Zwischen Nachwirkung und Vereinnahmung

Karl Friedrich Schinkel is the most important figure in Prussian culture in terms of his legacy. His entire oeuvre - the artistic within various genres as well as the architectural theoretical - is still intensively received today. However, although the Schinkel literature is steadily growing in volume, the reception of this œuvre has not yet been comprehensively studied. The present study thus closes a crucial gap within Schinkel research and at the same time makes a weighty contribution to reception research per se. It is dedicated to Schinkel's entire reception, beginning with the completion of his first significant building, the Neue Wache in Berlin. The study traces the aftermath to the present day across all time periods. Central phases of Schinkel's reception are adequately reflected for the first time. These are, above all, the extremely important festive lectures of the Schinkel festivals of the Berlin Architects' and Engineers' Association, which have taken place almost without interruption for 175 years, each on Schinkel's birthday, and which uniquely reflect and help to shape the entire reception. Also examined are the receptive course under National Socialism, the special situation of the biographical narrative, and other aspects that have hardly been dealt with until now.