The Modern Movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912 and 1933

Katarzyna Woszczenko, Adam Musiuk

doi:10.37190/arc230403

Abstract

The topic of the article is the modern movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912–1933. Text, which is a contribution to the study of the problem of ecclesiastical architecture created in the capital of Lower Silesia in the years 1900–1933, examples are given of five structures – built and designed. They include both Catholic and Protestant buildings – the designs of the crematorium and cemetery chapel at Osobowice by Max Berg, the Catholic Church of the Holy Family by Kurt Langer, the Protestant Gustav Adolf Memorial Church designed by Albert Kempter and the outstanding, but unrealized competition project for this church by Hans Scharoun and Adolf Rading. These buildings are characterised by stylistic and functional diversity. Text provides a glimpse into the development of the modern movement in the work of Wrocław’s architects from the radically avant-garde visions of Max Berg and Oskar Kokoschka working together on the crematorium project, through the classically modernist character of the Holy Family Church built for Sępolno, to the functionalist style of the Albert Kempter’s Gustav Adolf Memorial Church and finally the ahead of its time, clearly not fitting into the categories of conservative church architecture competition design by Scharoun and Rading for the same church. Modernity, like the avant-garde, as a heterogeneous phenomenon reveals itself on many levels – from ideas to construction to functionality. An analysis of the buildings discussed based on the current state of research and an archival search including surviving designs and press materials proves that the capital of the Silesian Province not only did not remain on the fringes of the emerging avant-garde, but, with the strength of the local artistic milieu of the local artistic community, concentrated among others around the Royal Academy of Arts and Crafts, actively co-created the avant-garde, incorporating the iconic architecture created here into the framework of the extremely dynamic modern movement, which was developing rapidly at the time.

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4(76)

Piotr Mateusz Oleś*

The Modern Movement in the sacred architecture

of Wrocław between 1912 and 1933

Introduction

The religious architecture of Wrocław (then Breslau)

in the rst three decades of the 20

century is not a par-

ticularly well-recognised or suciently researched issue.

The diverse landscape, consisting of structures erected

in the period preceding the political triumph of National

Socialism, includes a succession of historicizing build-

ings, examples of the so-called native trend, and nally

churches with contemporary features clearly inuenced by

mo dernism. Between the years 1900 and 1933, nearly 25

churches and chapels of varying artistic value were built

in Wrocław. Such a large group of diverse buildings cer-

tainly deserves a synthetic study covering both Catholic

and Protestant churches. This article devoted to selected

buildings between the years 1912 and 1933 is a summary

of the initial searches which were based on existing stud-

ies, sources available in Wrocław archives, and research

initiated in Berlin collections. It aspires to contribute to the

study of the complex of buildings mentioned above. The

following will be presented in chronological order: the de-

sign of the Grabiszyn Cemetery Crematory by Max Berg,

the Osobowice Cemetery Chapel also designed by Berg,

followed by the Catholic Parish Church of the Holy Family

in Sępolno, the competition entry design of the Evangeli-

cal Gustav Adolf Memorial Church by Hans Scharoun and

Adolf Rading also in Sępolno, and the naly completed

design by Albert Kempter. It is shown on these examples,

that modernity and avant-garde are not a homogeneous

phenomenon. This has been revealed over the course of

two decades in many dierent aspects, such as the ideo-

logical, structural, and the functional. The following text

DOI: 10.37190/arc230403

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

aims to highlight this diversity, while demonstrating what

appears to be a legitimate need for a much broader, mono-

graphic view of the religious buildings erected in Wrocław

before the year 1933.

Research status

Not much has been written about Wrocław’s sacred

buildings built between the fall of the German Empire and

the end of the Weimar Republic. The articles and press

information regarding both architectural competitions

and the buildings themselves, published mainly in “Ost-

deutsche Bauzeitung”, “Schlesische Monatshefte”, “Mod-

erne Bauformen”, “Die Bauwelt”, “Der Baumeister”, and

“Deutsche Bauzeitung” are a valuable source for this re-

search. The topic of Wrocław’s religious architecture was

briey engaged by Fritz Schumacher [1] even before the

war. Meanwhile, further attention should be drawn to Kurt

and Josef Engelbert’s work on Roman Catholic churches

of Wrocław published in German, but was of a popular-sci-

entic nature [2]. Its counterpart in Polish popular science

literature is research on the same subject by Zygmunt

Antkowiak [3]. It is also impossible to omit the dictio-

nary-like study by Gerhard Scheuermann [4]. However, it

was not until Beate Störtkuhl, Wanda Kononowicz, Artur

Kwaśniewski, and Jerzy Ilkosz devoted their research to

a professional analysis of the issue of Wrocław’s sacred

architecture of the rst three decades of the 20

century.

