Bruno Schmitz (21 November 1858 – 27 April 1916) was a German architect born in Düsseldorf who was among the architects favored by Emperor Wilhelm II during the German Empire. He designed several monumental national memorials in Germany, including the Kyffhäuser Monument and major memorials in Leipzig, Koblenz, and at Porta Westfalica. Schmitz also undertook international work, including the design of a pavilion for the St. Louis World’s Fair and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Indianapolis, and died in Berlin in 1916 as a professor of architecture.
Career Bruno Schmitz was the architect of the Kyffhäuser Monument, which was constructed between 1891 and 1897 on the initiative of German veterans’ and soldiers’ association. In addition to the Kyffhäuser Monument, he designed several large national monuments in Germany, including the Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations) in Leipzig and monuments dedicated to Emperor Wilhelm I at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz and at Porta Westfalica.
Schmitz also worked internationally. His projects outside Germany included the design of the German Pavilion (“Das Deutsche Haus”) for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair in the United States.
Selected works
Geschäftshaus (commercial building) (1883), Düsseldorf. Kyffhäuser Monument (1889–96), Porta Westfalica, with Emil Hundrieser and Nikolaus Geiger, sculptors. Kaiser Wilhelm Monument (1890–96), Teutoburg Forest, Porta Westfalica, with Caspar von Zumbusch, sculptor. Deutsches Eck Monument (1894–97), Koblenz, with Emil Hundrieser, sculptor. Kaiserin Augusta Monument (1896), Koblenz, with Karl Friedrich Moest, sculptor. Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations) (1898–1913), Leipzig, with Clemens Thieme, architect, and Franz Metzner, sculptor. Bismarckturm (Bismark Tower) (1899–1900), Unna. Villa Stockwerk (1899–1902), Cologne. Mannheimer Rosengarten (1899–1903), Friedrichsplatz, Mannheim. Kaiser Wilhelm Monument (1901), Halle. Automat Commercial Building (1904–05), Berlin. Weinhaus Rheingold (Rheingold Wine House) (1905–06), Berlin (destroyed). Carl Hoffman Tomb, Old St. Matthew's Church, Berlin, with Nikolaus Geiger, sculptor. A number of the Bismarck towers.
United States Indiana Soldiers and Sailors' Monument (1888–1902), Monument Circle, Indianapolis, Indiana. German Pavilion (1904), Saint Louis World's Fair, Saint Louis, Missouri.
References