Our panorama presents the southern front and the main entrance area of the Hundertwasser school building of the Luther-Melanchthon-Gymnasium on Wittenberg’s Schillerstrasse.
Architecture of the Hundertwasser school
The school building was originally constructed in 1974/75 as a classic GDR prefabricated school, but after the fall of communism in 1990, as with many comparable school buildings from the GDR era, it was due for refurbishment. At the suggestion of teachers and pupils, the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser was surprisingly recruited to create a design for the remodelling. His plans were realised in 1997-99 under the direction of architect Peter Pelikan. The result was a new interpretation of the school building in typical Hundertwasser philosophy. No two windows are the same (apart from the original Plattenbau construction areas, which were left as quotations), tower bonnets, colourful ceramics and organic shapes were added and trees were installed as permanent tenants. A school observatory is also integrated into the building.
History of the school
The school, newly founded in 1975 and built in the ‘Erfurt II’ prefabricated building style with two transverse wings and a connecting centre section, was initially home to the ‘Erich Weinert’ and ‘Hans Lorbeer’ polytechnic secondary schools. In 1991, the primary school and grammar school ‘am Trajuhnschen Bach’ were founded in the complex, which was later renamed Martin Luther Gymnasium (Grammar School). After being remodelled into a Hundertwasser school, the school merged with Melanchthon-Gymnasium in 2003 to become the Luther-Melanchthon-Gymnasium of today.
Our 2017 photos documented all four sides of the school building (so more views are possible and may follow). At that time, the school grounds were still completely open to the public and the outdoor area was freely accessible. When we visited again in 2024, the grounds were permanently fenced in and only accessible to a limited extent. Please check the possibilities of a visit before making an excursion.
