Paul Max Bertschy
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Paul Max Bertschy (; 1 January 18401 February 1911) was a
Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...
architect, working mainly in what is now
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. He was the city architect of
Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...
for more than 30 years and designed numerous public and private buildings for the city, around 70 of which are extant.


Biography

Paul Max Bertschy was born in
Strausberg Strausberg () is a Town#Germany, town in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, located east of Berlin. With a population of about 27,000 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland. History Strausberg was founded ''circa'' 1240, and ...
in Germany, in a family of carpenters. He was one of nine children. He studied in
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 ...
and also abroad. He left Berlin due to its fierce competition and sought a career as an architect in what are now the
Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
. The first years of his career he worked for several different architectural firms. From 1860 to 1864, he was in
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
working in the firm of Heinrich Scheel. He then moved to
Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
, where he was engaged in the construction of a railway line between Daugavpils and
Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...
. At the same time he accepted separate commissions and took on
Wilhelm Neumann Carl Johann Wilhelm Neumann (; ; born 5 October 1849 in Grevesmühlen – died 6 March 1919 in Riga) was a Baltic German architect and art historian. Neumann's family moved to Kreutzburg (then in Russian Empire) during Wilhelm's childhood. Whe ...
as his pupil. In 1871 he was invited to become the city architect of
Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...
by the mayor of the city, and would keep the position until 1902. At the time, the city experienced rapid growth due to industrialization and trade, and through his many commissions Bertschy contributed significantly to the architecture of the city. He worked mainly in
medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
styles such as
Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
and
Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
. Red
brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
, or a mix of red brick and other materials, was often favoured by Bertschy. His range was broad, and he designed private residences as well as religious and public buildings. Despite many of these buildings having been destroyed 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 ...
, more than 70 buildings designed by Bertschy are extant in Liepāja. This includes the former spa hospital (1871–1875), the
Liepāja Gymnasium Liepāja Nicolai Gymnasium was a six-year (later seven) gymnasium (high school) in Liepāja (Libau), Courland Governorate, Russian Empire. It was established in 1865 on the basis of a school that traced its roots to 1848. The school was named in ...
building (today owned by University of Liepāja) (1883–1884), the
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
Church of Saint Anne (1892–1893), the former district court building (now City Council), and numerous residential buildings. Bertschy died in Liepāja in 1911. His archive is in
Liepāja Museum Liepāja Museum () is a museum in Liepāja, Latvia. It is the largest museum in the historical region of Courland. It possesses more than 100,000 articles, but in the halls of the museum, there are 1,500 exhibits. Permanent displays tell of Lie ...
. Many of the buildings which he designed are now marked with plaques bearing his name.


References


Further reading

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External links

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Map with buildings by Bertschy in central Liepāja
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertschy, Paul Max 19th-century Latvian architects Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia German emigrants to the Russian Empire Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire 1840 births 1911 deaths People from Strausberg 20th-century architects Latvian architects People from Courland Governorate