upright=1.3, House Lemke, 2011 The Lemke House (also ''Landhaus Lemke'' or Mies van der Rohe Haus ) on Oberseestraße 60 in the

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 ...

district of

Alt-Hohenschönhausen Alt-Hohenschönhausen (, literally ''Old Hohenschönhausen'') is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') in the borough (''Bezirk'') of Lichtenberg, Berlin. Known also as Hohenschönhausen it was, until 2001, the main and the eponymous locality of the former Ho ...

is the last house designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in

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 ...

before his

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

to the

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in 1938. It was built in

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

style at the beginning of the 1930s under the name Villa Lemke.

History

Interior In 1932, the manufacturer couple Martha and Karl Lemke bought a two-storey property on the street with access to the '. On the advice of an acquaintance, they contacted the renowned architect who was to carry out the construction. After several plans, mostly for a two-storey building, work began in the summer of 1932. The costs amounted to 16,000

Reichsmark The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...

s (purchasing power adjusted in today's currency: around 61,000

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s). In spring 1933 the Lemkes were able to move into their house. The L-shaped building is relatively simple and modest, but it also met the requirements of the childless couple. The façade consists of red-coloured, charcoal-fired bricks which, together with the

flat roof A flat roof is a roof which is almost level in contrast to the many types of sloped roofs. The slope of a roof is properly known as its pitch and flat roofs have up to approximately 10°. Flat roofs are an ancient form mostly used in arid c ...

, make the house look peculiar. The furnishings are partly from the studio of Mies van der Rohe or were designed by his partner

Lilly Reich Lilly Reich (16 June 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a German designer of textiles, furniture, interiors, and exhibition spaces. She was a close collaborator with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for more than ten years during the Weimar period in the 19 ...

. The Lemke couple lived in their villa for only a few years. In May 1945, after the occupation of Alt-Hohenschönhausen by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, the family was asked to leave the house as soon as possible. The surrounding area was declared a restricted area and the Villa Lemke was used as a garage and storage area. Later on, some employees of the Stasi moved in and into the surrounding villas. This authority acquired the house in 1962 and made some serious changes to the house and garden. In 1977 the magistrate of Berlin put it on the district monument list. As the house had visibly decayed by then, the first

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

work began in the 1980s, but without any notable success, as the funds made available were insufficient. Until

Die Wende The Peaceful Revolution (german: Friedliche Revolution), as a part of the Revolutions of 1989, was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the opening of East Germany's borders with the West, the end of the ruling of the Socialist Unity ...

, the house was used as a laundry and canteen for the employees of the Ministry. The garden was partially concreted and used as a car park. In 1990, the district of

took over the property and house from the Ministry and officially renamed it Mies van der Rohe Haus. The necessary renovation work followed in the years 2000 to 2002. Since 1994 a sculpture by the Berlin artist Ruth Baumann has been standing in the garden of the house. The title of the work is ''Aufsicht um die Kante'' (in English: ''Surveillance around the edge''). Today, the house serves as an exhibition pavilion for modern art and attracts the lovers of Mies van der Rohe's

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. Mies-van-der-rohe-haus-berlin-weissensee.jpg, View from the south Mies-van-der-Rohe-Haus Berlin, 2.jpg, View from southwest Mies-van-der-Rohe-Haus Berlin, 5.jpg, Interior, view to the south

External links

Official homepage of the Mies van der Rohe House

House Lemke (''Mies van der Rohe-House'') at the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin

Mies van der Rohe House
at the

Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz The ''Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz'' ("German Foundation for Monument Protection") is a German private initiative founded in 1985 that works for the preservation of cultural heritage in Germany and to promote the idea of cultural heritage man ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemke House Art museums and galleries in Germany Monuments and memorials in Berlin Monuments and memorials in Germany Arts in Berlin

History

Further reading

External links