Munich: Schwanthalerstraße

1905

Architect: August Zeh

Schwanthalerstraße 79, Munich, Germany

The apartment building in Munich’s Ludwigsvorstadt district has a richly decorated, colorful plaster façade, curved balcony latticework, and a gable in the form of a tail. It was built in 1905 according to plans by August Zeh.

August Zeh

August Zeh was an architect born in Bamberg in 1874. He died in Solln in 1929. He was the son of the building contractor Carl Zeh.

Before moving to Munich in 1894, Zeh worked in Bamberg as an assistant to city architect Hans Erlwein, helping design a hospital pavilion and the Prinzregent-Luitpold School.

In Munich, often collaborating with his father, builder Carl Zeh, August constructed several residential buildings and villas, including those on Lindwurmstrasse, Bavariaring, and Richard-Wagner-Strasse.

Artist Association Sema

August Zeh was a founding member of the association Sema, which was based in Munich.

Between 1911 and 1913, the group of artists, writers, musicians and architects came together around the painter Paul Klee. Other founding members included Alfred Kubin, Max Oppenheimer, René Prévot, and Edwin Scharff.

The artists’ association, named after the Greek word ‘sema’ (the sign), existed until 1913. In 1912, the Delphin Verlag published the Sema Mappe, which contained fifteen lithographs, including ‘Die Flusslandschaft’ by Paul Klee, ‘Der Flüchtling’ by Alfred Kubin and ‘Akt’ by Egon Schiele.

Apartment Building Schwanthalerstrasse

In 1905, Munich pharmacist Andreas Krammer commissioned architect August Zeh to rebuild and increase the height of an existing house at Schwanthalerstrasse 79.

The house’s plaster façade is richly decorated with various reliefs and ornaments. The upper area features borders and decorative fields arranged in a strict geometric pattern, as well as aphorisms and reliefs depicting scenes from fairy tales and legends.

Below the balcony, there are reliefs depicting a rearing horse and a bull.

In 1905, the middle-class apartments, each of which spanned an entire floor, had their own bathrooms.

Today, the listed building houses apartments, offices, and stores.