From what we know today, the texts of these researchers

included in the third volume of Architektura Wrocławia

[Architecture of Wrocław] edited by Jerzy Rozpędows-

ki, contribute the most. Störtkuhl devotes the content of

her article to Protestant churches built between 1900 and

1915 [5]. Their thorough analysis, together with a rich

bibliography and references to architectural competi-

tions held, especially in the nal phase of the time range

* ORCID: 0009-0004-2455-1250. Faculty of Architecture, Wro-

cław University of Science and Technology, Poland, e-mail: piotr.oles@

ext.pwr.edu.pl

26 Piotr Mateusz Oleś

imposed by the topic, greatly enrich the state of knowl-

edge of the context of this study. Wanda Konono wicz,

on the other hand, takes up the subject of estate church-

es – Po powice, Sępolno and Grabiszyn – with great pre-

cision, which is of particular importance in the context

of the two realisations for the Sępolno estate, referred

to in this article [6]. Kwaśniewski devoted his research

to Catholic churches from the years 1918–1939. Among

them were the Popowice Church of St. Hedwig, the no

longer standing Church of St. Peter Canisius, St. Clemens

Dworzak on the Grabiszyn estate, the no longer standing

Church of the Holy Spirit on the Tarnogaj estate, the Holy

Family in Sępolno, St. Teresa in Osobowice, the Church

of St. Joseph on present Krakowska Street, the no longer

standing temporary Church of Christ the King on Szcze-

pin, and the similarly no longer standing Church of Saint

Roch in the cemetery on today’s Bolkowska Street [7].

The research ndings contained in Kwaśniewski’s works

deserve a more wide and in-depth elaboration. An exten-

sive article by Ilkosz in the same volume raises the prob-

lem of Wrocław’s Crematory. In it, the author provides

an exhaustive account of the evolution of Berg’s concept,

together with the origin of the stylistic layer of the designs

[8]. The same researcher takes up the subject of the Cre-

matory several more times, including a comprehensive

monograph on the Centennial Hall published in 2005 [9],

and more recently (2022) in an article devoted to Berg’s

masterpiece, which Ilkosz co-authored with Ryszard Wój-

towicz and Jadwiga Urba nik [10]. Ilkosz is also the au-

thor of entries on the Evangelical Gustav Adolf Memorial

Church in the rst volume of Atlas architektury Wrocła-

wia [Atlas of the architecture of Wrocław], dedicated to

sacred architecture and edited by Jerzy Harasimowicz

[11], and in Leksykon architektury Wrocławia [Lexicon of

Wrocław architecture], published in 2011 [12]. They were

also joined years later, in 2018, with her huge monograph

on Silesian modernism by Störtkuhl [13], co-author of

a catalogue of Adolf Rading’s works from his Wrocław

period, included in a monumental entry on Rading edited

by her and Ilkosz [14].

Sacred architecture in the context

of Wrocław’s socio-artistic situation

There is no doubt that the architectural landscape of

Silesia, and thus of Wrocław as a provincial capital, must

largely be seen, especially in the early 20

century, from

the perspective of Berlin. The capital was for a long time

the primary source of cultural and ideological inspiration

for both Wrocław and the entire region. The fact that the

vast majority of architects active in Silesia were gradu-

ates of Berlin’s Technische Hochschule was also signi-

cant. It inevitably meant that ideas shaped there, gradually

made their way to the provinces, as Vladimir Šlapeta [15,

p. 97] and Piotr Łukaszewicz [16, pp. 33–35] extensive-

ly describe. However, Wrocław had been labelled merely

a province submissive to Berlin, which was a signicant

mistake. There are several reasons for this, but the exis-

tence of a serious art school in Wrocław, is in this case

most sucient. The Staatliche Akademie für Kunst und

Kunstgewerbe, headed by Hans Poelzig, played a major

role in the formation of modern integral German art, in-

cluding architecture (above all, due to the architecture

class he led) [15, p. 97], [16, p. 41], [17, pp. 1–26], because

of which Wrocław, alongside the leading artistic centers

of Prussia, took one of the most important places on the

map of the emerging avant-garde. Not only were the ideas

born in the capital adapted in Wrocław, but moreover, the

community centred around the academy became a strong

catalyst for changes of a cross-regional nature, which is of

course also proven by the architecture.

While we can speak freely of the avant-garde dynam-

ically entering the architectural scene in the area of pub-

lic buildings or new housing estates designed on a grand

scale, the problem becomes much more complex in the as-

pect of sacred buildings. The source of this is undoubted ly

the ever-present tension between conservative and pro-

gressive, or rather innovative approaches to the construc-

tion of sacred buildings [18, pp. 12, 13]. Confession is

of little importance here. Although increasingly reformist

currents are discernible in both denominations from the

early 20

century onwards, the liturgy, among other things

– in both Catholic and Protestant terms – imposed signi-

cant constraints on the structure of the temple, the respect

for which the creators of modern architecture eventually

had to contend.

