Ernst-Ludwig-Haus: portal

The Ernst Ludwig House was built as a common atelier following plans drawn up by Josef Maria Olbrich, who had worked as an architect and was the central figure in the group of artists, Peter Behrens having been involved at first only as a painter and an illustrator. The laying of the foundation stone took place on the 24th of March 1900.

The atelier was both a worksite and the venue for gatherings in the artists’ colony. In the middle of the main floor is the meeting room, and there are three artist studios on each side of it. There are two underground artists’ apartments and underground rooms for business purposes. The entrance is located in a niche decorated with gold-plated flower motifs. Two six-metre tall statues, “Man and Woman” or “Strength and Beauty”, flank the entrance and are the work of Ludwig Habich. The artists’ houses were grouped around the atelier.

Towards the end of the 1980s, the building, restored after damage in World War II, was turned into a museum (Museum K�nstlerkolonie Darmstadt) about the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony.