Wilhelm Wagenfeld House

Wilhelm Wagenfeld House (German: Wilhelm-Wagenfeld-Haus) is a design museum and exhibition centre in Bremen, Germany. Completed in the Neoclassical style in 1828, the building now carries the name of Bremen-born Wilhelm Wagenfeld (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 art museum.[1]

Wilhelm Wagenfeld House

History and architecture
The building (left) in 1825

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 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.[2]

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.[3][4]

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 from 1933,[5] have been open to the public since 1999.[3][6]

See also

References
  1. David Galloway (30 May 1998). "City Has Rejuvenated the Focke and Kunsthalle : Bremen Brushes Up Its Museums". New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  2. "Database Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Bremen". (in German)
  3. "Konzept: Kreative Industrien" (in German). Wilhem Wagenfeld Haus. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  4. "Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung" (in German). Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  5. "Wilhelm-Wagenfeld-Haus ehemals Gefangenenhaus Ostertorwache" (in German). Bremen-freizeit.de. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  6. "Dokumentationsstätte: Gefangenenhaus Ostertorwache" (in German). Erinnern für die Zukunft. Retrieved 18 December 2013.

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