Locations #1

The application for the construction of the spherical building (Kugelhaus) was filed by Curt Domschke in 1932 at the Amtshauptmannschaft Bautzen (a lower level administrative district at the time). In the eyes of the officials, however, the project was way too unconventional. They forwarded the application to the Saxon »Heimatschutz«, a regional society for the conservation of nature and local history. Luckily, the person responsible at the society was an an old acquaintance of Domschke, as they knew each other from their time at university. They met Heinrich Tessenow, one of the most important exponents of the German Reformarchitektur, the new movement that wanted to overcome the historicism in German architecture. However, after the Heimatschutz approved the concept, the Bautzen building control department eventually circumvented the go ahead. It said that its relation to the vicinity was »totally ignored«. The confident Mr. Domschke raised an objection and started the construction before a decision was issued. This led to a penalty of 50 Reichsmark. The Kugelhaus was not completed until 1980 by Mr. Domschke's descendants.