The origins of the changes in the perception of the

Church and sacred architecture that eventually took place,

must be sought in two areas. Within the Roman Catholic

Church, the turning point, or rather the turning phenom-

enon, turned out to be the Liturgical Movement, which

initiated a wide-ranging discourse on changes that ulti-

mately went well beyond the liturgy [19, pp. 10–13]. An

invaluable role in this discourse was fullled a few years

later by Romano Guardini (initially associated with the

Liturgical Movement) and Johannes van Acken, who were

clerics considered to be the main theorists of the reform

movement at its peak [20], [21]. In contrast, the fruit of in-

creased research into the role of the liturgy in the design of

the architectural space of a church was Karl Freckmann’s

rst practical guide for church planners [22]. Both the

theorists of the Liturgical Movement and the above-men-

tioned Guardini and especially van Acken, pointed to the

need for a paradigm shift in the perception of the liturgy

from a kind of theatrical performance to a celebration in-

cluding the whole gathered community. Underlying this

shift in mentality was the need to see the Eucharist in its

essential aspect as a feast, rather than a sacrice. This in

turn started a discussion on the meaning of celebration ver-

sus oriente and consequently on the location of the altar in

the church space. According to the ideas of the renewal,

it should be located more in the centre, surrounded by the

faithful, which as we know was introduced with varying

degrees of success as a result of the reforms of the Second

Vatican Council less than half a century later [23, p. 96].

On the Protestant side, the counterpart to the Liturgi-

cal Movement were the nationwide German Protestant

church building congresses, especially the 2

(1906) and

(1928) Kongress für Kirchenbau des Protestantismus,

which was held several times. The debates held on these

The Modern Movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912 and 1933 27

occasions proved to be the driving force behind changes

in the perception of architecture as an elementary part of

celebration, where by its very nature the liturgy in ceremo-

nial form was not the starting point, contrary to the Cath-

olic milieu [24, pp. 119–127]. Protestant churches showed

a somewhat greater openness to modern forms of expres-

sion; nevertheless, as in the Catholic milieu, attachment

to tradition still halted for a long-time radical changes in

the shaping of the form of modern sacred architecture in

dialogue with the modernizing world. Both Catholics and

Protestants, in attempting to redene the place and charac-

ter of the Church in the modern world, consequently also

had to face the question of what character the building ex-

pressing this place would take on. In this context, many

young architects seized the opportunity to experiment with

modern forms also in sacred architecture, even if the only

form of expression were to be conceptual designs. Rudolf

Schwarz, Dominikus Böhm and Otto Bartning belonged to

this group. Their innovative concepts balancing between

minimalism, functionalism, and expressionist tendencies

aimed to construct a modern form that on the one hand tran-

scended tradition and on the other hand was appropriate to

the mystical character of the church as a place of worship.

Against this backdrop, Wrocław presents itself as a re -

ligiously heterogeneous city, a lively cultural center, which

in the 1

decade of the 20

century found itself on the

threshold of its greatest historical development – also on

the artistic level. The decline of the empire, the Great War,

the forcoming of the Weimar Republic and thus the new

political order, as well as the overpopulation crisis, placed

the city in a completely new reality.

Max Berg’s designs from 1912–1922

Among the many consequences of Wrocław’s radical de-

mographic development was the need for adequate burial

space and cemetery infrastructure. From Wrocław’s ne-

cropolises, the Grabiszyński and Osobowicki Cemeteries

were the fastest growing, so it was there that new invest-

ments were sought. The rst of these is the concept, or

rather a series of designs for a crematorium for the Gra-

biszyn Cemetery by Max Berg.

The history of the plans for a crematorium for Wrocław

begins as early as 1911, when the Wrocław City Council

de cided to build a new burial complex in the Grabiszyń-

ski Cemetery, consisting of a crematorium with facilities,

a chapel, and an extensive columbarium [25, p. 1], [8, p. 408].

