August Kirstein

Kirstein was born in Silesia as the son of a stonemason who worked on the Cologne Cathedral. After studying grammar school in Ratibor / Racibórz, he apprenticed with the architectural firm of Ryllmann & Heyden in Berlin. After graduating from the state vocational school in Vienna in 1875, he was soon admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Friedrich Schmidt, a friend of his father. Schmidt also took him on as an apprentice while he was still a student, and in 1882 he named Kirstein construction manager for the renovation of the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Pécs. After Schmidt’s death, he took over complete management of the project. In 1892 he began collaborating with Friedrich Ohmann, with whom he worked on public buildings, for example a museum in Magdeburg. In 1902 he obtained Austrian citizenship and established his own practice. In 1915 he was appointed as Schmidt’s successor on the board of directors of the Wiener Bauhütte, an association of master builders and craftsmen. After 1921 he was head of the St. Stephen’s Cathedral building workshop in Vienna, a historically important position responsible for organizing the renovation work on this and other churches.

Lucie Valdhansová

Architect
August Kirstein

Date of birth
21. 8. 1856 Koźle, Poland

Deceased
7. 6. 1939 Vienna, Austria