Ödön Lechner
Encyclopedia
Ödön Lechner was a Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, nicknamed the "Hungarian Gaudí".

Lechner was one of the early representatives of the Hungarian Secession movement, called szecesszió in Hungarian, which was related to Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

 and Jugendstil in the rest of Europe. He decorated his buildings with Zsolnay
Zsolnay
Zsolnay, or formally Zsolnay Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt is a Hungarian manufacturer of porcelain, pottery, ceramics, tiles, and stoneware...

 tile patterns inspired by old Magyar and Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...

 folk art. The Magyar were a people that came from the east, which explains the eastern-like appearance of Lechner's buildings. He combines this with the use of materials modern for his time, such as iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

.

His work was submitted in 2008 for inclusion on the World Heritage List.

Early career

Lechner studied architecture in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 and later Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 at the Schinkel
Schinkel
Schinkel can refer to:* Schinkel , a river in Amsterdam* Schinkel, Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany* 5297 Schinkel , a Main-belt Asteroid discovered on 1973- Family name :...

 academy. After finishing his studies in Berlin, Lechner departed on a one year tour and study in Italy. In 1869 he went into a partnership with Gyula Partos
Gyula Pártos
Gyula Pártos was a Hungarian architect. Together with Ödön Lechner he designed a number of buildings in the typical Secession style of the turn of the century Hungary.-Career:...

 and the architecture firm received a steady flow of commissions during the boom years of the 1870s, when the construction of buildings lining the ring roads on the Pest side of the Danube occurred. The commissions the partners received were primarily apartment houses in which Lechner worked in the prevailing historicist style, drawing on neo-classical influences from Berlin and the Italian renaissance.

Travel

In 1875 Lechner's wife died, not long after their marriage. He ceased his activities with the partnership and went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where between 1875 and 1878 he worked under Clement Parent
Clément Parent
François Clément Joseph Parent was a French architect. Among his work was the castle at Ooidonk. With his brother Henri Parent, he restored the châteaux of Ancy-le-Franc for the Clermont-Tonnerre, Esclimont and Bonnetable families. One of his pupils was the Hungarian Ödön Lechner.-External...

. At this time he was able to familiarise himself with the emerging art nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

 style. He took part in the design and renewal of seven castles. From 1879 he returned to work as before in Hungary and after a trip to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 between 1889 and 1890 his style moved away from historicism to embracing the more modern trends of the day. Lechner ended the partnership in 1896 and received less commissions as an independent architect. In 1906 he published a summary of his views in the journal Muveszet. Lechner's final commission was for the Gyula Vermes house in the fifth district of Budapest in 1910-11.

Hungarian secessionist style

Lechner aimed to form a national style, using motifs from Hungarian folk art in the decoration of his buildings as well as incorporating architectural elements from eastern cultures like Persia. Changing directions and curved shapes also distinguish this from the Vienna Secession
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists, housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. This movement included painters, sculptors, and architects...

 style. A significant turning point in his career came with a connection to the Vilmos Zsolnay
Zsolnay
Zsolnay, or formally Zsolnay Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt is a Hungarian manufacturer of porcelain, pottery, ceramics, tiles, and stoneware...

 company, and Lechner began to use terracotta tiling in his designs. This new use of modern materials is exemplified in the Thonet business house in Budapest, Váci utca (1889) with its steel structure and the facade covered with Zsolnai terracotta. The pinnacle of Lechner's work is represented in the Postal Savings Bank (the headquarters of the National Bank of Hungary at present) which was completed in 1901. The building's orgy of colours and forms build off art nouveau influences and the emerging European style at the turn of the century, marrying these ideas with Hungarian motifs and eastern forms to create a unique style. The style had many adherents as well as critics. It was to be seen by later generations of architects as a touchstone.

Works

  • 1882 Szeged City Hall, together with Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos was a Hungarian architect. Together with Ödön Lechner he designed a number of buildings in the typical Secession style of the turn of the century Hungary.-Career:...