Max Berg, being the acting Municipal Building Coun-

cillor, did not take the opportunity to commission a specic

architect, nor did he launch a competition, but personal-

ly undertook the work on the disposition of the Municipal

Council. As a result, over the course of a decade, sever-

al concepts emerged, illustrating the evolution of Berg’s

style and artistic preferences [26, p. 442]. Amongst the

most original versions dating back to as early as 1912,

strong inuences from Byzantine architecture are discern-

ible (which is particularly evident in the idea of a central

composition of a single or multi-dome building, together

with its variants), as well as ancient architecture of the

East – especially the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the

spiral minaret of the great mosque in Samarra, fragments

of which were discovered in 1911. These motifs can be

seen both in sketches from the Deutsches Museum in Mu

nich and in later designs. Berg returns to them repeatedly,

constantly modifying them. This can be seen both in the

cross-sections of a design that Berg made in collabora-

tion with Albert Kempter in October 1912, preserved in

the collection of the Institut für Regionalentwicklung und

Strukturplanung in Erkner, near Berlin, under the invento-

ry number N193/68 [8, p. 420] as well as one of the last,

which he also executed in collaboration with Kempter be-

tween 1920 and 1921. From the point of view of the gene-

sis of Berg’s style, it is interesting to compare his concept

with the crematorium in Dresden, discovered a few months

earlier, by Fritz Schumacher. The inuence of the so-called

“Zyklopenstil” – a term coined by Karl Scheer for the

synthesis of monumental Wilhelminian German architec-

ture of the 1

decade of the 20

century [27, p. 100] – is

evident in Berg’s concepts, as well as in the Schumacher

crematorium mentioned above.

The creative use of historical forms, while at the same

time searching for an adequate contemporary form is a fre-

quent phenomenon in the period of nascent modernism

– as Matthias Schirren points out [28] – it is one of the fun-

damental features of the work of Hans Poelzig, who drew

extensively on the formal and structural resources of Goth-

ic or the motifs of indigenous architecture, including tim-

bered construction. As it turns out, this phenomenon was

also not foreign to Schumacher (mentioned above) and

above all, Berg. Berg modied the design many times, but

it can be said that in general, all versions share a common

ideological direction – a centrally located chapel – clear-

ly dominating the cemetery space – topped with a dome

and surrounded by a cloistered columbarium, composed

in a variety of dierent variants. Even a cursory review of

crematorium buildings built in the German-speaking area

around 1910 reveals certain analogies. In addition to the

already mentioned Dresden crematorium, a central struc-

ture with a chapel or conagration hall topped by a dome

and surrounded by cloistered columbariums, the Sihlfeld

crematorium in Zürich, designed by Albert Froelich, is an

intriguing structure.

Berg’s concept for the crematorium, as envisaged in the

original design of 1912, was to consist of a tall, but some-

what squat chapel, designed on a square ground plan, with

much lower, oblong columbariums added on the sides.

The chapel was to be crowned by a stepped dome with

a lantern. As the troublesome part of the complex, the cre-

matorium was placed in the basement, while the chimney

was situated at the back of the building, invisible from the

front, where it was to be dominated by a column portico

with a monumental staircase.

As the visionary, Berg was fully aware of the impor-

tance of the complementarity of the arts, so he invited

the Austrian Expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka to

collaborate on the concept of the crematorium, as he had

done with Centennial Hall, this time oering him the op-

portunity to create a monumental painting with eschato-

logical themes for the interior of the crematorium chapel

[8, pp. 408, 409]. Kokoschka was tasked with completely

28 Piotr Mateusz Oleś

Fig. 1. Crematorium

– drawing by O. Kokoschka, 1914

(source: Kupferstich-Kabinett,

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen

Dresden, photo by H. Boswank)

Il. 1. Krematorium

– rysunek O. Kokoschki, 1914

(źródło: Kupferstich-Kabinett,

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen

Dresden, fot. H. Boswank)

covering the huge plane of the interior walls. He accept-

ed the oer. Interestingly enough, he did not stop at the

fresco design, but presented his own bold, clearly expres-

sionist vision of the architecture, which he demonstrated

to Berg (Fig. 1). Kokoschka’s monumental, tectonic, and

by design multi-coloured conception of the interior must

have made such a strong impression on Berg, that the sub-

sequent projects of 1914 and 1916 (Fig. 2) became the re-

sult of another collaboration between these two artists [8,

p. 414]. Moreover, the motifs that appeared in several ver-

sions of their joint designs would recur many years later

in Berg’s work, including in the unrealised project for the

campus of Berlin University. It seems that the most signif-

icant modication of the original variant was the change

of the chapel plan from square to circular. The 1914 ver-

sion of the chapel is a slender cylindrical structure with

an intriguingly conceived dome with a lantern (the 1916

version lacked the dome), not without reason evoking

associations with buildings from the exhibition grounds,

particularly Poelzig’s domes above the Historical Exhibi-

tion Pavilion. The additionally composed structure of the

dome, and especially the lantern itself, also evokes con-

notations with the Centennial Hall itself, but also allows

one to ask what inuence, if any, Poelzig’s Upper Silesian

Tower, erected for the East German Exhibition in Poznań,

and especially Bruno Taut’s Glass Pavilion from the Köln

Werkbund exhibition, had on the shape of Berg’s concept.

