Německý spolkový dům v Šumperku (Deutsches Vereinshaus)

This paper focuses on two aspects relating to the construction of the Deutsches Vereinshaus (the German Club House) in Šumperk (Mährisch Schönberg). (1) It seeks to shed light on the political background of the most important individuals behind the idea for the construction of the club house and to reconstruct the individual steps leading up to the building's construction, including the funding, the choice of lot to build on, and the role of the town in the entire matter. (2) It examines in detail the architectural competition that was held in late 1900 and 1901. The paper discusses the conditions of the competition, the jury's evaluative report (which is an appendix to this paper), individual designs from the competition that have been preserved, and the not altogether direct path from the winning competition project by architect Georg Berger (1856–1930) to the project that was ultimately built.