Otto Reichner

Architect Otto Reichner was born in Opava to civil servant Otto Ignaz Reichner and his wife Emilie Reichner, née Warsitzky. His father was of Jewish origin, his mother was Catholic; before they married, Otto Ignaz Reichner converted to Catholicism.
Otto Reichner attended the Realschule in Opava before studying civil engineering and architecture at the Technical University in Vienna. He gained professional experience in Vienna, Berlin, and Hamburg. After returning to his hometown, he prepared a proposal in early 1927 for the reconstruction of the Breda & Weinstein department store, though the owners ultimately selected a design by Leopold Bauer. Reichner nonetheless contributed to the project as construction supervisor during the 1927–⁠1928 rebuilding and expansion based on Bauer’s plans. Following this, he established his own architectural practice. Reichner’s designs merged traditional architectural forms with influences from modern architecture. He drew on motifs, elements, and shapes from classicism, decorative styles, and expressionism, while incorporating the restrained aesthetic of Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). His first major work was the villa for Bruno Vogel, built between 1929 and 1930, where he combined the traditional hip-roofed house form with symmetrical and modernist elements.
In 1929, Reichner won first prize in the competition for the Opava municipal outdoor swimming pool complex, a project realized between 1930 and 1931. This success led to further commissions. For brothers August and Erich Lassmann, he designed a pair of villas near Opava’s historic centre. Built in 1932–⁠1933, these villas featured traditional interior layouts combined with modern design principles. Around the same time, he designed a rental apartment building for veterinarian Alois Trabitsch, applying forms characteristic of New Objectivity, enhanced by an expressive stairwell bay and timber-clad enclosed balconies overlooking the courtyard. Modernist elements also appeared in his 1934 extension of the Huppert department store on Růžová Street. Between 1934 and 1936, he designed the Mandl commercial and residential building on U Jaktařské brány Street, striking a balance between tradition and modernism. Reichner’s most significant project in Opava’s historic
centre was the commercial and residential building for the Municipal Savings Bank, constructed between 1937 and 1940 opposite the Church of the Virgin Mary on Horní náměstí (Upper Square). Its restrained façade was complemented by a traditional tripartite entrance, adorned with a hyperrealistic relief by sculptor Josef Obeth. The relief was inspired by the work of German artist Arno Breker, whose style represented the official sculptural language of Nazi Germany.
Following the annexation of Opava and its surroundings by Nazi Germany – and likely because of his Jewish heritage – Reichner relocated to Slovakia in 1938. There, he worked in Rajecké Teplice and Žilina. His designs from this period reflect the influence of Italian modern classicism with an emphasis on monumentality, most notably in the Reprezentačný dom (now the Municipal Theatre of Žilina), built between 1941 and 1946, and the adjacent staircase with balustrades behind the Church of the Holy Trinity leading to Andrej Hlinka Square. He also designed the pavilion for the Kamélie restaurant in Žilina, employing forms at the intersection of New Objectivity and expressionism, similar to his earlier swimming pool project in Opava. This pavilion, however, has since been radically remodelled in a postmodern style.
In 1960, Reichner chose to leave for West Germany, where he died the following year in a refugee camp near Gelnhausen. Otto Reichner was the most prominent figure in Opava’s interwar architecture. He skilfully incorporated influences from international modernism – whether expressive, decorative, or functional – while aligning these diverse styles with the relatively conservative preferences of local clients.

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