One of the most recent modications was a project de-

veloped together with Albert Kempter as part of the 1919–

1921 concept for the redevelopment of Wrocław, where the

crematorium, with a form practically unchanged from the

previous version (the new design envisaged a two-storey

building on an oval plan, from which the familiar cylin-

drical chapel emerged, closed by a conical dome without

The Modern Movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912 and 1933 29

lanterns), was inscribed into the monumental, axial layout

of the cemetery and located in its centre. As it turned out,

this project also failed to be completed. Ultimately, Berg

ended his cooperation with the City Council after a con-

ict ignited that lasted until 1924, while the following year

Richard Konwiarz took over working on the project [26,

p. 443]. Undoubtedly, it was the impasse caused by the

lack of funds and the growing conict between the o-

cials and Berg, as well as the clearly conservative approach

to evaluating the solutions presented by him, that was the

main reason why one of the most avant-garde architectural

visions in the city’s history did not live to see realisation.

A major undertaking related to the constantly expand-

ing area of the Osobowice Cemetery was the necessity of

construction of a new, more spacious funeral chapel con-

nected to the mortuary. In response to this need, Berg’s

design was unique in every respect. The chapel was de-

signed on a grand scale and realised with its furnishings

as a complete work of art – Gesamtkunstwerk – in 1920–

1921, although earlier Berg designs had already been cre-

ated in 1910–1911, 1914 and 1919 [29].

The building, located on the axis of the cemetery ave-

nue, was constructed in reinforced concrete as a sim-

ple structure consisting of three compositional elements

(blocks) – a portico supported by two cylindrical columns,

a high, centrally located chapel with an openwork bell on

the roof and a mortuary. The entire layout is surrounded by

a much lower courtyard, which gives it a basilica-like ap-

pearance. The chapel’s simple, undecorated white façades,

at roof and exceptionally harmonious proportions make

it one of the rst examples of Neues Bauen in Wrocław

(Fig. 3). Berg’s approach to realising the chapel’s concept

was extremely conscious, inviting Hans Leistikow and Al-

fred Vocke to work with him. Leistikow was entrusted with

the abstract painting and stained-glass decoration of the in-

terior, while Vocke made and signed a small stone relief

– a personication of death with a face covered by a veil

leading naked gures of a man and a woman by the hands,

placed above the portico as the only decorative element

of the façade. The chapel was intended as an interdenom-

inational or even non-religious place of last conagration,

and it was also for this purpose that Leistikow created the

rst monumental abstract painting in Silesia, in line with

the idea of abstraction as a phenomenon with an interre-

ligious dimension. The interior was characterised by no-

ble simplicity according to Berg’s conception, dominated

by a fresco by Leistikow, which is not visible today, and

which corresponds to the abstract stained-glass windows

lling the interior, located on the sides, with slender triple

windows – lower in the farmyard and high in the “nave”.

The furnishings in the form of chairs, pews, the pulpit, and

catafalque, including details such as handles and candela-

bra, were designed by Berg himself (Fig. 4).

Dwelling estate churches

The situation of a steadily growing city, struggling at

the beginning of the new century with a crisis of over-

crowding and dire living conditions for its inhabitants,

required the authorities to draw up a comprehensive de-

Fig. 2. Crematorium – model for M. Berg’s design, 1916

(source: Deutsches Museum in Munich,

photo in Muzeum Architektury, Wrocław)

Il. 2. Krematorium – makieta do projektu M. Berga, 1916

(źródło: Deutsches Museum in Munich,

fot. w Muzeum Architektury we Wrocławiu)

Fig. 3. Wrocław, Osobowicki Cemetery, Cemetery chapel,

Il. 3. Wrocław, cmentarz Osobowicki, kaplica cmentarna,

proj. M. Berg, 1921 (źródło: [30, s. 320])

velopment plan, including above all a housing policy. The

master plan nally adopted after many years of work in

1924, envisaged the expansion of Wrocław through a ter-

ritorial extension, running for the most part along the line

of the Oder [31, p. 7]. In line with Max Berg’s earlier as-

sumptions, the master plan envisioned the distribution of

settlements on the outskirts of the city [32, pp. 85–88],

30 Piotr Mateusz Oleś

[33, p. 96], [13, p. 139]. The dierence in housing pol-

icy in relation to the period prior to the outbreak of the

First World War, included above all the scale of activities

carried out and the comprehensive approach to the imple-

mentation of the plan, and thus also the provision of ac-

cess to culture and services for the inhabitants, including

religious fullment.

Consequently, entire complexes of religious buildings

were incorporated into the new neighbourhoods, mainly

because the church, along with parish facilities encom-

passed with performance, theatre, and sports halls for the

youth, was seen as a place intended for social integration

of the local community.

Sępolno, realised as a model garden-type housing es-

tate, was built between 1919 and 1935 in several stages

in the eastern part of the city according to a plan made by

Hermann Wahlich and Paul Heim [32]. It was planned as

an elongated layout with a central green square accentuat-

ed on its long axis by a forecasted school building to the

west and a Protestant church building to the east. A Catho-

lic church was envisaged on the south-eastern outskirts of

the square, the construction of which relied on raising the

necessary amount of funds.