  • 1882 - 1884 Hungarian Railway Pensioners Building (MÁV Nyugdíjintézet bérháza), Budapest
    Budapest
    Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

    , together with Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos was a Hungarian architect. Together with Ödön Lechner he designed a number of buildings in the typical Secession style of the turn of the century Hungary.-Career:...

  • 1885-86 Nagybecskerek City Hall
    Zrenjanin City Hall
    Zrenjanin City Hall is located at the Trg Slobode in Zrenjanin, Serbia. It is a seat of the Zrenjanin municipality.- History :...

    , Kingdom of Hungary
    Kingdom of Hungary
    The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

     (today's Serbia
    Serbia
    Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

    ), together with Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos was a Hungarian architect. Together with Ödön Lechner he designed a number of buildings in the typical Secession style of the turn of the century Hungary.-Career:...

    .
  • 1891 -97 Saint Ladislaus Church (Szent László-plébániatemplom), Kőbánya
    Kobánya
    Kőbánya is the 10th district of Budapest and one of the largest by territory. It is located in southeast Pest, easily accessible from the downtown by Metro 3, whose terminus is named Kőbánya-Kispest....

    , Budapest
  • 1893 Kecskemét City Hall
    City Hall (Kecskemét)
    The Kecskemét City Hall is the house of the main administration of the city of Kecskemét, Bács-Kiskun County, Hungary. It was built in 1893.The building was designed by Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos...

    , together with Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos
    Gyula Pártos was a Hungarian architect. Together with Ödön Lechner he designed a number of buildings in the typical Secession style of the turn of the century Hungary.-Career:...

    .
  • 1896 Budapest Museum of Applied Arts
    Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest)
    The Museum of Applied Arts is a museum in Budapest, Hungary. This Art Nouveau building was built between 1893 and 1896 to the plans of Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos...

  • 1896 -99 Geological Institute
    Geological Museum (Budapest)
    The Geological Museum of Budapest is the main museum of geology in Hungary. It is located on the Stefánia utca in the western part of Pest.The building was originally the home of the Hungarian Geological Society, which was established in 1869. The building was designed by Ödön Lechner in 1896...

    , Budapest
  • 1899 -02 The Postal Savings Bank building (Postatakarékpénztár), Budapest
  • 1903 Tomb of Schmidl family, Kozma Street Cemetery
    Kozma Street Cemetery
    The Kozma Street Cemetery is the biggest Jewish cemetery of Budapest, Hungary. It is located next to the New Public Cemetery .- Jewish cemetery :...

    , Budapest, together with Béla Lajta
    Béla Lajta
    Béla Lajta was a prominent Hungarian architect.-Career:...

  • 1906 -08 Royal Catholic Gymnasium in Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary
    Kingdom of Hungary
    The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

     (today's Slovakia
    Slovakia
    The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

    )
  • 1907- 08 The Blue Church
    Church of St. Elisabeth (Bratislava)
    The Church of St. Elisabeth , commonly known as Blue Church , is a Hungarian Secessionist Catholic church located in the eastern part of the Old Town in Bratislava, Slovakia...

     of Pressburg
  • 1909 -12 Saint Ladislaus Church
    St. Ladislaus Church (South Norwalk, Connecticut)
    St.Ladislaus is a Roman Catholic church in South Norwalk, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport.-History:St. Ladislaus Church was established in 1907 to serve a Hungarian congregation. Many immigrants from Hungary had arrived in South Norwalk in the late 19th century...

     in South Norwalk, Connecticut
    South Norwalk, Connecticut
    South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk, Connecticut. SoNo features a high density of bars and eateries and is the center of Norwalk's nightlife and restaurant culture...

    , USA
  • 1907 -13 Saint Elisabeth Church
    Church of St. Elisabeth (Bratislava)
    The Church of St. Elisabeth , commonly known as Blue Church , is a Hungarian Secessionist Catholic church located in the eastern part of the Old Town in Bratislava, Slovakia...

    (the Blue Church) in Pressburg

External links

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