MODERNIST WORKSHOP
By the beginning of the 20th century, the city has grown into an important site for industrial production. Correspondingly, the workforce
grows stronger and organises itself into unions, associations, and the Social Democratic Party. In this way a social movement develops that
shapes the social and political life of the city and whose architectural culture is still visible today. An ambitious housing programme leads to
the development of numerous modern residential settlements offering affordable homes with good living conditions to working families. Public
buildings appear that stand for a new architectural school of thought and cause a sensation, such as the cubist “Stadttheater“ [i. e. metropolitan
theatre] with its double elementary school.
Construction activity in Luckenwalde represents a wide range of architectural trends of the time and includes the “Neues Bauen“ [i. e. New
Building] as well as traditional and expressionist styles. In addition to an ambitious and powerful architectural community on-site, by whom a
bulk of the noteworthy buildings in the city were designed, there are also architects here that later become internationally known, including Hans
Hertlein, Erich Mendelsohn and Richard Neutra.
The “HeimatMuseum“ [i. e. local museum] of Luckenwalde dedicates an entire room to the subject, where you can learn much more about it.