Chronologically speaking, the Catholic Church of the

Holy Family was built earlier. Its construction, designed

by Kurt Langer, was completed in 1930. Out of three pro-

posed locations, the Catholic Parish chose the plot of land

at the junction of today’s Monte Cassino and Dembow-

skiego Streets, located in the south-eastern part of Sępol-

no. The massive body of the church immediately catches

attention. The temple is not characterised by an excep-

tionally modern form, but rather evokes associations with

medieval buildings with Romanesque features, especial-

ly thanks to its massive westwerk-like tower covered by

a stepped, hipped roof. In his designs, Langer became

known as a moderate advocate of traditional forms, who

emphasised modernity mainly in terms of construction,

which can also be seen in this example.

The church is a classic three-nave basilica built out of

dark brick in an innovative reinforced concrete construc-

tion, with a system of interconnected frames linking the

structure of the nave to the side aisles (Fig. 5). The pres-

bytery is quite typically closed from the east by a pentag-

onal apse. The entire body of the building is covered by

a high gable roof, the side aisles by pulpit roofs. Although

Langer used the traditional compositional elements of

a church in terms of the spatial layout, the shape of the

window openings, and the roof form, he nevertheless

used a subtle range of modern decorative motifs to shift

the emphasis towards Expressionism, which was already

familiar thanks to many Berlin projects at the time – in-

cluding Ernst Paulus’ Evangelical Church of the Cross in

Berlin Schmargendorf. The façades are dominated by the

clearly dened geometric under-eaves frieze of the tow-

er and naves, the monumental, slightly overhanging face

of the front wall, the cubic main portal, and the bands of

the semi-circular windows, formed by a sequence of brick

heads protruding in front of the face of the wall. The in-

terior is covered by at ceilings, with visible features of

a classical basilica. Langer achieved a particularly inter-

Fig. 5. Wrocław, Church of

the Holy Family in Sępolno, south elevation,

Il. 5. Wrocław,

kościół św. Rodziny na Sępolnie, elewacja południowa,

proj. K. Langer, 1930 (fot. P. Oleś, 2022).

Fig. 4. Wrocław, Osobowicki Cemetery, Cemetery chapel – interior,

(source: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg)

Il. 4. Wrocław, cmentarz Osobowicki, kaplica cmentarna – wnętrze,

proj. M. Berg, 1921, mal. H. Leistikow

(źródło: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg)

The Modern Movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912 and 1933 31

esting eect in the side aisles, which thanks to the con-

struction of reinforced concrete frames form a sequence

of parabolic arches in perspective (Fig. 6). The church’s

furnishings are another interesting strand of the dialogue

between tradition and modernity; the classical spatial lay-

out is dominated by rounded, curved shapes, particularly

evident in the inter-nave arches, the pulpit and the shape

of the organ gallery. Evidently, Langer conceived the inte-

rior in such a way as to draw all attention to the originally

gilded apse with its star vault and the main altar, whose set-

ting is dominated by a modernist mosaic with the scene of

nding Jesus in the temple. Therefore, although Langer’s

design bears avant-garde features – betraying a fascina-

tion with Expressionism – stylistically it is still undoubt-

edly quite conservative.

Albert Kempter took a bolder approach to the project

entrusted to him for the Evangelical Gustav Adolf Me-

morial Church. The construction of the church was pre-

ceded by a competition announced in January 1932 [34],

in which Kempter won rst prize. The chief judge of the

competition was Fritz Höger, and other prize winners in-

cluded: Hans Thomas (second prize), Hermann Wahlich

(third prize), and Buchwald and Hesse. The designs of

Georg Wolf and Paul Klein and Wilhelm Bruck and Zin-

kler were purchased, while the designs of the team of Hans

Scharoun and Adolf Rading, as well as those of Helmert,

Gase, Wahl and Rödel of Essen, Erich Grau, Brix and Er-

win Grau were honoured [35].

The construction according to Kempter’s design was

completed between 1932 and 1933. The church was real-

ised on a centrally located plot at the axis of the estate,

at the eastern end of the green square as a clear compo-

sitional dominant of the whole establishment. The com-

petition, which besides Kempter also included Rading

and Scharaoun, was awarded on February 15

1932. The

church designed by Kempter not only tted perfectly into

the urban context of the surroundings, but above all proved

to be a sucient counterbalance to the monumental school

building designed by Hugo Altho and Max Schirmer at

the opposite end of the estate’s axis in 1927 – which can be

assumed, was also decisive in the nal decision to choose

Kempter’s proposal. The nal result was a unique, mon-

umental, raw brick building of perfect proportions, com-

posed of simple, interconnected cubic volumes. The basil-

ica-like body of the building consists of a wide nave with

a tower inscribed in the façade, slightly set back from the

face of the wall, and side aisles adjacent to the nave, like

the tower, slightly set back and of a much lower height. As

a result, the whole takes on the eect of a pyramidal, dy-

namic structure. Both the nave and side aisles are covered

by a at roof. The only elements articulating the side ele-

vations are the slender, high windows of the nave, which

are matched by narrow slit slits in the upper part of the

tower – not preserved today. The absence of any decora-

tive elements heightens the impression of radical austeri-

ty, which is certainly intended to focus all attention on the

geometry and tectonics of the building (Fig. 7). Originally,

the interior of the church, like the exterior, presented a sim-

plicity, even minimalism, pushed to the limits of aesthet-

ics. The main nave, preceded by a shallow vestibule, was

Fig. 7. Wrocław, Gustav Adolf Memorial Church,

view from the south-east,

(source: [36, p. 65])

