The key work of Karel Winter is the town hall in Jablonec nad Nisou

Prague – Architect Karl Winter, whose 125th birthday will be on August 18, is one of the significant representatives of Czechoslovak interwar architecture. Among his most famous buildings is the functionalist town hall in Jablonec nad Nisou. A commemorative plaque will be unveiled today in Jablonec nad Nisou in honor of Karl Winter, who designed not only the building itself but also the interiors, including details and furniture.

Karl Winter was born in Úpice near Trutnov, where he also attended a Czech elementary school. He then graduated from the German grammar school in Trutnov and subsequently studied architecture at the German Technical University in Prague, completing his studies in 1919. In the meantime, he took several study trips, primarily to Italy. After his studies, he worked for six years as an assistant to his professor Arthur Payr. Due to marriage and the need to provide for his family, he moved to Liberec in 1927, where he became a professor at the State Industrial School.

In 1928, he won an architectural competition for the construction of the new Jablonec town hall. The extensive project had to meet the conditions of the city councilors, who wanted the building to not only serve as the seat of city administration but also to be profitable. It was to include spaces for a café with a terrace, a restaurant, a city savings bank, shops, and also a cinema. Winter designed the building, which was constructed between 1931 and 1933, in the spirit of modern functionalism, yet he was also inspired by the forms of Gothic and Renaissance Italian town halls and integrated traditionalist elements. The result was a structure that is now regarded as one of the most valuable examples of Czechoslovak interwar architecture. It features a dominant 51-meter tall tower.

However, Winter is not the author of just one building. He designed several industrial facilities, such as the buildings of the Králové Dvory Cement Plant. He was also the author of the terminal building at Karlovy Vary Airport. According to his own design, he had a family villa built in Liberec.

In 1938 and 1939, he served as the director of the industrial school in Děčín. He had to leave his position due to his wife's Czech origin during the German occupation. He spent the war years in Wrocław, where he taught and designed, but none of his proposals were realized. After the war, he returned to Liberec and worked for nationalized design offices, but he did not get involved in any significant projects. He also taught for several years at the Secondary School of Civil Engineering. He died on October 19, 1969, in Hrádek nad Nisou.