Wilhelm Wagenfeld House (german: Wilhelm-Wagenfeld-Haus) is a design museum and exhibition centre in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Germany. Completed in the Neoclassical style in 1828, the building now carries the name of Bremen-born

Wilhelm Wagenfeld Wilhelm Wagenfeld (15 April 1900, Bremen, German Empire — 28 May 1990, Stuttgart, West Germany) was an important German industrial designer and former student of the Bauhaus art school. He designed glass and metal works for the Jenaer Glaswe ...

(1900–1990), a major contributor to the 20th-century design of household objects. In addition to a collection of Wagenfeld's creations, the building hosts temporary design exhibitions. It is located in Bremen's Old Town (''Altstadt'') close to the

Kunsthalle Bremen The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in Bremen, Germany. It is located close to the Bremen Old Town on the "Culture Mile" (german: Kulturmeile). The Kunsthalle was built in 1849, enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister, and expanded ...

art museum.

History and architecture

The Gerhard Marcks House opposite and this building were designed by Friedrich Moritz Stamm. They were both plain two-storey rendered buildings with a

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

portico. The absence of upstairs windows overlooking the street gives them both a closed look. The windows at the front and in the rear of the building are decorated with military reliefs designed by Heinrich Frese and completed in 1973. They depict helmets, shields, swords and military emblems. Originally known as the ''Detentionshaus'', a component of the ''Ostertorwache'', the building served as a prison and police station. In 1966, the police left the building prior to its conversion into an exhibition centre and office building.

Current use

In collaboration with the Wilhelm Wagenfeld Foundation, Bremer Design GmbH uses the exhibition centre to promote the creative industries which are so important to Bremen's development. It offers opportunities to benefit from exhibitions of important international successes while also displaying the innovative results of local enterprise with a view to wider marketing. The building also houses the offices of the Wagenfeld Foundation while the Ostertorwache archives tracing the building's history as a prison, including its use by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

from 1933, have been open to the public since 1999.

References

{{Authority control Museums in Bremen (city) Neoclassical architecture in Germany Museums established in 1998 Buildings and structures completed in 1828 Design museums 1998 establishments in Germany

History and architecture

Current use

See also

References