Il. 7. Wrocław, kościół Pamięci Gustawa Adolfa,

widok od południowego wschodu,

proj. A. Kempter, 1933

(źródło: [36, s. 65])

Fig. 6. Wrocław, Church of the Holy Family in Sępolno,

interior view, south aisle,

(source: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg / Hugo Schnell,)

Il. 6. Wrocław, kościół św. Rodziny na Sępolnie,

widok wnętrza, nawa południowa,

proj. K. Langer, 1930

(źródło: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg / Hugo Schnell)

32 Piotr Mateusz Oleś

Fig. 8. Gustav Adolf Memorial

Church – competition design

by H. Scharoun and A. Rading,

general view, 1932

(source: Akademie der Künste,

Berlin, Hans Scharoun Archiv,

No. 1253 Bl. 65/3)

Il. 8. Kościół Pamięci Gustawa

Adolfa – projekt konkursowy

H. Scharouna i A. Radinga,

widok ogólny, 1932

(źródło: Akademie der Künste,

Berlin, Hans Scharoun Archiv,

Nr. 1253 Bl. 65/3)

Fig. 9. Gustav Adolf Memorial

Church – competition design

by H. Scharoun and A. Rading,

plan and cross-section, 1932

(source: Akademie der Künste,

Berlin, Hans Scharoun Archiv,

No. 1253 Bl. 65/5)

Il. 9. Kościół Pamięci Gustawa

Adolfa – projekt konkursowy

H. Scharouna i A. Radinga,

plan i przekrój, 1932

(źródło: Akademie der Künste,

Berlin, Hans Scharoun Archiv,

Nr. 1253 Bl. 65/5)

separated from the side aisles by sliding walls, which made

it possible to modify the volume of the interior according

to the needs of the community – a pioneering solution for

a church building, unprecedented in the Oder region. The

only accent focusing attention within was a simple, slender

cross above the marble altar, closing the compositionally

empty eastern wall of the church.

The aforementioned competition attracted 79 entries [32,

p. 73, note 44]. Of these, the design by Scharoun and Rading

(the attribution is nally conrmed by Ilkosz [14, p. 385],

and explicitly mentioned in “Die Bauwelt” [35]), in the

years 1925–1932 strongly associated with the Wrocław ar-

tistic community, deserves special attention as by far the

most avant-garde proposal. The competition for the design

of an Evangelical church for Sępolno, was the last Silesian

competition in which Scharoun took part. Here, the archi-

tects proposed a light yet monumental two-storey structure,

which was ahead of its time. It broke out of the tradition-

al pattern and was maintained in light tones (Figs. 8, 9).

The parabolic-shaped structure opened with a glazed fa-

The Modern Movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912 and 1933 33

çade, divided by a row of vertical muntins, broadly to-

wards the central square of the estate and narrowed to the

east towards the altar space. This is where the slender, tall

belfry was positioned, repeating the parabolic layout, and

rising from the building structure to form its dominant ac-

cent. The massive yet lightweight side walls of the belfry

were transformed at the top into two twin crosses, closing

the composition as a whole. The bells hung in the belfry

were designed to be left uncovered, adding to the light-

ness of the building. There is no doubt, that the style used

by Scharoun and Rading in the design of the church must

have been an echo, or in fact a continuation of an earli-

er design for a school planned on the opposite side of the

central square, which he similarly presented with Rading

at an unocial competition in 1926 (Fig. 10). At the time,

the school design, like the later church design, was reject-

ed, presumably being too bold (the design by Altho and

Schirmer, mentioned above, was eventually realised). The

interior of the church was designed as a three-nave basilica

with a spacious matroneum and narrow side aisles lit from

above. The central space was to be illuminated by tall, nar-

row windows, while the altar was intended to be lit from

above through a skylight in the bell tower. This unusual

use of natural light, together with a well-conceived spa-

tial arrangement, combining the traditional scheme of the

church interior with a modern design, would certainly have

made a unique contribution to the still very typical modern

church architecture of not only Wrocław.

