Hugo Licht
Hugo Georg Licht (21 February 1841 in Nieder-Zedlitz (today Siedlnica, Poland) – 28 February 1923 in Leipzig, Germany) was a German architect.
Also recorded as Hugo Georg Licht
Hugo Licht

Hermann Walter · Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig · Public domain
- Name
- Hugo Licht
- Born
- 21 February 1841
- Birthplace
- Nieder-Zedlitz, Germany (today Siedlnica, Poland)
- Died
- 28 February 1923
- Place of death
- Leipzig, Germany
- Full name
- Hugo Georg Licht.
- Nationality
- Germany.
- Occupation
- architect and general contractor.
- Fields
- architecture and civil engineering.
- Known for
- Raiffeisenstraße 3, Predigerhaus (Leipzig), Schlachthof Leipzig, Rotes Haus, Löwenbrunnen, Zentralmarkthalle, Gewerbeschule Leipzig and Städtisches Kaufhaus.
- Languages
- German.
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Documentary summary
Hugo Georg Licht (21 February 1841 in Nieder-Zedlitz (today Siedlnica, Poland) – 28 February 1923 in Leipzig, Germany) was a German architect.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q73345 · wikipedia · Hugo Licht
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is architecture and civil engineering. Places of work recorded in the authority are Leipzig. Works named in the authority record are Raiffeisenstraße 3, Predigerhaus (Leipzig), Schlachthof Leipzig, Rotes Haus, Löwenbrunnen and Zentralmarkthalle.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Hugo Licht • Born — 21 February 1841 • Birthplace — Nieder-Zedlitz, Germany (today Siedlnica, Poland) • Died — 28 February 1923 • Place of death — Leipzig, Germany
Life
Life
Licht was the son of the landholder Georg Hugo Licht. In the years 1862 and 1863 he was mason trainee at the renowned Berlin architects Wilhelm Böckmann and Hermann Ende. At this time, they embossed at that time the late Neoclassical architecture in Berlin – especially with private villas and other magnificent buildings. In 1864, he enrolled at the Berlin Royal Prussian Academy of Architecture and was a pupil of Friedrich Adler. Later and with his recommendation Licht could change in the studio of the architect Richard Lucae in Berlin. In contrast to the orientation of Adler at the work of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Lucae favored the formal language of the Italian Renaissance. Later he moved to Vienna and worked with the architect Heinrich von Ferstel. From 1869 until the end of 1870 Licht traveled through Italy. This study tour took him through the whole country, but priorities were Rome and Pompeii. After returning to Germany, he married Clara Heckmann the same year. In the spring of the following year he established himself as a freelance architect in Berlin and worked as such until 1879. The plot of the land and the important buildings of the Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee were built after his plans in 1879/1880. During his time in Berlin, Licht made several study trips to Paris and London, where he also met with colleagues. In 1879 Licht was entrusted with the leadership of the Building Surveyor of the city of Leipzig. He held this office until 1896 and was released by the office in October 1896 for the work on the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall (Leipzig)). He held the function as a city planner until 1906. Licht served from 1901 as editor of Die Architektur des XX. Jahrhunderts (The Architecture of the XX. Century) and from 1905 he was additional the editor of Der Profanbau (The Secular Building). Also in 1905 he became honorary doctorate (Dr.-Ing. E. h.) by the Technische Universität Dresden. In 1906 he was awarded with the title professor by the Universität Leipzig. At the age of almost 82 years, Licht died on 28 February 1923 in Leipzig.
Most important buildings and structures
Most important buildings and structures
• 1879/1880: blueprint for the Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee • 1879: Südfriedhof (South cemetery) in Leipzig • 1883–1886: modification and expansion of the Städtischen Museums in Leipzig (destroyed, area now used by the Gewandhaus) • 1885–1887: University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig in Leipzig • 1886–1888: municipal butchery in Leipzig (area today used by the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk) • 1888–1891: municipal town hall in Leipzig (destroyed) • 1894–1897: new building of the Johanniskirche in Leipzig (destroyed) • 1893–1895: Old Grassi Museum in Leipzig (now Leipzig city library) • 1896: Wooden observation tower in the Rosental park in Leipzig (destroyed) • 1899–1905: Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) in Leipzig • 1908–1912: Stadthaus in Leipzig, (expansion of Neues Rathaus) • 1911–1913: headquarters of the Leipziger Feuerversicherungs-AG in Leipzig (later regional headquarters of the Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit („Stasi“) of the GDR, since 1989/1990 museum Runde Ecke (Round Corner) about the former) • 1913–1918: Zeppelin Bridge, Leipzig • 1918: Löwenbrunnen in Leipzig • Illustration — South-west view of Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) Leipzig • Illustration — Museum Runde Ecke, former regional headquarters of the Stasi • Illustration — South side of the chapel complex on Südfriedhof (Leipzig)
Last years and death
Last years and death
Licht died on 1 January 1923 in Leipzig. Licht is buried at Leipzig South Cemetery.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1841–1923
The full dated record · 3 entries
1841
Hugo Licht was born on 1 January 1841.
1923
Dies at Leipzig.
1923
Hugo Licht died on 28 February 1923.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Siedlnica.
Birth place
Leipzig.
Death place
Works, 1820–1889
Catalogued output
Works, 1820–1889
These are texts written by the subject, distinct both from writings about the subject and from printed editions of other people's work. 3 works carry dates between 1820 and 1889. The 1880s are the densest part of the run, with 2 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself. They belong to a run of 6 titles in all, from 1820 to 1889.
The run opens with Löwenbrunnen and closes with Zentralmarkthalle
Löwenbrunnen
1820
Deutscher Bürgersinn
1887
Zentralmarkthalle
1889
Works without a settled date
Catalogued output
Works without a settled date
3 further works are catalogued under Licht's name without a date the collections agree on, which is why they are set apart from the dated run rather than placed in it.
Monument of Wilhelm I of Germany in Wrocław
Catalogued output
Books and published writings
These are catalogued publications carrying the name — editions and printings, distinct from the works they contain and from writing about the subject. The 1870s are the densest part of the run, with 2 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself.
6 editions carry dates between 1876 and 1998
The run opens with Die Architectur Berlins and closes with Architektur Berlins
The entries follow Open Library
Die Architectur Berlins
1876
Architektur Deutschlands
1879
Architektur der Gegenwart
1886
Architektonische details von ausgefuehrten bauwerken
1900
Charakteristische Details von ausgeführten Bauwerken
1901
Architektur Berlins
1998
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Hugo Licht”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q73345: Hugo Licht
General reference · Wikidata
Authority records
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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