Bruno Schmitz (21 November 1858 – 27 April 1916) was a German

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 monuments in the early 20th century. He worked closely with sculptors such as Emil Hundrieser,

Nikolaus Geiger Nikolaus Geiger (6 December 1849 – 27 November 1897) was a German sculptor and painter. Life Born at Lauingen in the Kingdom of Bavaria, he began an apprenticeship as a stonemason. At the age of 16, he went to Munich, to study with Joseph Kna ...

and

Franz Metzner Franz Metzner (18 November 1870, Wscherau, near Plzeň – 24 March 1919, Berlin) was an influential German sculptor, particularly his sculptural figures integrated into the architecture of Central European public buildings in the Art Nouveau / ...

for integrated architectural and sculptural effect. Schmitz was born in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

. His single most famous work is the massive 1913 Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations) located in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, designed with local architect Clemens Thieme. The Monument was inaugurated in 1913 by Kaiser

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

. Bohemian sculptor

designed the architectural figures, including the powerful and strangely scaled ''Masks of Fate'' in the monument's crypt. Along with the Leipzig monument, Schmitz designed the

Kyffhäuser Monument The Kyffhäuser (,''Duden - Das Aussprachewörterbuch, 7. Auflage (German)'', Dudenverlag, sometimes also referred to as ''Kyffhäusergebirge'', is a hill range in Central Germany, shared by Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, southeast of the Harz mo ...

and the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument at

Porta Westfalica Porta Westfalica () is a town in the district of Minden-Lübbecke, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name "''Porta Westfalica''" is Latin and means "gate to Westphalia". Coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of West ...

, bringing him the distinction of designing the three largest war monuments in Germany. All of them are rough, primitive masonry structures in a style that blends Romanesque precedents with modernist touches, and all of them are associated with German nationalism in the period before World War I. Schmitz's daughter Angelica Schmitz (1893–1957) was the wife of the Ukrainian-American sculptor

Alexander Archipenko Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (also referred to as Olexandr, Oleksandr, or Aleksandr; uk, Олександр Порфирович Архипенко, Romanized: Olexandr Porfyrovych Arkhypenko; February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian and American ...

Selected works

*Geschäftshaus (commercial building) (1883),

. *

(1889–96),

, with Emil Hundrieser and

, sculptors. *

Kaiser Wilhelm Monument {{no refs, date=December 2017 A large number of monuments were erected in Germany in honour of Emperor William I (known in German as ''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal''). As early as 1867 the Berlin sculptor, Friedrich Drake, had created the first equest ...

(1890–96),

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

, 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),

, with Clemens Thieme, architect, and

, sculptor. *Bismarckturm (Bismark Tower) (1899–1900),

Unna Unna is a city of around 59,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district. The newly refurbished Unna station has trains to all major cities in North Rhine Westphalia including Dortmund, Cologne, Münster, Hamm, ...

. *Villa Stockwerk (1899–1902),

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. * Mannheimer Rosengarten (1899–1903), Friedrichsplatz,

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

. *Kaiser Wilhelm Monument (1901), Halle. *Automat Commercial Building (1904–05),

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. *Weinhaus Rheingold (Rheingold Wine House) (1905–06),

(destroyed). *Carl Hoffman Tomb, Old St. Matthew's Church,

, with

, sculptor. *A number of the

Bismarck tower A Bismarck tower (german: Bismarckturm) is a specific type of monument built according to a more or less standard model across Germany to honour its first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (d. 1898). A total of 234 of these towers were inventoried ...

United States

* Indiana Soldiers and Sailors' Monument (1888–1902), Monument Circle,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. *German Pavilion (1904), Saint Louis World's Fair, Saint Louis, Missouri. File:Geschäftshaus Schadowstraße 17 in Düsseldorf der Firma J. H. Wildemann, Umbau von den Architekten "van Els & Schmitz" im Jahre 1883.jpg, Geschäftshaus (commercial building) (1883),

. File:Old rendering of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Indianapolis, IN, USA.jpg, ''The Symbol of Indiana''. Schmitz's 1888 rendering for the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in

. File:Kyffhäuser general view.jpg,

(1889–96),

. File:ReiterstandbildKyffhäuser.JPG, ''Equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I'' by Emil Hundrieser,

. File:Denkmal-Wilhelm-I Schmitz.jpg, Schmitz's ca. 1890 rendering for the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument in

. File:Porta Westfalica - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal.jpg, Kaiser Wilhelm Monument (1890–96),

, Caspar von Zumbusch, sculptor. File:Deutsches Eck LOC.jpeg, Deutsches Eck Monument (1894–97), Koblenz. File:Kaiser W 1.jpg, Emil Hundrieser's colossal ''Equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I'' atop the

Deutsches Eck ''Deutsches Eck'' (, "German Corner") is the name of a promontory in Koblenz, Germany, where the Mosel river joins the Rhine. Named after a local commandry of the Teutonic Order ("Teutonischer Orden"), it became known for a monumental equest ...

was severely damaged in World War II. A copy by Raymond Kittl was installed in 1993. File:Kaiserin-Augusta-Denkmal 11 Koblenz 2014.jpg, Kaiserin Augusta Monument (1896), Koblenz, Karl Friedrich Moest, sculptor. File:Bismarckturm Unna IMGP2644 wp.jpg, Bismarckturm (Bismark Tower) (1899–1900),

. File:Villa Stockwerk an der Volksgartenstraße 54 in Köln 1899 von Schmitz.jpg, Schmitz's 1899 rendering for the Villa Stockwerk in

. File:Haus in Köln, Volksgartenstr. 58, Architekt Prof. Bruno Schmitz, Berlin.jpg, Villa Stockwerk (1899–1902),

. File:Friedrichsplatz Mannheim 1901 von Bruno Schmitz.jpg, Schmitz's 1901 rendering of Friedrichsplatz,

. File:Mannheim Friedrichsplatz Rosengarten.jpg, Rosengarten Concert Hall (1899–1903), Friedrichsplatz,

. File:LPE02134 Germany Louisiana Purchase Expostion.jpg, German Pavilion (1904), Saint Louis World's Fair, Saint Louis, Missouri. File:Berlin, Mitte, Geschäftshaus Automat 01.jpg, Automat Commercial Building (1904–05),

. File:WP Aschinger Berlin.JPG, Schmitz's 1905 rendering for the Weinhaus Rheingold (Rheingold Wine House) in

. File:WP Aschinger Berlin 2.JPG, Weinhaus Rheingold (Rheingold Wine House) interior, 1906 (destroyed). File:Matthäuskirchhof Berlin4.JPG, Carl Hoffmann Tomb, Old St. Matthew's Church,

. ''Weeping Woman'' by

. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1988-0929-301, Leipzig, Völkerschlachtdenkmal, Wächterfiguren.jpg, ''Wächterfiguren'' (''Guards''), by

, encircling the dome of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. File:Krypta Völkerschlachtdenkmal.JPG, ''Masks of Fate'', by

, crypt of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal.

References

External links

*
On Schmitz's Bismarck Towers, in German
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitz, Bruno 1858 births 1916 deaths People from Düsseldorf Architects from North Rhine-Westphalia People from the Rhine Province