Heimatschutz Architecture

Heimatschutz Architecture, or the Heimatschutzstil ("Homeland Protection Style") or Heimatstil (the latter term is not to be confused with Heimatstil in the sense of late historicism) is a style of architectural modernism that was first described in 1904 and had its prime until 1945. Various buildings were built after the war until around 1960. The main areas of work were settlement building, house building, garden design, industrial building, church building and monument preservation. The style is closely linked to the various social movements influenced by neo-romantic ideals which aim to strengthen a true love for the homeland (Heimat) but also a romantic nationalism. In opposition to the urbanization in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, their efforts resulted in the birth of numerous associations of history of popular traditions, notably the Wandervogel founded in 1901. The Heimatschutzstil or Heimatstil was "an architecture on the way to modernity rooted in local and regional building traditions and overcoming historicism and Art Nouveau." Due to its turn away from the previously dominant historicism that copied the “foreign,” it was seen as a reform style. Externally identifying parts or elements are the use of building materials customary in the area (e.g. brick in northern Germany, wood in the Alpine region) and, in contrast to historicism, a renunciation of decorative attributes that imitate older architectural styles in great detail. Elements of traditional architecture, such as arches or columns, could be used in a reduced form. It also uses ornamental elements from the past, such as turrets, pillars or cherubs, and is part of the cultural landscape. Although it appeared at the turn of the century, it mainly began to be deployed in East Prussia, after the destruction of the First World War, with the support of organizations such as the Reichsverband Ostpreußenhilfe (Reich Association of East Prussia Aid), but also in Bavaria with the construction of a network of new post offices.