (1995) (Goldene Ehrenmünze der Stadt München). *

Honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the city of Munich (2005) * Founding Member of the

European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, ) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 38 Nobel Prize laureates. The European Academy of Sciences and ...

(1990)

Literature

* Lehrstuhl für Entwerfen und Denkmalpflege TU München: ''Otto Meitinger : Architekt - Denkmalpfleger - Hochschullehrer'' München 1997

External links

*
"Professor Dr. Otto Meitinger neuer Münchner Ehrenbürger" (in German)
Press notice, City of Munich, 2005.
Professor Dr.-Ing. Otto Meitinger wird 80 (in German)
Bayerische Ingenieurekammer-Bau, 2007.
Otto Meitinger wird 80 (in German)
Press Notice. TU Munich. 30 April 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meitinger, Otto 1927 births 2017 deaths 20th-century German architects Architects from Munich Technical University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich Presidents of the Technical University of Munich Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts