Alexander Baerwald (1877–1930) was a
German Jewish
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
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 ...
best known for his work in
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, today in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, during
Late Ottoman and
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.
Life and career
Baerwald was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on 3 March 1877. He studied at the
Technical University of Berlin
The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...
("Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg", 1897–1901), interrupted by the summer semester 1898 at the
Technische Hochschule of Munich
The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences.
Establis ...
. From 1903 to 1927 he was employed with the Prussian Construction and Financial Direction of Berlin, responsible for public constructions in Berlin. He advanced to become a Royal Ministerial Construction Councillor (german: Königlicher Ministerialbaurat). One of his tasks was the construction management for the new building of the ''Prussian Royal Library'' (german: Königliche Bibliothek) in Berlin between 1908 and 1913. The building known for its
Neo-Baroque architecture, following a design of the popular
Wilhelmine
The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm' ...
architect
:de:Ernst von Ihne and adapted by Baerwald, is now the House I of the ''State Library at Berlin of
Prussian Cultural Heritage
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
'' (german:
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
This is a list of the state libraries (german: Landesbibliothek) for each of the Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany. These libraries hold the right for legal deposit for the publications in their respective state.
Landesbibliothek
S ...
- Preußischer Kulturbesitz), at
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden (, "under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Running from the City Palace to Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden (lime in England and Ireland, not re ...
street. His work in the German capital continued with the design of several other buildings in the early 1910s, including his own villa in
Berlin-Dahlem
Dahlem ( or ) is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. It is located between the mansion settlements of Grunewald and L ...
(1912).
Around 1912, Baerwald moved temporarily to Ottoman Palestine, where he began work in Haifa. Baerwald is best known for designing the
Technion University campus in Haifa between 1912 and 1924, for which he had been employed by the
:de:Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden (lit. "German-Jewish Relief Association"). He also designed the neighbouring ''Beit Sefer haReali'' (german: Realgymnasium), a school preparing students for the Technion. Today the old Technion building forms part of the
. He became a Professor of Architecture at the Technion throughout much of his later life and he made a significant contribution to the Prussian-style discipline in the country's higher education institutions.
In 1915 he built the
moshav
A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...
of
Merchavya after his own designs. In 1924 he designed the
Anglo-Palestine Bank
Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...
department in Haifa, now operating as
Bank Leumi le-Israel
Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...
. He also designed numerous other buildings in Palestine, and by 1925 Baerwald had settled there permanently. In Palestine Baerwald was acclaimed for introducing German-style architecture for institutions of higher education. Baerwald also designed the Central Hospital in
Afula
Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of .
Afula's ancient ...
(1928), and the Philips House in Haifa (1929–30), his last built project.
Alexander Baerwald died on 27 October 1930 in Haifa. He was buried at the
Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Gallery
File:The National Museum of Science, Technology and Space (Haifa, Israel) - Facade.jpg, First building of the Technion (designed 1912–1924), now The , Haifa
File:בנין אפ"ק - מבט כללי.JPG, Former Anglo-Palestine Bank, Haifa
File:PikiWiki Israel 59571 anglo palestine bank haifa.jpg, Former Anglo-Palestine Bank; facade
File:City Building, Haifa 1 (4).JPG, Former Anglo-Palestine Bank; facade medalion: pomegranate
File:PikiWiki Israel 59572 anglo palestine bank haifa.jpg, Former Anglo-Palestine Bank; interior
File:מרחביה - מראה-JNF033773.jpeg, Merhavia (1929)
File:מרחביה - מראה כללי.-JNF045027.jpeg, Merhavia (1941)
File:Entrance of Palatin Hotel.jpg, Former Palatin Hotel, Tel Aviv (opened 1926; restored and expanded as office building, 1990s)
References
*''A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'',
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
*
Myra Warhaftig ( he, מירה ווארהפטיג), "Alex Baerwald", in: ''Sie legten den Grundstein. Leben und Wirken deutschsprachiger jüdischer Architekten in Palästina 1918–1948'', Berlin and Tübingen: Wasmuth, 1996, pp. 34–41.
19th-century German architects
19th-century German Jews
1877 births
1930 deaths
Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives
{{germany-architect-stub
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Jewish architects
Architects from Berlin
Architects in Ottoman Palestine
Architects in Mandatory Palestine
Academic staff of Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
20th-century German architects
German emigrants to the Ottoman Empire