August Krumholz

August Krumholz (1845, Straß in Steiermark - after June, 1914) was an Austrian architect.

The City Museum in Aussig (now Ústí nad Labem)
The Komenium in Olmütz (now Olomouc)

Biography

His father, also named August, was a construction manager from Marburg. He studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, from 1864 to 1869, first with Eduard van der Nüll, then Friedrich von Schmidt. In 1866 and 1869, he was awarded the Academy's Gundel-Prize for excellence. During the latter year, he also participated in a major exhibition in Munich.[1]

He distinguished himself primarily as a school architect. A realschule in Olmütz (the Komenium), built from 1870 to 1874, was his first fully independent design. Through Schmidt's mediation, and support from the educator, Erasmus Schwab (1831-1917), he created a prototype for a country school building that was displayed at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair.[2] In 1876, he won a competition to establish a community school in Winterberg.

In addition to schools, he built the Dumba-Villa in Liezen, for the industrialist, Nikolaus Dumba (demolished 1960),[3] and the City Museum in Aussig.

Despite his successes, he gradually withdrew from his profession during the 1880s and became a land owner, joining the Bauernvereins (Farmers' Association) in his father's hometown and introducing Anti-Semitic ideas, derived from the works of Georg von Schönerer.[4] After 1893, he was based in Budapest, where he owned a construction company that provided supplies for the Austro-Hungarian Army. He later moved the company to Vienna, where it went bankrupt in 1906. Two years after that, he opened another architectural studio.[5]

Within a few weeks, the Kronen Zeitung, Austria's largest newspaper, reported that he and his mistress had been arrested in Paris on charges of espionage.[6] According to them, he had been in correspondence with Henri Julliot, a designer for the French firm of Lebaudy Frères, had become interested in their airship, the Patrie, and was in possession of material relating to its construction. The charges were apparently dismissed, following Julliot's intervention, but he was expelled from France.

He largely disappeared after that point. The last time he was mentioned in the press was on June 14, 1914.[7] His date and place of death are unknown.

References
  1. Karl Emil Otto Fritsch: "Von der internationalen Kunstausstellung in München". In: Deutsche Bauzeitung #3, 1869, pg.493.
  2. Erasmus Schwab and August Krumholz: Die österreichische Musterschule für Landgemeinden auf dem Weltausstellungsplatze, 1873; August Krumholz: Detailpläne der österreichischen Musterschule für Landgemeinden in der Wiener Weltausstellung 1873., 1877; Carl Hinträger: "Die Schulhäuser in den verschiedenen Ländern, Teil II: Volksschulhäuser in Österreich-Ungarn, Bosnien und Hercegovina". In: Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Architektur. Ergänzungshefte zum Handbuch der Architektur, Nr. 12. Stuttgart 1901, pg.58 and 110f.
  3. August Krumholz: Jagdhaus des Herrn Nicolaus Dumba zu Liezen in Obersteiermark. In Allgemeine Bauzeitung 1876, pgs.76–78; Johann Josef Böker: Die beiden Villen des Nicolaus Dumba in Liezen (Obersteiermark). In: Insitu – Zeitschrift für Architekturgeschichte #7, 2015, pgs.235–246.
  4. Janez Cvirn: Das „Festungsdreieck“. Zur politischen Orientierung der Deutschen in der Untersteiermark (1861–1914). Lit Verlag,, 2016. pg.95f.
  5. Adressbuch Wien 1903, Krumholz August
  6. Kronen Zeitung @ the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
  7. Der Volksfreund @ the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
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