Geschwister Scholl-Haus, Institut für Kunstpädagogik

Geschwister Scholl-Haus, Institut für Kunstpädagogik stands beside Leipzig’s Nikolaikirche, on the historic Großen Fürstencolleg university site. Built between 1908 and 1910, the university building originally housed Germany’s first business school, founded in 1896. Fritz Schumacher designed its reform architecture with practical spaces and restrained decoration.

Rochlitz porphyry frames the shop zone, roof cornice, and sculptural details against grey plaster surfaces. Georg Wrba’s entrance decorations show merchant ships, allegorical figures, a bird’s nest, and a round-cheeked Mercury. Inside, three portal doors open onto a foyer with a glass ceiling light and four hanging lamps. Reddish-brown Villeroy & Boch ceramics cover the staircase, while visible reinforced concrete structures organise the rooms.

The building received extensive restoration in 1994 and 1995, recovering original colours in the staircase and large lecture hall. Since 1995, Leipzig University’s Institute for Art Education has used the rooms for exhibitions, readings, and student presentations. Above the entrance, the inscription “Geschwister-Scholl-Haus” recalls Sophie and Hans Scholl, members of the White Rose resistance group.