Paul Schmitthenner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Schmitthenner (1884 - 1972) was a German architect and city planner, one of Adolf Hitler's architects. He graduated from the University of Stuttgart and later became a Professor there, where he formed together with Paul Bonatz the architectural style of the Stuttgart School. His belief that the traditional methods and styles in architecture revealed best the German character led to his appointment as expert group leader for fine arts in the Kampfbund. He believed that Schönheit ruht in Ordnung ("beauty lies in (geometric) order"). Schmitthenner was in open opposition to modern architects like Walter Gropius. For him, Goethe's cottage at Weimar was still the ideal type of the German residential building. However, despite official approval, his enthusiasm did not bring many large commissions. He was author of the book "Baugestaltung. Das Deutsche Wohnhaus", 1932. He had to leave his chair at the University after war without a pension and worked as an architect till the end of his life. In Stuttgart he built the "Königin-Olga-Bau" for the Dresdner Bank 1950.