Translated by

Piotr Oleś

Fig. 10. Competition design for a school, kindergarten, police station

and cultural centre for the Sępolno estate by H. Scharoun and

A. Rading, 1926 (source: Akademie der Künste, Berlin,

Hans Scharoun Archiv, Nr. 1254 Bl. 66/6)

Il. 10. Projekt konkursowy szkoły, przedszkola, posterunku policji

i centrum kultury dla Sępolna autorstwa H. Scharouna i A. Radinga,

1926 (źródło: Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Hans Scharoun Archiv,

Nr. 1254 Bl. 66/6)

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34 Piotr Mateusz Oleś

Abstract

The Modern Movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912 and 1933

The topic of the article is the modern movement in the sacred architecture of Wrocław between 1912–1933. Text, which is a contribution to the

study of the problem of ecclesiastical architecture created in the capital of Lower Silesia in the years 1900–1933, examples are given of ve structures

– built and designed. They include both Catholic and Protestant buildings – the designs of the crematorium and cemetery chapel at Osobowice by Max

Berg, the Catholic Church of the Holy Family by Kurt Langer, the Protestant Gustav Adolf Memorial Church designed by Albert Kempter and the

outstanding, but unrealized competition project for this church by Hans Scharoun and Adolf Rading. These buildings are characterised by stylistic and

functional diversity. Text provides a glimpse into the development of the modern movement in the work of Wrocław’s architects from the radically

avant-garde visions of Max Berg and Oskar Kokoschka working together on the crematorium project, through the classically modernist character of

the Holy Family Church built for Sępolno, to the functionalist style of the Albert Kempter’s Gustav Adolf Memorial Church and nally the ahead of

its time, clearly not tting into the categories of conservative church architecture competition design by Scharoun and Rading for the same church.

Modernity, like the avant-garde, as a heterogeneous phenomenon reveals itself on many levels – from ideas to construction to functionality. An

analysis of the buildings discussed based on the current state of research and an archival search including surviving designs and press materials proves

that the capital of the Silesian Province not only did not remain on the fringes of the emerging avant-garde, but, with the strength of the local artistic

milieu of the local artistic community, concentrated among others around the Royal Academy of Arts and Crafts, actively co-created the avant-garde,

incorporating the iconic architecture created here into the framework of the extremely dynamic modern movement, which was developing rapidly

at the time.

Key words: Wrocław, sacred architecture, modern movement

Streszczenie

Ruch nowoczesny w architekturze sakralnej Wrocławia w latach 1912–1933

Tematem artykułu jest ruch nowoczesny w architekturze sakralnej Wrocławia w latach 1912–1933. W tekście, który stanowi przyczynek do badań

nad problematyką architektury sakralnej powstałej w stolicy Dolnego Śląska w latach 1900–1933, przytoczone zostały przykłady pięciu budowli

– powstałych i projektowanych. Wśród nich znalazły się zarówno budowle katolickie, jak i protestanckie – projekty krematorium i kaplica cmentarna

na Osobowicach Maxa Berga, katolicki kościół św. Rodziny Kurta Langera, ewangelicki kościół Pamięci Gustawa Adolfa projektu Alberta Kemptera

oraz wybitny, choć niezrealizowany projekt konkursowy dla tego kościoła autorstwa Hansa Scharouna i Adolfa Radinga. Budowle te charakteryzuje

stylistyczna i funkcjonalna różnorodność. Tekst pozwala dostrzec rozwój ruchu nowoczesnego w twórczości wrocławskich architektów począwszy

od radykalnie awangardowych wizji Maxa Berga i Oskara Kokoschki pracujących wspólnie nad projektem krematorium, przez klasycznie moderni-

styczny charakter zrealizowanego dla Sępolna kościoła św. Rodziny, po funkcjonalistyczny chłodny w stylu zrealizowany przez Alberta Kemptera

kościół Pamięci Gustawa Adolfa i wreszcie wyprzedzający epokę, wyraźnie niemieszczący się w kategoriach konserwatywnej architektury sakralnej

konkursowy projekt Scharouna i Radinga dla tego samego kościoła.

Nowoczesność, podobnie jak awangarda, jako zjawisko niejednorodne ujawnia się na wielu poziomach – od idei, przez konstrukcję po funkcjo-

nalność. Analiza budowli omówionych na podstawie aktualnego stanu badań i kwerendy archiwalnej obejmującej zachowane projekty i materiały

prasowe dowodzi, że stolica Prowincji Śląskiej nie tylko nie pozostawała na rubieżach rodzącej się awangardy, ale siłami tutejszego środowiska

artystycznego skupionego między innymi wokół Królewskiej Akademii Sztuki i Rzemiosła Artystycznego, aktywnie ją współtworzyła, włączając

powstałą tutaj architekturę kultową w ramy niezwykle dynamicznie rozwijającego się wówczas ruchu nowoczesnego.

Słowa kluczowe: Wrocław, architektura sakralna, modernizm

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